From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Levi Weeks
Levi Weeks
Levi Weeks (1776–1819) was the accused in the infamous
Manhattan Well Murder trial of 1800, the first recorded
References
murder trial in the United States.[1] At the time of the • Estelle Fox Klieger, The Trial of Levi Weeks: Or the
murder, Weeks was a young carpenter in New York City. Manhattan Well Mystery (Linacre Centre for Health
He was the brother of Ezra Weeks, one of New York’s Care Ethics, 2007), ISBN 9780897334921.
more successful builders of the time. • Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton (Penguin, 2004),
ISBN 1594200092, 9781594200090. Chapter 35, Gusts
of Passion.
Biography • John Davison Lawson and Robert Lorenzo Howard,
Levi Weeks was born in 1776 in Greenwich, Massachu- American State Trials: A Collection of the Important and
setts and died in Natchez, Mississippi in 1819 at the age Interesting Criminal Trials which Have Taken Place in the
of 43. He married Ann Greenleaf in Natchez and they had United States, from the Beginning of Our Government to
four children.[2] the Present Day with Notes and Annotations, Volume 1,
(St. Louis: Thomas Law Book Co., 1914). Refer to the
Murder trial first chapter, "The Trial of LEVI WEEKS for the
Murder of GULIELMA SANDS, New York City, 1800",
Weeks was accused of murdering Gulielma "Elma" SandsSands, pages 1–40.
a young woman whom he had been courting.[3] Elma dis- • Report of the trial of Levi Weeks on an indictment for the
appeared on the evening of December 22, 1799. Some of murder of Gulielma Sands, on Monday the thirty-first day
her possessions were found two days later near the re- of March, and Tuesday the first day of April, 1800, (New
cently created Manhattan Well in Lispenard Meadows, York: John Furman, 1800). Court proceedings of the
located in today’s SoHo near the intersection of Greene trial taken by the clerk of the court.
and Spring Streets. Her body was recovered from the well • Doris Lane, The Original "Dream Team", Crime
on January 2, 1800. Before leaving her boarding house on Magazine.
the 22nd, Elma told her cousin Catherine Sands that she • Joseph Simeone, The strange alliance of two American
and Levi were to be secretly married that night. historical figures, Part I, St. Louis Daily Record & St.
The trial, which took place on March 31 and April Louis Countian, May 27, 2003.
1, 1800, was sensational. Through his brother’s connec- • Weeks’ trial sheds light on early procedure, Today in
tions and wealth, Weeks retained three of New York’s history: April 1, History Channel Online.
most prominent attorneys, Henry Brockholst Livingston, • Fascinated by history of Auburn, McGehee compiles
Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton. Several years later house’s history, The Natchez Democrat, March 4, 2006.
Burr killed Hamilton during the most famous duel in
American history. Chief Justice John Lansing, Jr. presided
on the bench, and future Mayor of New York Cadwallader
Notes
David Colden was the prosecutor. [1] Klieger, cover
Although Elma was seen leaving with Weeks and a [2] Fascinated by history of Auburn, McGehee compiles
witness claimed to have seen Weeks making measure- house’s history, The Natchez Democrat, March 4,
ments at the well the Sunday before the murder,[4] 2006.
Weeks was acquitted after only 5 minutes of jury delib- [3] R. Chernow, Chapter 35.
eration,[5] The public strongly disagreed with the ver- [4] D. Lane
dict, and Weeks was ostracized by the citizens of the city, [5] Weeks’ trial sheds light on early procedure Today in
forcing him to leave New York. He eventually settled in history: April 1, History Channel Online.
Natchez, Mississippi, where he became a well-respected
architect and builder. Persondata
Name Weeks, Levi
See also Alternative names
• Auburn Mansion, Natchez, Mississippi Short description
Date of birth 1776
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Levi Weeks
Place of birth Place of death
Date of death 1819
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Levi_Weeks&oldid=447891367"
Categories:
• 1776 births
• 1819 deaths
• American architects
• People acquitted of murder
• Trials in the United States
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