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He was a Catholic priest and a killer. Hans Schmidt, ordained in Germany in 1904, arrived in the United States in 1908 and was transferred to New York City Where he me Anna Aumuller, a housekeeper for the rectory of St. Boniface, who had recently emigrated from Austria. Father Schmidt and Anna had a romantic affair and, in a secret ceremony he performed himself, they were married. When he discovered she was pregnant, Father Schmidt cut Anna's throat, dismembered her body, and threw the parts into the Hudson River. When the body was discovered, he was arrested and charged with the murder. A media circus ensued, as the New York papers became fascinated by the priest and his double life. Father Schmidt was eventually convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. He remains the only priest ever executed for murder in the United States.

During the 20th century, six women were executed for murder at New Yorks infamous Sing Sing prison. Their journey through the criminal justice system was as unique as were their crimes. From the Blonde Fiend, Ruth Snyder, in 1927 to serial killer Frances Creighton, in 1936, and the Lonely Hearts Killer, Martha Beck, in 1949, these women have captured the imagination of the public and in some cases, became the subject of Hollywood films. Ridiculed by the press, ostracized by society and degraded as women and mothers, they paid the ultimate price for their sins. But were they all guilty? Did they receive justice? How were they treated by the press? In his new book, DEATH ROW WOMEN, Murder, Justice and the New York Press, Crime Library writer, Detective Mark Gado tells the stories of these six unfortunate women from an entirely new perspective. Using police reports, official court documents, hundreds of newspaper articles and prison records from the files of the condemned, Mark Gado places these murder cases under a microscope from the moment of the crime, the police investigation, through the courts and ultimately to the terrifying conclusion in the nations most prolific electric chair. DEATH ROW WOMEN is history written as drama, unforgettable, unflinching and all true.