Murder of a Herkimer County Teacher: The Shocking 1914 Case of a Vengeful Student (True Crime Ser.)

By: Dennis Webster

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Synopsis: &“The true case of Lydia &‘Lida&’ Beecher, a school teacher, being killed by one of her former students . . . The book flows seamlessly&” (Observer Dispatch). In 1914, Poland, New York, was a picturesque slice of small-town America. But that innocence was shattered with the shocking murder of beloved schoolteacher Lida Beecher at the hands of her former student Jean Gianini. At twenty-one years old, Lida wasn't much older than her students. The son of a successful furniture dealer, Jean had all the advantages in life, but he had been labeled as different by all who encountered him. The shocking murder brought the world&’s best alienists to the packed Herkimer County Courthouse to try to prove that the teenager&’s mental development precluded his guilt. Author Dennis Webster utilizes unprecedented access to court documents to reveal details of the sensational crime never before made known to the public. Includes photos!