Lovely Laura was lethal

At 16, Laura Fair married William Stone, a liquor salesman from New Orleans. A year later, he died of cholera.

Laura, a blond, blue-eyed beauty, returned to school, but soon gave up her higher education in favour of marriage to one Thomas Grayson. Where Stone had been preoccupied with selling the devil rum, Grayson was intent on drinking Louisiana dry.

When sloshed, which was most of the time, Grayson had the distressing habit of joining Laura in bed with a pair of six shooters, which he would fire at the most inopportune times. Laura fled to California, where she obtained a divorce.

Laura strolled down the aisle for the third time in 1859. Lawyer William Fair stayed married to Laura for two years, during which time Laura gave birth to a baby girl, Lilliam.

Unfortunately, William blew his brains out in a doctor’s office in San Francisco. William left his wife and daughter with little in the way of worldly goods. Laura had one asset – a diamond ring given to her by her late husband during happier times.

In 1863, Laura took her daughter and moved to Virginia City to seek her fortune. She raised some cash on her ring and managed to rent a rooming house called Tahoe House. The 50-room establishment was a success from the very beginning. One day, lawyer Alexander Crittenden took a room at the Tahoe House.

Alex fell hard for Laura. The old rascal should have known better. There he was, well into his 50s, with a wife, Clara, and seven children. When he met Laura, he had already celebrated his silver wedding anniversary.

Laura and Alex met clandestinely for about a year before they grew careless, or simply didn’t give a damn. Clara, who still lived in San Francisco, came to Virginia City to visit with one of her daughters. She quickly learned of her husband’s prolonged affair.

The pressure was too much for even randy Alex. He and Laura took a trip to San Francisco, where he did the unthinkable. He arranged a dinner date with his wife and his mistress.

Clara suggested Laura drop out of their lives. Laura replied that she would never give up Alex.

For the next few years, the affair between Laura and Alex continued unabated. They often talked of Alex divorcing his wife, but the wily lawyer always hedged.

Eventually it got through to Laura that Alex would never leave his wife. She became extremely jealous of her rival.

There were scenes. During this turbulent period, Laura met and married Jesse Snyder. Jesse was well aware of the relationship between Laura and Alex.

At the time, a rumour circulated that Laura had paid Jesse $10,000 to go through with the marriage. She may have felt that once married, she would be more desirable to her true love, Alex.

It didn’t work. Alex informed her nothing much had changed. Instead of requiring one divorce, they now needed two.

Clever as a fox, Alex told Laura to get her divorce first. Just as Jesse had agreed to marry Laura, he now quickly consented to divorce her.

Clara was in San Francisco. Laura pointed out it was Alex’s turn to divorce. Instead, Alex said his wife was taking one of her many trips to Virginia City and it would be in poor taste for him not to meet her.

Laura was livid. Laura learned Alex was to meet his wife aboard the ferry El Capitain at the Oakland dock. Unknown to her lover, Laura planned to be aboard.

On a cool fall day in November, Alex and Clara were united aboard the El Capitain. Laura found them on the crowded deck, sitting arm in arm. Their eldest son, Parker, stood nearby. Laura pulled out a chrome-plated pistol and fired. Alex slumped to the deck.

On March 27, 1871, Laura stood trial for murdering her lover. The proceedings lasted a month, with the outcome never in doubt.

Laura had planned the murder down to the last detail. She had purchased the murder weapon and had followed Alex onto the ferry. She had even visited the boat the day before the murder to study the layout.

To these accusations, Laura’s counsel could only plead that she had purchased the pistol for protection and had been insane at the time of the shooting. To establish that Laura was madder than a March hare, her lawyers claimed she had told them God had married her to Alex and she was really his wife.

It didn’t work. The jury took 45 minutes to find her guilty.

All was not lost. In February 1872, the Supreme Court of California reversed Laura’s conviction on two technicalities. In September of the same year, Laura stood trial for the second time.This time the jury returned the surprising verdict of not guilty. Laura embarked on a lecture tour and for a while was something of a celebrity. After all, it isn’t every day a woman kills her lover in front of his son and wife, and then walks out of the courtroom a free woman.

But Laura’s prosperity was short lived. Her lawyers sued her for large legal fees and collected. In 1913, Laura’s only daughter, Lilliam, was found dead in an empty room in New York City. She had starved to death.

Laura Fair lived on until 1919, when she, too, died in poverty in San Francisco.