Podcast appearances and mentions of George R Dekle

Author George R. Dekle, Sr. discusses his latest true-crime book, The East River Ripper: The Mysterious 1891 Murder of Old Shakespeare. Shortly after Jack the Ripper terrorized London, New York City had its own Ripper-like murder—that of Carrie Brown, a prostitute who went by the name of Old Shakespeare. The police arrested a suspect, but much controversy surrounded the investigation, arrest and trial. Did the police arrest the right person? If not, who did commit the murder? Was it really Jack the Ripper?

On April 24th, 1891, a Bowery prostitute named Carrie Brown (known locally as "Old Shakespeare") was found murdered and mutilated in the seedy East River Hotel. With the Jack the Ripper murders unsolved and still news, many believed that the notorious killer had traveled across the Atlantic to continue his bloody work in the United States - and this was his first victim. My guest is George R. Dekle Sr., former Florida prosecutor and author of the new book "The East River Ripper: The Mysterious 1891 Murder of Old Shakespeare". He talks about this sensational case, including the arrest and trial of the enigmatic Ameer Ben Ali, better known as "Frenchy", and offers his thoughts on who really murdered Carrie Brown. More about the author and his work can be found here: https://www.bobdeklebooks.com/

Shortly after NYPD Chief of Detectives Thomas Byrnes publicly criticized the London police for failing to capture Jack the Ripper, he received a letter purportedly from Jack himself saying New York was his next target. Not long after, Byrnes was confronted by his own Ripper-style murder case in the death of Carrie Brown, a.k.a. "Old Shakespeare," a colorful character who worked as a prostitute and had a penchant for quoting Shakespeare. Given the near-hysteria surrounding this vicious murder soon after the Jack the Ripper murders in London, people were worried that Jack might have actually come to America.The detective bureau finally arrested Amir Ben Ali, an Algerian immigrant. The newspapers, however, immediately criticized Byrnes for moving too quickly, suggesting that he had tried to save face by pinning the crime on an easy target. When the verdict of murder in the second degree was announced, the papers erupted in anger and disbelief. With the aid of the French consulate, they embarked on a 10-year campaign to have Ben Ali pardoned and finally won his release by producing new evidence. Immediately upon Ben Ali's departure for France, fresh evidence of his guilt surfaced.Was Ben Ali falsely convicted or falsely exonerated? And if he did not commit the murder, then who did? Issues of false convictions, fake news, illegal immigration, police corruption, and racial prejudice are common tropes in today's news cycles. The East River Ripper demonstrates that these are not simply matters of recent vintage and seeks to answer such questions in trying to determine whether and in what way justice miscarried. THE EAST RIVER RIPPER: The Mysterious 1891 Murder of Old Shakespeare-George R. Dekle Sr.

Author George R. Dekle Sr. discusses his most recent non-fiction book, Six Capsules: The Gilded Age Murder of Helen Potts. In this book, George details the trial of Carlyle Harris (who was the 19th century's equivalent of Ted Bundy). George spent 30 years as a prosecutor, followed by 10 years as a law professor. Six Capsules is the most recent in a long list of nonfiction books written by George about real legal trials, including cases ranging from the Lindbergh kidnapping to the Ted Bundy murders.

My guest is George R. Dekle Sr., former prosecutor and prolific author. He discusses his book, "Six Capsules: The Gilded Age Murder of Helen Potts", and draws comparisons between the Helen Pott's husband, Carlyle Harris (who would be tried and convicted for her murder in the sensational New York case)  and Ted Bundy, whom Dekle was responsible for prosecuting in Florida.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices