Sylvia Howard Gaines was born in Lynnfield, MA on June 10th of 1904. Little is known about her childhood, save for the fact that her father left in 1909. She went on to graduate Peabody High School in 1921, and went on Smith College. She graduated there in 1925. Shortly thereafter, she reestablished contact with her father after reading a newspaper article on her uncle, King County commissioner William A. Gaines. Upon reaching William, she obtained her father's address and began correspondence with him. She left for Seattle in September of '25.

Her time in Seattle was, by some accounts, tumultuous. Her father Wallace Cloyes "Bob" Gaines, a WWI veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, had a serious drinking problem. His wife Elizabeth would later claim that this was the source of a great deal of stress on their marriage. Sylvia's arrival added additional financial stress, as she did not work until about a week before her murder.

At around 7:20 on the morning of June 17th, 1926 Sylvia's body was found by carpenter J. L. Reynolds, as he was on his way to work. She was laying in an alder grove on the north side of Green Lake. The right side of her head had been crushed by a blunt object, and her throat bore deep bruises obviously caused by strangulation. Her clothing had been torn in a manner consistent with sexual assault, though Coroner Lucas May later determined that she had not been assaulted in that way. May determined the cause of death to be strangulation, and placed the time of death between 9:30 and 10:00pm.

As the story hit the headlines in the evening edition of the Seattle Daily Times, the headline screaming "COMMISSIONER W. A. GAINES' NIECE SLAIN", the public's attention was riveted immediately. Initially, four witnesses came forward; A Mr. and Mrs. Stokes, and a young couple Ms. Odessa Gaskill and Mr. Dwight Kaulum. The former two would testify that they, too, had been walking around the lake that night, and had seen Sylvia around 9pm walking east on the path around the lake. Shortly thereafter, they observed a "large, sinister looking man with a prominent nose" walking in the same direction.

Kaulum and Gaskill, however, happened along the trail later on, and may have been direct witnesses to the murder. Kaulum testified that he had witnessed TWO men by the side of the lake, bending over something. He heard gurgling and splashing, and when he asked one of the men "Hey, what's happening there?" they responded "Oh, we're just helping a drunk is all". What's interesting, however, is that right after the man answered him, his companion said "Shut up, Jack, or the cops'll get you!".

Despite the accounts and descriptions given by the above witnesses, the police were unable to make an arrest. Finally, an ambitious young prosecutor named Ewing D. Colwin came forward, and despite the objections of the senior police officials on the case, charged Sylvia's father Wallace with the murder of his daughter. During the ensuing trial, Colwin alleged that Wallace and Sylvia had been having an unnatural relationship, and that Wallace had killed her because she had threatened to reveal the affair. Another key element in Colwin's case was the testimony of Mr. Gaines' long-time friend, Louis Stern. He had originally testified that Gaines had come to his house at about 11pm on the night of the murder, and begged for a drink. According to Stern, Gaines went on to say "You know how I said if anyone came into my home and tried to tell me how live I'd kill 'em? Well, That's exactly what I did!". However, after the trial Stern recanted, claiming the police had "[given] me the third degree until I agreed to say he'd done it".

In support of his incest allegations, Colwin cited three incidents that had taken place. One, the attempted suicide of Wallace's second wife Elizabeth. In January of 1926, she went into the basement of their home and attempted to shoot herself in the chest. She missed, and the bullet wound up going through her shoulder. Shortly afterward, she left for California to stay with relatives while recovering from her wound and was, in fact, on the train back to Seattle in June when she heard of the murder. Another incident took place in Woodland Park. Wallace and Sylvia were in his car, and had parked beside the trail there one evening. Because the park was closed, a Seattle Police officer stopped by where they had parked, demanded they leave the vehicle, and took them downtown. Because this particular spot was regarded as a sort of lover's lane, Colwin claimed that since they stopped there, something inappropriate must have been going on. While it's impossible to say for certain, nothing in the police officer's testimony at the trial provides any actual evidence this was the case. He did not testify that anyone's clothing was askew, nor were there any conclusive signs that they were engaged in any activity other than talking.

The third incident took place at the downtown Arctic Hotel, shortly before Elizabeth's suicide attempt. They had rented two rooms there, which was something they apparently did with some frequency. According to both Wallace and Elizabeth's testimony, Wallace and Sylvia were already downtown and Wallace began drinking heavily. He quickly became very intoxicated, and was taken to the hotel as he was barely functional. Sylvia sent a message to Elizabeth, who was so frustrated with Gaines' drinking that upon hearing he was drunk, she decided to stay home. This left Sylvia to attend to her now passed out father. She elected to stay in the same room as he did, and this would be the cause for much speculation later. Sometime the next morning, housekeeping entered the room, and found both Sylvia and her father in the room. Both were in their "evening clothes". The maid testified that Wallace was passed out on the bed, and Sylvia was awake and moving around the room. Again, it's impossible to say for certain, but no concrete evidence nor damning testimony exists that anything inappropriate happened.

By many newspaper articles and transcripts of the trial, and with the benefit of hindsight, Colwin engaged in a few tactics that some could reasonably label as questionable. During jury selection, he told reporters from the Daily Times that he was in contact with Jonathan Lowe, a former boyfriend of Sylvia's in Lynnfield. He claimed Lowe had told him he received a number of letters from Sylvia in which she purportedly said she feared for her safety, adding that Wallace had threatened her life on numerous occasions. Colwin claimed to have the letters in his possession, and said Lowe was "en route to Seattle right now to testify!". However, in combing over the articles on the trial, no further reference to Lowe or his letters from Sylvia can be found. In light of this, it's reasonable to assume that neither ever materialized. One can also assume that Colwin making claims about such - apparently non-existant - letters must have had a serious impact on public opinion right at a time when members of said public were being picked for the jury.

Equally interesting, was Colwin's complete and utter disregard for the testimony of the Stokes, as well as Ms. Gaskill and Mr. Kaulum. During testimony, all four witnesses stated that while Mr. Gaines had a roughly similar build to the suspicious men they saw that night, they were absolutely certain it wasn't him. Colwin subjected all four to a brutal cross-examination, and did all he could to dismiss the input of these early witnesses. Naturally, as media attention grew to a fever pitch, more and more witnesses came forward and from news articles, it seems many of them offered wildly contradicting claims as to the things they witnessed. Colwin seemed to favor the recollections of these witnesses instead. According to interviews with jury members, the most damning accusation came from Gaines' mechanic, who testified that while walking along Green Lake Way at approximately 10pm, he had seen Gaines' car parked by the lake. This coincided with the time of Sylvia's death, and though it seems circumstantial in retrospect, his knowledge of the bent fender on Gaines' car was thought to be a smoking gun.

Regardless of who came forward when and why, Gaines was convicted of first degree murder in August of 1926, after a jury deliberation of less than 6 hours. He was sentenced to death, and hanged on August 31st the following year. His family fought tooth and nail to commute his sentence. Gaines himself went to the gallows bitterly defending his innocence. He wrote one final letter to his brother, with specific instructions that it be opened after his death.

It's puzzling to look back on the events that took place back in 1926 with a 21st century mindset. A number of leads were never explored by either the police or Gaines' defense team, which even still stand out as tantalizing. On the day of her murder, Sylvia had gone to her uncle's office after work, and was overheard on the telephone making arrangements to meet someone at the Green Lake Library at 9pm. Who this was, or whether or not the meeting ever took place remains a mystery. Also, in the weeks leading up to the murder, a man matching the one described by the Stokes was wanted by police for assaulting three young girls in other Seattle neighborhoods. This man was never apprehended, but was dismissed as a suspect in Sylvia's murder for reasons that are never fully explained in the papers.

More coming soon....