| Carlyle Harris | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1868 |
| Died | May 7, 1893 (age 25-26) Sing Sing Prison, New York |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder |
| Penalty | Death by electrocution |
| Status | Deceased |
| Occupation | Medical student |
| Spouse | Helen Potts (wife) |
Carlyle Harris (1868 – May 7, 1893) was a New York medical student at New York College of Physicians and Surgeons who, the first of which would spark a series of "copy cat" poison murders to occur in New York during the early 1890s, murdered his young wife, Helen Potts, with an overdose of morphine in the form of sleeping pills. Although his wife's death was first attributed to a stroke, the murder was discovered by physicians only because she displayed severely contracted pupils, a characteristic symptom of morphine poisoning.
During his trial in early 1892, he was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Charles E. Simms, Jr. The witnesses against him included noted physician Dr. Rudolph Witthaus.[1] However, despite Harris's parents hiring prominent defense attorney William F. Howe,[2] he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Despite request for an appeal, Harris was executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison on May 7, 1893.
The detective novel Max Hensig, Bacteriologist was written by Algernon Blackwood who had been a police reporter for the New York Times during the murder trial.
Journalist and author Bernard Barshay wrote the story "The Case of the Six Capsules" based on the events of the trial. This story was later recorded on the record Four American Murder Mysteries.[3]