The Tell-Tale Postcard

James Varley was well-known in boxing circles. The ambitious lightweight prizefighter fought out of Westfield under the name Tommy Belmont, and with Westfield nicknamed the Whip City, his moniker was: Whip City Boy.

Varley's short-lived marriage to local sweetheart, Miss Myrtle Fannie Robinson of Southwick, started when the couple wed on June 27, 1917, and moved to Springfield. Myrtle was attractive, and she caught the attention of many men, which caused her relationship with the boxer to quickly sour. The pair had a child together before separating sometime in 1919 or 1920. James filed for custody of their baby boy, and soon after, thanks in part to a postcard, a melodramatic trial unfolded. 

The cause of the November 1920 trial was the affection of Marshal J. Shear. Myrtle admitted that Marshal professed his love to her, but she denied accepting his advances. Witnesses, however, painted a much different story. They said that Myrtle and Marshal were together multiple times while her husband, a tiremaker for the Fisk Rubber Company, worked the night shift. They also told the court that Myrtle routinely left her baby unattended at home while out with Marshal. 

During the trial, James, the first witness called, testified that three days after returning from their honeymoon, he found his wife saying a long, passionate goodbye to Marshal, who was shipping out to fight in the war. The incident caused the newlyweds to separate, but it did not take long for them to get back together and attempt to work things out. 

Myrtle, the last witness called to testify, initially lied about having gone to New York City with Marshal, who, seated in the front row, had to stand up several times to be identified as the man she was seeing. When Myrtle went as far as denying having ever been to New York City, her husband's attorney turned up the heat and began raining intense questions upon her about a postcard she had written that displayed on the front of it a picture of the United States Sub-Treasury building on Wall Street in the heart of New York's financial district.

Sub-Treasury Building, NYC

When the attorney showed Myrtle the postcard, she denied having mailed it from Manhattan and would only admit that it was her handwriting on the card. She claimed she found the postcard in her parents' Southwick home and asked a friend traveling to the City to mail it for her. The writing on the postcard mentioned that the sub-treasury building had been the site of a recent explosion. (A horse-drawn cart packed with dynamite exploded outside of the J.P. Morgan & Co. building, located across from the sub-treasury building, on September 16, 1920, killing more than 30 people and injuring hundreds more. In a show of defiance to the person or persons responsible, J.P. Morgan & Co. refused to repair their building's damaged facade, which still bears the scars of shrapnel today. It may be interesting to note that George Washington took his oath as the first president of the United States in front of the original building that occupied the sub-treasury site on April 30, 1789.)  

Wall St. Bombing, 1920

Myrtle remained steadfast with her denials, prompting the judge to intervene with his own line of questioning, in which he also threatened Myrtle with perjury. Then, in a loud voice, her husband's attorney again asked her if she had gone to New York with Marshal. And after another denial, Myrtle, in a low whisper, finally admitted that she did indeed go to the City with Marshal. Still, she insisted that she did nothing wrong. Myrtle said she lied about it because it made her look bad in the court of public opinion. Her admission stunned the courtroom, and the judge immediately granted James custody of the boy and declared the trial over. 

* * *

While working as a laundress, Myrtle began hanging out with Richard P. Thomas of Springfield, who also worked in the laundry business. Richard was immediately captivated by her. (Myrtle's husband James had filed for divorce on the grounds of desertion. For reasons unknown, Myrtle asked the court for a 6-month stay which it granted.)

Richard became determined to see the object of his affection: Myrtle, who had been shying away from his advancements. Richard's obsession turned into an alcohol-fueled rage on April 5, 1923, when in a drunken state, he left Springfield and headed to Myrtle's parent's farm in Southwick, where she had been staying. 

Myrtle's parents, Clement and Hattie, met Richard in their yard while Myrtle hid in one of the homes on her parents' property.

When the Robinsons denied him entry, Richard brandished a gun and fired three or four shots point blank; two, it is believed, went wild. One went into Hattie's abdomen and lodged in her back, the spark from the pistol igniting her clothing on fire. The other shot grazed Clement's face, leaving a severe laceration before entering his jaw.

With the Robinsons incapacitated, Richard entered the house where Myrtle was hiding. He pointed his gun at her. She tried to stave him off with a fire poker. When he pulled the trigger, the gun either jammed or was out of bullets, so he threw it at her.

Meanwhile, Myrtle's badly injured father arrived with a shotgun in hand. 

He and a neighbor held Richard at bay until authorities arrived. (Little did Richard know that Mr. Robinson's shotgun was empty.)

At his arraignment, the judge set Richard's bail at $20,000 ($10,000 for each count of intent to kill). When Richard claimed self-defense at his April 14 preliminary hearing, the judge reduced his bail to $10,000, and he was released a short time later. 

Richard P. Thomas

It is unclear how it happened, but Richard met up with Myrtle in Westfield on May 17, 1923. More obsessed than ever, he urged her to die alongside him in a poison suicide pact. Upon learning this, Richard's attornies had doctors perform a mental health evaluation. Within 10 minutes, the doctors made their recommendation to a judge, who then committed Richard to the Bridgewater State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. After his release, Richard worked different jobs in Springfield before falling ill and dying in a hospital on October 6, 1926. He was only 31. 

James Varley remarried twice. He and his second wife spent some time in prison after being arrested on December 30, 1928, when an advertisement they had placed selling luxurious fur coats attracted the attention of authorities. James stole the expensive furs from a department store he worked at in Chicago and shipped them to his wife in Springfield for resale at discount prices. Most of the high-end mink coats, roughly $7,000 worth, were labeled Marshall Field & Co. (The charges against Mrs. Varley were eventually dropped.) 

For additional readings on the places and people in this story, visit the Southwick Time Machine on Facebook. 

Wall Street Bombing, 1920
(Note the dead horses in the street)

Wall Street Bombing, 1920

Wall Street Bombing, 1920
(Note the Subtreasury bldg. and statue of Washington on right)

Wall Street Bombing, 1920