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13-Year-Old Josephine Baker’s Murder of a Baby in 1905 Was Inspired By Having Attended a Theater Play
In 1905, a teen girl shocked the world by committing a craven killing because she was modeling something she had seen on the stage
When horrific crimes are committed by children, it’s hard for many to reconcile the innocence that’s been lost. Unfortunately, juveniles can be inspired by all manner of things to do bad things. This includes near the turn of last century when a 13-year-old girl named Josephine Baker kidnapped and killed a baby, later claiming that she got the idea for the insidious plot after having attended a play at a local theater.
The headlines of Toronto newspapers in May, 1905 were dominated by the horrible stories of the kidnapping death of nine-month old baby William Murray. Things truly reached a fever pitch when an investigation revealed that the killer was an otherwise innocent-looking teen girl.
Mrs. Murray had left young William in a pram outside of a Toronto shop while she quickly went inside to make some purchases. She was left in a state of anguished shock after she exited only to find her child missing. At first, theories abounded that some grief-stricken mother who had previously lost their own child had…
