One of the most sensational crimes in Minneapolis history could have ended the life of America’s Frist Serial Killer. On December 11, 1895, wealthy socialite Harry T. Hayward was hanged before cheering crowds for orchestrating the brutal murder of his mistress, Catherine \u201cKitty\u201d Ging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet the shocking public spectacle was merely the culmination of a dark life of gambling, manipulation, and multiple murders spanning years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Hayward\u2019s grim execution played out, the city was already in the grip of a dramatic 46-day trial that had captivated residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the charming Hayward was well-known among Minneapolis elite circles, the case peeled back the layers of a dangerous double life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police alleged that the cunning Hayward had persuaded Ging\u2014his tenant\u2014to take out a $10,000 life insurance policy naming him as sole beneficiary before having her assassinated just months later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Catherine Ging was by all accounts a friendly and attractive widow trying to get back on her feet. The 30-year-old dressmaker had moved from New York City in hopes of opening a boutique. She rented a studio apartment inside the beautifully renovated Ozark Flats building owned by Harry Hayward’s parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hayward, then 29, worked as a building manager while financing his high-rolling lifestyle through gambling and tailored scams. Though already married, the handsome Hayward conducted extramarital affairs with female tenants. He soon set his sights on the unsuspecting Ging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After loaning her money which she struggled to repay, Hayward began manipulating Ging more severely. Unbeknownst to the vulnerable woman, Hayward had persuaded her to take out a $10,000 life insurance policy\u2014an enormous sum then\u2014which listed only himself as beneficiary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just months later, Ging\u2019s body was discovered shot dead by Lake Calhoun, under orders from Hayward. Minneapolis was shocked when Hayward\u2019s brother Adry exposed the brutal murder plot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harry had blackmailed the building\u2019s janitor, Claude Blixt, into shooting Catherine near the lake after luring her into a carriage ride. His motivation was cold-blooded: trigger her policy\u2019s payout to cover his spiraling debts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hayward\u2019s murder trial became a booming spectacle covered feverishly in papers across America. The defendant himself only stoked public intrigue, seeming to relish taunting prosecutors from the stand when not laughing with supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For 46 days, the riveting testimony of 136 witnesses exposed secrets of Harry\u2019s sordid hidden life that defied his charming exterior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foremost was the betrayal of his brother Adry, whose detailed testimony linked Harry to manipulating both the insurance scheme and Blixt\u2019s role in Ging\u2019s brutal slaying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though Hayward\u2019s defense team fought vainly to exclude Adry\u2019s statements, the damage was done. After a month and a half, both Harry and Blixt were found guilty of first-degree murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hayward reacted with rage at the conviction. But in reality, his troubles were only beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the months between the verdict and Hayward\u2019s eventual date with the noose, the callous manipulation that defined his existence continued. From his cell, he gave shocking interviews admitting that his crimes went far beyond Kitty Ging\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a detailed confession to his cousin, the condemned man casually admitted to no less than three other murders spanning three different states over his 29 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though records are patchy, the apparent brutality of these additional admitted homicides shocked even in an era accustomed to violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hayward spoke of crimes ranging from shooting a \u201csporting girl\u201d in the back of the head for money in Pasadena, to beating a Chinese man inside a New York gambling den before impaling his skull on a chair leg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As chronicled in one paper, Hayward \u201cdisplayed many traits we now know as typical of serial killers \u2013 narcissism, sadism…a lack of empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet while these claims seem to indicate Harry Hayward was a nascent American serial murderer of some notoriety, we may never fully separate truth from fiction when it comes to his boasts. Records remain limited outside his home state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, the alarming confessions paired with Hayward\u2019s history point to, as author Jack El Hai contends, a \u201ccriminal psychopathology\u201d on par with the most dangerous examples of his age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If valid, that would place Hayward among the first identifiable serial killers in the country\u2014a terrifying milestone for understanding American violence which Minneapolis found itself grappling to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though the condemned Hayward never publicly showed remorse for his role in Ging\u2019s slaying, the approaching execution date did bring cracks in his cocky facade. As winter descended, tensions grew palpable both inside the county jail and across Minneapolis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Large crowds gathered nightly outside the jail for weeks, anxiously awaiting updates. Hundreds watched in the early hours of December 11 as guards marched a cloaked Hayward to the gallows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet despite wearing black execution attire, witnesses swore Hayward almost seemed to enjoy the moment when asking for cheers from supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After shallowly paying lip service to forgiveness, Hayward\u2019s arrogant smile returned. He told guards to \u201cpull the rope tighter\u201d and made one last gallows joke before the floor dropped from under his feet at exactly 2:08 am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in a twist foreshadowing later controversies, Hayward died slowly, apparently strangled over 13 agonizing minutes due to an improperly positioned noose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somehow, even this gruesome final blunder played into mythologizing Hayward\u2019s crimes for a rapt Minnesota public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As papers reached rural towns describing the killer\u2019s fearless remarks before being \u201cushered into eternity\u201d by a bumbling sheriff, the sense of dramatic theater was undeniable\u2014leaving a uniquely dark, lingering imprint on the state\u2019s early history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the years after his execution, the enigmatic figure of Harry Hayward continued to loom in Minnesota lore. As if the confessed killer had the last laugh, urban legends oddly claimed Harry\u2019s hanging had been faked by a secret society and that he was living free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others around Minneapolis whispered for decades that his angry ghost was responsible for the Minnesota Vikings\u2019 chronic failures in their new stadium which had been built near the former jail site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hayward\u2019s story simply refused to neatly end, much as his crimes had evaded resolution during his cunning life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The enthralling tale also continued to entice true crime chroniclers wrestling with the unanswered questions in America\u2019s early murder history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among historians, the debate rages on whether Hayward rightfully deserves the infamous label often assigned to him in retrospect: America\u2019s overlooked \u201cfirst\u201d serial murderer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The arguments around Hayward representing some precedent for the predators that followed still show no sign of ceasing today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over 120 years later, the handsome killer\u2019s legendary capacity to manipulate realities and fantasies alike remains undiminished. And for Minnesota, the name Harry Hayward continues to resurface as a chilling reminder of the evil that once preyed inside its backyard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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