Mary Frances Creighton (July 29, 1899 – July 16, 1936) was an American woman convicted and executed for murder by poisoning.^[1] Nicknamed "The Long Island Borgia" by the press because of her use of arsenic poisoning, she was sentenced to death through the electric chair. She had passed out before the execution, and was executed in an unconscious state.^[2]

Life

Mary Frances Avery was born in Rahway,New Jersey. As a young girl she was orphaned and she was 15 years old she moved to Newark where she graduated from school. In 1917,she met her future husband John Creighton, a sailor who fought in WWI while living with his parents Walter and Anna Creighton.

The couple married and moved in with her parents in law. Some years later her younger brother, Charles Raymond Avery also moved in with them. ^[3]This made the house even more crowded and the relationship between Creighton and her mother in law became even more strained as they both wanted to decide over how the house should be run. Matters were hardly made better as whenever John and Frances argued, both her husbands parents would support him against her^[4].

The relationship between Creighton and her mother in law continued to deterioate, with Creighton telling neighbours that her mother in law was a disturbed person who was talking about wanting to comitt suicide.

In 1920 her mother in law became ill and was admitted to hospital with fever and cramps leading to her death. This was followed in 1921 by the death of Creightons father in law and in 1923 Creightons brother Raymond also died. Raymond had named his sister the sole benificiary of his life insurance^[5]. These many deaths in connection with the Creightons made the authorities take note

While living in Newark, New Jersey, Creighton was also suspected of poisoning her mother in-law, Anna Creighton, in 1920, her father in-law, Walter Creighton, in 1921, and her younger brother, Raymond Avery, in 1923. Creighton and her husband, John, were tried for Raymond's death in 1923, but were acquitted due to a lack of witnesses. The Anna Creighton murder trial, which was held in 1923 as well, also ended with Creighton being acquitted, again due to a lack of witnesses, and also due to the testimony of toxicologist Alexander Gettler, who found only a trace amount of arsenic in Anna Creighton's system.^[3]

Feeling that they could no longer make a home in Newark the family relocated to Baldwin,Long Island. John Creighton made an aquitance of a neighbour named Everett Applegate through both men being members of the local American Legion association.^[6] Becoming friends and hearing that Applegate and his wife were currently living with his wifes father but that the living situation was not good due to disagreements with Applegates father in law, John Creighton proposed that the Applegate family move in with his family. This would also help supplement the Creightons household money through the rent paid by the Applegates. The Creightons daughter, Ruth and the Applegates daughter Agnes had also become friends so this seemed to be an ideal situation in all aspects.^[6]

Through later investigation and witness accounts^[6] of Ruth Creighton and others^[6] it was revealed that Everett Applegate had been grooming her. Applegate had also according to Creighton had a sexual relationship with her at the same time. Creightons defense lawyer would later during claim that she had been "a woman led wrong by the power of an evil man."

Creighton claimed to have poisoned Ada Applegate so that her fifteen-year-old daughter, Ruth, who she had been pimping out to Everett Applegate, could legally marry Everett. After Creighton's arrest for the murder of Ada Applegate, she repeatedly confessed to and denied killing both mother in-law, Anna, and her younger brother, Raymond.^[3]

Sentence

Mary Frances Creighton
Mary Frances Creighton
Born	July 29, 1899; Rahway, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	July 16, 1936 (aged 36); Sing Sing Prison, Ossining, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Execution by electrocution
Criminal status	Executed
Conviction(s)	First degree murder
Criminal penalty	Death

Both Creighton and Applegate were found guilty of first-degree murder. Mrs. Creighton appeared "chalky-white," said the New York Post, "but the plump, brown-gowned Borgia gave no outward signs of dismay." On January 29, both defendants returned to Nassau County court to hear formal verdict. Judge Cortland A. Johnson sentenced them to executiont through the electric chair during the week of March 9, just five weeks away.

Death

Creighton was imprisoned at Sing Sing Prison to await her execution^[7], on the day of the executon Creighton was suffering from hysterical paralysis, and some reports state that she was completely unconscious when the electric chair was turned on.

In Media

The case and Mary Frances Creighton were showcased on the true crime tv show Deadly Women (season 5 episode 4) on the episode "Matriarchs of Murder" ^[8]

References

^ "Mrs. Creighton Dies For Poison Murder. Applegate Follows Her to the Death Chamber for the Slaying of His Wife". New York Times. July 17, 1936. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
^ Mark Gado. "An Immoral Woman". Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gado, Mark. Death Row Women: Murder, Justice, and the New York Press, p. 94. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. ISBN 9780275993610. Accessed July 26, 2019. "Of all of the women executed in New York during the twentieth century, Mary Frances Creighton received the least sympathy from the public -- and this may be deservedly so.... Frances moved to Newark when she was fifteen, and finished her education in public schools."
^ Gado, Mark (November 30, 2007). Death Row Women: Murder, Justice, and the New York Press. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-57356-730-5.
^ Blackwell, Jon (October 29, 2007). Notorious New Jersey: 100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals and Scoundrels. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4399-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "People v. Creighton, 271 N.Y. 263 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
^ O'Shea, Kathleen (February 28, 1999). Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-0-313-02499-3.
^ "Matriarchs of Murder". 2023.

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[1] "Mrs. Creighton Dies For Poison Murder. Applegate Follows Her to the Death Chamber for the Slaying of His Wife". New York Times. July 17, 1936. Retrieved May 12, 2010.

[2] Mark Gado. "An Immoral Woman". Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.

[Gardo-3] Gado, Mark. Death Row Women: Murder, Justice, and the New York Press, p. 94. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. ISBN 9780275993610. Accessed July 26, 2019. "Of all of the women executed in New York during the twentieth century, Mary Frances Creighton received the least sympathy from the public -- and this may be deservedly so.... Frances moved to Newark when she was fifteen, and finished her education in public schools."

[4] Gado, Mark (November 30, 2007). Death Row Women: Murder, Justice, and the New York Press. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-57356-730-5.

[5] Blackwell, Jon (October 29, 2007). Notorious New Jersey: 100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals and Scoundrels. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4399-4.

[:0-6] "People v. Creighton, 271 N.Y. 263 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Retrieved December 7, 2023.

[7] O'Shea, Kathleen (February 28, 1999). Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-0-313-02499-3.

[8] "Matriarchs of Murder". 2023.

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