Case #14: The Murder of Effie Phipps

English immigrant Luke Phipps and his wife Effie drifted around the East coast of the United States, often arguing and making babies (three while they were moving around). The two made their way to the Great Lakes port of Detroit. This is where the two decided to settle down for a little while. Luke found a job working at a billiard hall. This was also where things started to go wrong. Luke and Effie rented a flat and had a fourth child. Luke rented a room to his co-worker at the billiard hall, Harry Livingstone. 

Around this time, Harry and Effie ended up developing feelings for each other. Luke began to notice just how much time Harry and Effie were spending together. This drove Luke to jealousy. On Christmas morning of 1882, Luke attacked Effie. He was eventually arrested and spent January of 1883 behind bars.

When Luke was released, he found that Effie, Harry, and the children had all moved. Effie had taken her kids to a place called the Home for the Friendless. Effie and Harry had also begun living under assumed identities. At some point, Effie had actually filed for divorce. She was doing everything in her power to prevent Luke from ever seeing the children again. However, Luke tried to fight this decision. Effie was eventually arrested for adultery. 

Effie ultimately gave up after months of an ugly legal and verbal battle. She moved herself and her children to Windsor, Canada, which was across the river. Luke had been keeping his eyes and ears open. 

On August 19th, Effie came back to Detroit for a visit. When word got to Luke, he grabbed a gun. By the time Luke caught up to Effie, she was already boarding the ferry to head back to Canada. Effie had seen Luke, and attempted to yell for help. Unfortunately, it didn't do her any good. Luke shot Effie three times. 

The aftermath of Effie's murder actually made things tricky. Luke was arrested and thrown in jail in Canada. Luke's lawyers made the argument that Luke had killed her before the ferry reached Canada, meaning he would have technically killed her in Michigan. The reason this is important is because 40 years prior, Michigan had outlawed the death penalty. This attempt didn't work. The trial went through in Canada. Part of the reason for this could be because the defense was allegedly unprepared. 

Something I did find interesting was that some of the witnesses apparently could not identify Luke as the shooter. It would make sense, especially now that we have better knowledge of just how unreliable eyewitness testimony actually is. 

I also should say that while the main source I pulled from said that Luke didn't catch up with Effie until she was heading back to Canada, another source said the two had actually spent a couple nights together in a hotel.   

Luke Phipps was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was locked in a prison known as Sandwich Gaol. Luke would try and escape with two others by filing the bars. Luke made it as far as Pullman, IL. For a little while, things seemed good for Luke. He had managed to even get a job working at a hotel. But, a sheriff's son recognized Luke Phipps. This allowed Luke to be caught again. 

On June 17, 1884, Luke Phipps was hanged in Windsor, Canada. When authorities took his body down to confirm his death, Luke briefly breathed again before finally dying. In a cruel twist of fate, Luke was buried next to his wife in Woodmere Cemetery.  

Final Thoughts: 

So, I'm glad I was able to look into a case I had never heard of before. However, I also didn't find a ton of information. Perhaps this was because it was from the late 1800s. 

Sources: 

Carr, Tom. Blood on the Mitten: Infamous Michigan Murders 1700s to Present. Chandler Lake Books, an Imprint of Mission Point Press, 2016.

https://oneclass.com/class-notes/ca/york/hist/hist-3850/2743364-hist-3850-lecture-5.en.html

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