Helen Jewett

An illustration of the murder scene from a pamphlet. With hatchet in hand, Richard P. Robinson is on the left.

Helen Jewett (born Dorcas Doyen;[1] October 18, 1813 – April 10, 1836) was an American prostitute in New York City who was brutally murdered. One of her regular clients, Richard P. Robinson, was tried and sensationally acquitted of her murder. Jewett's murder and Robinson's subsequent trial was one of the first sex scandals to receive detailed press reporting, notably in the New York Herald. Public opinion was divided between those who felt that Jewett had deserved her fate, and others claiming that Robinson had escaped justice through powerful connections.

  1. ^ The trial of Richard P. Robinson for the murder of Helen Jewett. New York City, 1836 In American state trials / John D.Lawson, editor pp 426-487 Wilmington, Del. : Scholarly Resources, 1972