An Old Timey Podcast - 87: The Colt-Adams Murder Trial (Part 3)

Episode Date: January 21, 2026

When John Colt went on trial for the murder of Samuel Adams, it felt like all of New York was watching. The media shared inflammatory, and often inaccurate stories about the defendant. The public clamored for more. Courtroom antics ranged from theatrical to downright gross. John Colt sat at the center of it all, shielded by a defense team that argued he hadn’t murdered Samuel Adams. He’d simply been defending himself. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Dunphy, Thomas. Remarkable Trials of All Countries. Diossy & Company, 1870.Edwards, William. The Story of Colt’s Revolver. Stackpole Co, 1953.Phelps, M. Devil’’s Right Hand: The Tragic Story of the Colt Family Curse. Lyons Press, 2013.Schechter, Harold. Killer Colt: Murder, Disgrace, and the Making of an American Legend. 1st ed. Open Road Integrated Media, Inc, 2010.Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

Hear ye, hear ye. You are listening to an old-timey podcast. I'm Norman Caruso. And I'm Kristen Caruso. And on this episode, I'll be talking about the trial of John Caldwell Cult. I am excited, Norman. But you know how I'm feeling right now, Kristen? How?

Findicated. Oh, why? What? Oh, because a bunch of losers are on your side about something? Uh-oh. You know, Kristen, in part one of this series, you gave me a bunch. You basically made fun of me for 20 minutes

about how I pronounced the word futon. And you said, oh, that's so weird and awful. The American pronunciation is futon. Right. Right. I would pronounce it as futon. Which we could all agree is weird. Really?

So you think Japanese is weird? No, that is no. Let me explain something to you, history hose. Okay. Here we go. I had no idea, actually. Folks, go ahead and tune out. Just turn this off right now.

Futon. Futon is a Japanese word. He's on the highest horse. It's a horse on top of us. And it would be pronounced in Japan, Futon. Futon. My mother was a foreign exchange student in high school. I'm sorry.

Is your mom Japanese? No. No, no, no, no. But I'm explaining. She's a foreign exchange student in high school. And so growing up, she always pronounced it as Futon. Uh-huh. And I guess I just picked up on that.

And who knew, Kristen, I've been a genius this whole time, pronouncing it the way it was intended to be pronounced. Okay. So I guess I'm just feeling a little vindicated. Yeah, one person on Spotify, vindicated. A brave hero came forward. A condescending hero. And said, Norman, you are right. Don't let her talk to you that way.

You know what I hate the most about this? What? This right here is that what I want to say back to you? What? It's just, it's not a good look for me. Let's hear it. Because what I want to say, and this doesn't align with who I am, my core. But what I want to say to you is like, oh yeah, well, you're in America now, buddy.

You're an American man. We say Foton here. And that's totally fair. Is it? It's totally fair. That, yes, in America, that word is pronounced futon. I'm just explaining why I pronounce it futon. Uh-huh.

And it's probably because my mom was a Japanese exchange student, and she said it that way. She was not a Japanese exchange student. American exchange student. She spent a year in Japan when she was in high school, and she probably picked it up that way. She probably slept on a futon over there, don't you think? Yes, a futon. Yes, I think so. Okay.

Anyway, that's why I'm feeling vindicated. Listen, there were a lot of people. I'm seeing mostly in our Spotify comments, also our comments on Patreon of people who are just rushing to your defense, Norman. Yes. Everybody wants to hear about the panic of 18 fuckety fuck. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have cursed. Which one of there are multiple panics. Oh, God, I think.

1819? 1837? They're humoring you. They want to hear them all. One person even, and I thought this was. hilarious. They were like, hey, it doesn't really so much interest me, but other people might be interested. That's a very sweet thing to say. I don't really give a shit about it, but maybe other people do. You also have very wrong people coming forward to say they also pronounce

Reese's pieces as Reese's Pieces. Recy Peasy Peecee. So I don't know if we can do like an island to drop all you off on there and just like leave you be. Um, you. Um, you. Reese Peecy folk. It's the island of misfit nitwits. It's where me and all my friends will be. I fully admit Risi Peecy is not correct. It is Reese's pieces. But I just think Risi Peecy is fun to say.

And who could argue with that? Right. Not me. But enough about how some people agree with you on some things. Let's talk about something we can all agree on. What's that? That our Patreon is a great place to be. You know, supporting a small, independent, sexy podcast is good and good for you.

Supporters on Patreon get ad-free video episodes, cards and stickers, and for just $5 a month. That's right, only $5 a month. You can binge our entire back catalog of bonus episodes. We have an episode on a child bride. It's terrible, but it's also fascinating. And we just recorded a bonus episode with my father. We call him DP. In it, we had a discussion about consensual sex.

Did it nearly kill me? Yes. Yes, it did. But it won't kill you. So head on over to patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. Patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. It's a great place to be. Absolutely.

And only $5 to get in, Kristen? It's a bargain. That's like two bags of Recy PC. No. And Norm, I'd love to tell you to get a lot. started on your tail. But first, we must break for an ad because we're a very successful podcast. Doodoo! Are you tired of shapewear that makes you look like Mrs. Doubtfire? Well, have I got a solution for you? Honey Love! Honey Love is an independent, female-founded brand with products

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All right, I'm down with my Recy PC jokes. We're going to get serious, Kristen. We're talking about a murder here, okay? Yes, yes. Someone was murdered. No, I remember last. week's episode and our boy Sam was totally innocent. If anything, he's guilty of coughing onto walls and splatting blood onto those walls.

Kristen, Sam is the man who was killed. Oh, who's talking about John. John. Oh, and he's got a brother named Sam. He does. They should have invented more names back in the day. Kristen, it's time for the trial of John Caldwell Colt. But before we get into that, I have to recap the previous episode. Would you like to do a few? fun voice previously. We're not wearing headphones in this episode, by the way. I don't know if you're watching the video version, you may notice. Everyone, I'm very excited about it.

When we recorded with my dad, we didn't have headphones on, and we were freeze birds. We loved it. The only downside is, when we take off the headphones, we lose the soundboard. It's true. I like it because I can move around like this, all willy-nilly. Wow. Yeah. Folks on the video version are going to be like, wow, this is so.

worth it. Also, you can see my earrings. Another very important thing for you. Um, and I get to do a weird voice. Okay, let's see if I can do it. Give me it previously. Previously on an old-timey podcast. That's pretty good. Thank you. We learned that in 1841, John Colt, the older brother of famous gun inventor, Samuel Colt, had wrapped up the ninth edition of his self-published textbook, the science of double entry bookkeeping. And now, he needed to find a printer to make up copies so he could sell them at trade shows around the country. And that summer, John Colt found one. Samuel Adams.

No, not that Samuel Adams. Samuel Adams, a man described as mild and inoffensive, was known for doing quality work at a good price. But lately, he was having a little bit of a toad problem, Kristen, because several of his customers weren't paying their bills. Samuel Adams hoped working with John Colt would bring in some much-needed mullah, but unfortunately, they budded heads. The two men argued about an outstanding bill. Then, production delays on the book caused John Cole to miss out on some badly needed sales, but perhaps their biggest issue had to do with copyright. Samuel Adams thought that, as the printer, he owned the copyright to the ninth edition of John's textbook. John disagreed. Their conflict would reach a boiling point on Friday,

September 17, 1841. That afternoon, Samuel Adams stopped by John Colt's office on the corner of Broadway and Chambers Street, in the heart of the financial district. Samuel Adams wanted to settle this situation once and for all, and he was never seen again. Soon after, colleagues of John Colt began to notice his strange behavior. He seemed to hide in his office for long periods of time. There were odd stains and spots on his walls and floors. And a day after Samuel Adams stopped, stop by, John Colt packed up a large, heavy crate, and delivered it on board a ship headed for New Orleans. His pregnant girlfriend, Caroline Henshaw, also noticed weird behavior. John seemed withdrawn and distant, and he had a big bruise on his neck. John refused to talk about it. By far the most curious

acquaintance was another accountant, Asa Wheeler. Wheeler had the office next door to John Colt. He had heard strange noises the day Samuel Adams visited. Wheeler suspected something terrible had happened, and his suspicions were confirmed when he read a missing person's notice in the newspaper, for none other than Samuel Adams. Aza Wheeler immediately went to the authorities, specifically the freaking mayor of New York City, Robert Morris. And Mayor Morris, along with other city officials, took action and investigated.

Soon after, they arrested John Colt. Subsequent searches revealed more evidence. In John's office, there were blood stains on the floor, wall, and on a hatchet hammer tool. And at John Colt's boarding house room, they found one of Samuel Adams' possessions, a gold pocket watch. There was only one more thing to find. A body. Investigators found it on board a ship called the Kalamazoo. Samuel Adams' body was stuffed inside a crate, tied up, decomposing, and covered in salt.

The smell was horrendous. And with that discovery, John Colt was officially charged with murder, and his ensuing trial would receive the national spotlight. And that is what we will talk about today. My recaps are very long. That's okay. No, it's not okay, Kristen. Oh, my gosh. You know, your ability to feel shame about literally anything is unmatched, sir.

It's a gift, actually. Definitely not a curse. A sign of incredible intelligence. Uh-huh. It's funny, whenever I do my first draft of recaps, they're usually really short, and then when I go over them again, they, like, triple in size. My God. This is really interesting stuff we're talking about here. Do you dip it in water, or, like, how's this happen?

You're talking about those sponge dynos? Yes, yes. All your scripts are sponge dynos. Those were really disappointing as a kid. Well, yeah, you thought they were going to be badass. You thought they were going to be really cool and... Mm-hmm. Warr-w-w-w-w- Yeah.

Not fun at all, unlike a real dishwashing sponge, which is a ton of fun. Well, especially those scrub daddies. Okay, Norm, we have no time to talk about sponges you have loved, okay? Future topic? No. Sponges I love. Now we're going to get a bunch of comments. Actually, I would love to hear more about sponges from Norm.

There's a lot of relevant topics with what's going on in the news, but we should hear about sponges he loves. Uh-huh. Anyway, Kristen, it's Monday, September 27th, 1841. John Caldwell Colt is under arrest, charged with the murder of Samuel Adams. That information eventually hit the press, and newspapers went wild and crazy, wet and wild, some might say. Headlines around the country read, frightful murder, and shocking murder of Mr. Adams, the printer. Everyone around New York City was talking about it. Soon crowds gathered around the granite building, hoping not.

to get into John Colt's office and maybe collect a macabre souvenir. They did that all the time back then. It really did. Yeah. I mean, it's like there wasn't much going on, I guess, in those times. And so you can collect something like that. It's quite a talking piece for when your friends come over once a year. They needed something for their curio cabinet.

That's right. And they'd stop at nothing. No, I think there is a big thing about like you couldn't easily take a picture of something. Maybe the Lord hadn't invented crime scene tape yet. I'm not sure. So people could just walk all over the place. Thou doth not ponder over ye tape. Oh, okay.

Anyway, yeah, so the police had to block off that whole building. Yeah. Because people were real curious. The killing of Samuel Adams also put the city on edge. It was one of several murders that year. Back in July of 1841, a woman named Mary Rogers was found dead, floating in the Hudson River. Sadly, her case would never be solved.

No one knew for sure what happened to her. Some thought she was the victim of gang violence. Others said it was a failed abortion attempt. The Samuel Adams killing kind of took over the news and then basically poor Mary Rogers case was forgotten about. Newspapers had a couple theories about the Samuel Adams killing as well. One writer said, well, you know, it's really not surprising that John Colt killed Mr. Adams because he's a plagiarist.

I heard he didn't actually write that book. It's a natural progression in crime to go from forgery to piracy to murder. Wow. Anyone who's ever plagiarized on an essay or a test, lock them up now because they're headed toward murder. That's nuts. When I was student teaching, I caught a kid plagiarizing, gave him a zero. Right.

The mom came in, screamed at me. Is this a true story? Yes, it is. And I said, well, I'm taking this very seriously, man, because the next step is murder. Your daughter will murder somebody. I'm trying to stop this. I'm trying to save a life here. Did the mom really come yell at you?

She did. She was very upset. Well, because her daughter was caught plagiarizing? She thought I was being too harsh because I basically, I gave her a zero. Right. And I said, you plagiarized, here's where you plagiarize from. You can redo it. Uh-huh.

But you cannot get higher than a 90 now. Of course not. Yeah. That's a very generous. I thought that was fair. Yeah. Anyway. Well, she redid it.

She didn't plagiarize this time. Very good. I gave her a 90. It would be hilarious if she had. I'd plagiarized again. I'm going to plagiarize even harder. Yeah. Ooh.

Teaching that is a. Uh, really easy job. Shout and salute to all of the teachers out there. No, it's a super easy job. They're all overpaid and they just kick their feet up in the summertime. I'm always, always, uh, you know, they're brainwashing our children with their woke agendas. Yep, yep. You know, two plus two is four.

I don't think so. Not in the Lord's eyes. Public school turned our kids gay. Just like the frogs. Uh-huh. Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad gay. Norm, I hate to admit it. I hate to say it, but it seems like you have a career in front of you writing horrible propaganda books for the right.

It's an honest living. No, it's not. No, I'm not selling my soul for that. Anyway, so, Kristen, you've just learned that once you plagiarize, you will eventually kill. Sure. Okay. Horace Greeley, you familiar with Horace Greeley? Very famous editor of the New York Tribune. Yeah, that does sound familiar. Didn't he run for president and then end up in an asylum? Did he? I thought that was the deal. Like, he lost the election, ended up in an asylum. Didn't he have nuts oh hair? Am I?

He did have some wild hair. Kristen, you're right. He was the unsuccessful candidate of the new liberal Republican Party in the 1872 presidential election. Yeah, he lost bigly. Okay, rude to him. Anyway, he was the editor of the New York Tribune, and he believed this case was a perfect example of, quote, the dangers that could destroy a young man alone in the city without a concerned family or close-knit community to help mold his character. Even though John Colt had his lady friend,

his brother was in New York regularly. I was going to say, how are we blaming New York for this shithead? Yeah, I don't get that. Yeah, he's just on his high horse. That's fine. But if you really wanted the best theories, Kristen, you had to read the penny press. Newspapers that cost only a penny. They were written for the middle and lower class, and they attracted a huge audience with their sensationalism.

This case had it all. An author filled with rage and kills a mild-mannered printer. His brother was Samuel Adams, the famous inventor of the cult revolver. No, his brother was not Samuel Adams. Oh, sorry. See, this is what happens when you get your podcast for a penny. You folks are paying a penny for this. What you get?

His brother was Samuel Colt, the famous inventor of the Colt Revolver. We also heard, Kristen, that John Colt was living in sin with his pregnant girlfriend. Oh, my God. And you know what else I heard? What? I heard Samuel Adams' wife, Emmeline. She had a dream that her husband would die the day before he was murdered. Man, they were so into dreams back.

then. Hell yeah. I mean, we still are as a society, but back then, oh, the ladies, they'd have these visions, and they often came true. I was telling you about a dream the other morning. I was like, yeah, I had a dream. I took a shit in the bathtub. Yeah.

And it came out shaped like a star and it wouldn't go down the drain. And you're like, I wonder what it means. And I was like, it doesn't mean anything. It's just a weird-ass dream I had. But then I came up with a meaning. for it, didn't I? You did. I can't remember what the meaning was, though.

What was it? I don't know. That I want to give up my celebrity stardom, so I shat it out. I don't think that was what I came up with. So another penny press newspaper claimed that the news caused John Colt's father, Christopher, to go insane. And he was so sad about his son that he died. Did he really die?

No. Christopher Cole was alive and well. Oh my God. He'd lived for like another nine years. Uh-huh. But he had these penny-pressed papers like, he's dead because he's so sad about his kid. God, think about the freedom. The freedom.

To just write whatever you want? Literally whatever you want. John Colt read a lot of these stories. And he was really concerned that the intense public interest in his case would mean he wasn't going to get a fair trial. Sure. He wrote to a friend that, quote, the newspapers. They are the true mischief breeders. Dude, you murdered a guy.

Hang on, let me finish. His friend did say, hey, buddy, didn't you murder a guy? Let me finish. They are the really unprincipled and remorseless murderers. They're the real murderers. What? By the pen, there is more slaughter. And that of the most heartless and ferocious character.

Oh, infinitely more than either by lead or by steel, passion, not evidence, will decide. the case. Kirsten, you're a former newspaper reporter. This is true. How many people have you killed with a stroke of your pen? Untold numbers of people. No, that is so obnoxious. The self-pitying murderer.

Really, the self-pitying bad guy. I hate that so much. Here's a thing. He has a great point in that intense public interest can cause your trial to maybe not be so fair. Absolutely. Totally great point. But then he writes something like this where it's like, the real killers are the writers.

And it's like, no, no, dude, you killed somebody. And we have to make sure you have a fair trial. Like, calm down. John's brother, Samuel Colt, was also a little concerned about the press. But it was for selfish reasons. Oh, the brand. Yeah. It's not great PR to have your brother charged with murder when you're trying to run a business

and secure government contracts. You know, it brought shame to the family name. Yeah. So Samuel Colt helped out. He found influential friends and writers to visit John Colt in jail at the halls of justice, where he awaited trial. Samuel knew reporters were covering this story day in, day out, and he wanted them to see the kinds of people who were visiting John Colt in jail to kind of raise his character

with the public. Like, wow, look at these influential. people visiting John. Samuel Colt also secured a defense team for John, led by their cousin, Dudley Selden, lawyer and future U.S. Congressman. Samuel Colt had to cough up $2,000 cash, which is about $80,000 today. Oh, yeah. And he gave up stock in his businesses to help cover the legal fees. And Dudley Selden was a great lawyer. He helped John navigate questions from the authorities. in an early interview, investigators asked John if he was married. And Dudley seldom leaned over and was like,

weird, I wouldn't think you'd need a lot of coaching on that yes or no question. My name's Dudley. And John was like, I decline answering under the advice of my counsel. And then the authorities asked, what have you to say in relation to the charge against you? And once again, Dudley leaned over. and he was like, Absathe,

Absat, Absin. And John Colt replied, I decline answering any further questions by advice of my counsel, but I am innocent of the charge. Okay.

John Colt professed his innocence, but he refused to provide much details as to why he was innocent. No, that was wise. Of course. His family believed he was innocent, too,

including his little brother, James Colt. No, they didn't. Hang on. Okay. Man, you're really jumping to conclusions here, Kristen. I'm sorry. How about you let me tell you the story?

You're like little Mario over there. Yahoo! Yeah, if you don't have the video version. They think he's a guilty. Yohoo! We've given Norm too much freedom by taking off the headphones. No headphones. He's jumping around.

So James Cole is a 23-year-old attorney. He's living in St. Louis, Missouri, and he had read about the case in the local newspaper. However, the newspaper got it wrong. They claimed John murdered Samuel Adams over $200, which is hilariously way more than the actual discrepancy of their bill. But it didn't mention like the copyright issues or any of that stuff. James Colt was appalled and he wrote to Samuel Colt, quote, My dear brother, I cannot express to you the intense agony of my feelings at this moment. I have heard of the sad catastrophe which has befallen John.

Our daily newspapers are full of circumstantial evidence against him, but I cannot for a moment believe he is guilty of the charge. Suppose John did the act. If he did it, he must be deranged. Has not John been confined at his books for the last six months? And do you not know that Sarah's derangement was brought on in the same way? His tree hose, if you remember, their older sister, Sarah Colt, died by suicide many years ago, and that was their reason was she was too confined to her books.

That was the reason the family agreed upon. Right. Yeah. His habit is and always has been when he undertakes to do anything to do it with all the intensity of a madman. If this is the foundation for the charges against John, he was a madman at the time he did it, and this fact should be made to appear. I cannot but hope that what I have seen in the papers is all false. Well, Kristen, soon enough, all of the evidence would be presented to the world.

Here we go. On Monday, November 1st, 1841, John Colt's trial began, which is super fast, in my opinion. They used to do these things so quickly back in the day, including like death penalty stuff. They would just kill you right away. Good luck trying to get an appeal through. Good luck with any of that. I mean, they did things lickety split. I remember John Brown. The trial of John Brown was like three weeks after he rated Arpers Ferry. Speedy trial, no problem. Yeah.

You know, in my right-wing children's books, I support speedy trials and quick executions. Yeah. That burns saying bear's book is wild. How do you make that appropriate for children? You know, you don't do any blood. No cursing. Uh-huh. And, you know, we always execute totally evil bad people.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It's just weird that there are so many bad people. And they've taken over our country. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Okay, Monday, November 1st, 1841. At 10 a.m., the courtroom door swung open, and a crowd squeezed inside, quickly filling the room.

Hundreds had to be turned away. Attendees included Samuel Colt. And Samuel Adams' widow, Emmeline, dressed in all. black to mourn her late husband. The prosecution team walked in. Leading them was district attorney and future justice of the New York Supreme Court. James R. Whiting. Oh.

What? I don't know. I was hoping it would be a name we'd all go like, oh my God, that guy. No. Well, good for him. We're proud of it. State Supreme Court, that's a big deal. Yeah, I'm not.

It's no federal Supreme Court. Well, hey, I'm sure. Is it federal Supreme Court or national Supreme Court? What do we call that? We just call it the Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court. Yeah, it's the federal. Okay.

But, you know, I'm sure this guy filled out his rope just fine. Yeah, he had a huge don't. That's not what I'm saying at all. He had a big ass. That's fine. All right. That's what I'm saying. So James Whiting and his big ass walked into the courtroom.

Next, John Colt and his defense team entered. Reporters noted that John, quote, seemed less agitated than on previous occasions. He was very genteelly dressed in black with the air. with the air of a gentleman. Judge William Kent sat down, banged the gavel and called order, order here. And almost immediately, lead defense attorney Dudley Selden sprang up.

And he was like, Your Honor! The defense moves for a postponement of this trial. Okay. And the crowd gasped. Judge Kent was like, all right, why? And Dudley Selden said, Caroline Henshaw is out of town. She's in Philadelphia with friends.

She's about to give birth. Dudley seldom contended that the trial could not be fairly held, quote, in the absence of a material witness. District Attorney James Whiting, with his big ass, objected. He was like, well, can't we just get her testimony in writing? He went on to argue, quote, suppose this woman should die. If the gentleman deem her testimony so important to them, why object to taking it by commission at once?

So as not to be deprived of that evidence which they deem to them of so much value. That's a good point. It's a great point. Well, Judge William Kent had a lot of shit to do that day, so he ultimately decided, postponement granted. They would wait for Caroline Henshaw to return. He had to get, what do they call when they shave the hoofs off the horses? Shave the hoofs off the horses? Yeah, you've seen those videos?

Oh, man, they're addicting. I don't think they call that shaving a hoof off. They, like, trim it? No, I know what you mean. So addicting. People are going to be screaming the words. The horse gals are going to be so mad. But I know what you mean.

I know what you mean when they cut that thing off. And you're like, is that hurting the horse? And everyone's like, no, they actually really like it. And you say, okay, if you insist. Some lady and a Lisa Frank hoodie is going to go crazy. Absolutely. Trying to explain to us what shaving a horse's hoof means. So, yeah, they're going to postpone the trial.

And the crowd was like, ah, man, what a tease. Before court adjourned, Dudley Selden pleaded with reporters in the room. He said, quote, This case has been more commented upon by the press than almost any other I have known. And I think very unfairly. And I would suggest whether the prisoner is. is not entitled to have a suspension of further remarks at least until his trial. So much fiction has been blended with some little fact that it would be difficult for any, even unbiased minds, to come to a fair and impartial opinion of the case if this course be continued.

And the reporters were like, wow, you are so right, Dudley Selden. We will stop covering this story. Thank you. Just kidding. the very next day, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote up the following headline. Oh, boy. The trial of Colt, murderer of Adams, has been postponed.

Dude, you got to throw in alleged. Alleged. Just a little alleged. We'll save you a lot of trouble. No kidding. One reporter for the Aurora newspaper, a young 22-year-old named Walt Whitman, later recalled the events.

He wrote that John Colt, quote, was hunted by an unrelenting public appetite for blood. There was a kind of ferocious interest felt in that case, which seemed quite disgusting. A feverish jealousy, lest he might be only sent to prison for life and not strangled, public malignance was aroused. And cloaking itself in the convenient garb of justice, the most inhuman spirit of revenge pervaded the bosoms of the people.

So the new trial date was set for after the holidays. in the new year. And the delay only helped the defense build their case. John Colt continued to write letters to friends and family every day, only now he started peppering in some details about what happened that day. Oh, boy. And several of those letters leaked to the press. He wanted them to, right?

Absolutely. Yeah, okay. So in them, John Colt never denied killing Samuel Adams. But he was now claiming it was self-defense. Sure. Samuel Adams had come at him, and John was, quote, merely reacting to the behavior of a madman. Oh.

Honestly, not a bad defense. It's really the only defense you can give because you can't say I didn't murder this guy. I mean, he's basically been caught red-handed. Well, yeah, he can't say I didn't kill him. Yeah. Yeah, he definitely killed him. But he's claiming, I had to defend myself. Sure.

In those letters, John Colt also got kind of really, you know, the whole woe is me thing. Sure. He declared that anyone who testified against him were, quote, a pack of lying charlatans. And the prosecution wanted him dead because, quote, it would certainly be a feather in any lawyer's cap to get an innocent man hung. Okay. Soon enough, John Colt would have his day in court.

On Monday, January 17, 1842, the trial of John Caldwell Colt for the murder of Samuel Adams was ready to begin. Again! At 10.30 a.m., Judge William Kent entered the courtroom and proceeded with the roll call for jurors. from a pool of 45 men. Sorry, ladies, you were not allowed to serve on a jury yet. Let's hear it for the boys. Let's give the boys a hand. What do you think, Kristen?

Oh, sure. Let of these boys making the ultimate sacrifice. Ultimate? I don't know about that. Serving on a jury. Yeah. Well, apparently, Kristen, we couldn't give the boys a hand that day because out of those 45 men called in for jury duty, only 19 people showed up.

And by law, you need a minimum. of 24 boys to go through the jury selection. Wow, I can't believe people weren't clamoring to be part of this. You know, maybe it was the after-holiday hangover. Sure. It's January 17th. Still recovering. Gotcha.

So Judge Kent grumbled, well, I've got to postpone the trial again so we can find more boys. It was clear that Judge Kent was kind of sick of the delays, though. Yeah. Because he ordered authorities to bring him an astonishing number of boys, Kristen. Why are you saying boys? I'm just going with the theme here. He wanted 300 boys. Okay, well, that's ridiculous.

And makes you sound creepy, Judge. And they had two days to find 300 boys. Okay. Court adjourned. Well, two days later, Kristen, on Wednesday, January 19th, 1842, here we go again. That morning, 228 boys showed up as potential jurors. Good enough. Yep.

Objection. Dudley Selden stood up. He was like, Your Honor! The defense needs more time to learn about these boys. You expect us to play Dream Phone with all 228 boys? Dudley Selden declared, quote, I call the attention of the court to the statute, which provides that every prisoner shall be informed as to the jurors

so that he shall be enabled to meet them in challenge. So the defense wanted two more days to learn about these jurors. That seems reasonable. Judge William Kent said, what do you think he said? I think he said, hell no. He did say hell no to the no, no, no. Yeah. He said, this trial's been delayed long enough.

We are going to proceed. So for the next 12 hours, the court went through the pool of 228 boys. They came from all walks of life, Kristen, watchmakers, painters, grocers, booksellers, cobblers, dentists, and more. And by 11 p.m., the jury was selected and sequestered to a nearby hotel. Judge Kent ordered they be, quote, furnished with any refreshments they might require. Except liquor. One juror sadly put away his martini glass in this appointment. And then on Thursday, January 20th, 1842, the trial of John C. Colt began for real this time, okay?

We're ready to learn about it. Not a moment too soon. 43 minutes into this episode. The trial is beginning. I'm sorry. I'm just glad they weren't allowed to play Dreamphone with all those boys. Otherwise, we'd be at least an hour and a half in by now. You know, I love Dreamphone, but I don't think I can play it 228 times in a row.

Prosecutor James Whiting began with his opening statement. The Prisoner's Counsel will not, I believe, pretend to deny that Mr. Adams was killed by Mr. Colt, but that this did not constitute murder. They will seek to reduce the crime to manslaughter by showing that there was no premeditation in the act. The violent character of the prisoner and the contrary one of the deceased leave but little doubt that the murder was willful and premeditated. So first to the stand was Asa Wheeler. He was the man who rented an office to John Colt,

and he worked in the room next to him. Yeah, he knows the whole story. Yes, and he recounted the whole story, Kristen. He discussed everything that we talked about in part two of this series, how he was teaching a student when he heard strange noises, how he saw someone standing over a body. He talked about John's strange behavior in the following days and how he changed his story about where he was the day of the murder.

Under cross-examination, Dudley Selden hoped to add doubt to Wheeler's testimony. Mr. Wheeler, did you hear two men arguing in the room next to you? No. I just heard the clashing of foils, as if people were fencing, and then a thud on the floor. Mr. Wheeler, were your windows open that day? Wide open. And is there much noise from Broadway Street at that time of day? There was. In fact, sometimes it's hard to even say. speak with my students. So it is possible that there might have been sounds coming from the room next door that you were unable to hear. Asa Wheeler thought for a moment. Yes, he said. People might have talked quite loud in Colt's room at that time of day, and me and my room

never hear it. Hmm. So maybe there was a struggle in John Colt's room, and John was only defending himself, and he don't actually know anything, do you? Do further questions? Wow. If you just snap no further questions, then you can really cut someone off, huh? It makes for a great TV moment. That's right. Next up to the stand was John Delness. He was the young bookkeeper who spent the night in Asa Wheeler's office.

He was guarding the door to John Colt's room. John Delness recalled how, quote, agitated Asa Wheeler was that day, and how they went and tried to get the police. But the police didn't want to help them and how he saw John leave the building with that large crate. and then Dudley Selden cross-examined. Mr. Delness. Is it true that you were very near-sighted? You couldn't really see the expression on a man's face unless you were very close to him.

Yes, I do have trouble distinguishing people unless I'm right beside them. But, you know, it's not that bad. I can tell a white man from a black man. Dudley Selden was confused. Tell a white man from a black. Yes, replied John Delness. For example, I can tell that you are white and not black. And the crowd in the courtroom laughed.

Oh, that's hilarious. John Delness then stood up. And what's the deal with eating houses? Shut up. Why are they called that? Am I supposed to eat the house? It's always inspiring to catch a young stand-up. That's right at the beginning of their career.

And with that, the first day of testimony was over. On Friday, January 21st, 1842, before testimony could begin, defense attorney, Dudley-Duly Selden rose with yet another objection. He said, Your Honor, these newspapers are out of control. So he was referring to a story that was run the previous day in the New York Herald. It was a front-page story, and it had an illustration of Samuel Adams' naked, dead body with cuts and wounds all over his face. It was a pretty disturbing image. I'm sure.

And so Dudley Selden decried, quote, When you come to that kind of publication that is intended to operate upon the prejudice and passion of the people, how is it possible to obtain witnesses capable of giving unbiased testimony or a jury that will fairly weigh the facts? Dudley Selden worried about what repeated exposure to those types of images would do to the human conscious. He believed that eventually people would seek out those images, quote, as food on which the human mind feeds. Honestly, he has a good point there. I think that's something we even think about today. What do you mean?

Repeated exposure to terrible images. Sure. But what's he angling for right now? Because the jury is already sequestered. You know what he's angling for? What? He wants the editors of the New York Herald arrested. Dude, that's not what we're here.

here for, are you trying to get the press thrown out so that they're not there to report on the trial? That is a thing that, I don't know if they could do it back then, but that is something like that they do sometimes. But if we're just talking about troubles, okay, I can delay the trial all goddamn day by being like, you know what? I don't think peanut butter and chocolate are that great together personally. Whoa. Yeah, yeah. Oh, and here's another thing I'd like to mention. I mean, this is getting ridiculous. I've got to pray. for this woman. I need a week off from this trial.

Yeah, so Judge Kent was like, dude, chill out. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. That's a disturbing image, but the jury is sequestered. They do not read newspapers. Plus, it was, quote, not the duty of the court to grapple with such mighty questions or to undertake to reform the community. Yeah.

I'm with the judge on this one. Yeah. Yeah, Dudley Selden is. trying everything. He's trying everything. And he's not making bad points. I want to make that clear. He's not making bad points.

But that's not what we're here to do. Right. Sir, this is a Wendy's. And with that, the trial continued. That morning, building maintenance man, Law Oxton, was called to the stand. It was rare to see a black man testify in court. But that one guy knew who was black. John Delnoe said, I know that guy's blank.

He had big old binoculars. It's like, hold on. Let me show you my party trick. This guy right here, he's black. I can look at anybody and tell you if they're white or black. Most southern states at that time had banned black people from testifying in court. New York allowed it in particular situations, although I had trouble kind of finding out when the law was passed or what the actual law was. But anyway, Law Oxton was testifying.

He recalled seeing John Colt the morning after the murder with his large crate and how he shimmied it down the stairs. And he described the blue ink on the box and how it was supposed to go to somebody in New Orleans. Law Oxton said he never spoke to John Colt and that he had not seen that crate since that day. Under cross-examination, Dudley Selden peppered Law Octon with questions about the other tenants in the building. Who else rents offices in that building? Who has keys to which rooms? Is there a back entrance to the building? What's the layout of the back of the building?

So they were clearly trying to suggest that perhaps someone else came into the building and killed Samuel Adams. Sure. But it was very unconvincing. Law-Octon answered all of the questions, and it really left little room for doubt that someone else may have killed Samuel Adams. I love that. Next up to the stand was Richard Barstow, that cartman who transported John Colt's crate to the Kalamazoo ship. Richard Barstow recalled how John Colt waved him down from the entrance of the granite building, and then Barstow and another cartman loaded up the heavy crate and took it down to Maiden Lane Wharf.

And then John Colt pointed out the ship it was to be loaded onto, which is the Kalamazoo. Richard Barstow ended his testimony by grumbling about being stiffed. He still hasn't gotten over that? He's not over it, Kristen. I should have charged him three shillings, but I thought I'd have more trouble getting it out of them than it was worth, he said. Dude, dude, I cannot believe this. He's not letting it go. And believe it or not, John Colt smiled as the guy talked about getting stiffed.

It was one of the only times he showed any emotion in court. Honestly, I don't blame him because this is ridiculous. Like, dude, you found out you were carting around a dead body. Part of this huge trial, you're in a moment that should be nerve-wracking, but all you can think about is that you didn't get as big a tip as you wanted. That's amazing. Kristen, this is a difference between a two-topping pizza and a three-topping pizza, okay? I would think I would get that heck over it.

He had to get the two-topping pizza. Okay, all right. He wanted pepperoni, mushroom, and banana peppers. Norman, do not start. What? Do not start. Everyone, just so you're all aware. There are no secrets here.

Norman and I have been craving pizza. Oh, yeah. So badly. Yeah, last night, Kristen caught me just looking at pictures of pizza on my phone. Yeah, I came downstairs, and I was like, what are you? you doing? And he goes, I am looking at pictures of pizza on my phone. I was like, do you want to order pizza? We shouldn't. I'm just going to keep looking at these. It's like I was talking like we were having a passionate love affair. We shouldn't. We shouldn't do this. We mustn't.

It would be a mistake. Maybe we'll get pizza tonight. I think we have to if you're going to keep bringing it up. All right. I'm going to find you with a pizza poster in your office. What are you doing to that poster? So, yeah, even John Colt was like, huh, he's still talking about getting stiff, you know. But, you know, that would be the last smile anyone would have that day in court. Because the next two witnesses, Kristen, they were going to provide some very gruesome details. So the next man up to the stand was William Godfrey. He was the superintendent of carts.

Godfrey described finding the crate on board the Kalamazoo and uncovering the contents inside. He said the smell was just awful. Inside the crate was, quote, the dead body of a man. The face was up towards the lid of the box. There was a rope around the neck and drawn around the legs to draw the head between the knees.

He was naked, except for a shirt torn halfway down to the navel. Salt was scattered all over the breast, two courts' worth, probably. Maggots squirmed in the salt. The skin was green. I've seen salt of beef when nearly dissolved, and this looked just like that.

I could see his ribs. The jury and crowd looked very squeamish as William Godfrey went on. But under cross-examination, Dudley Selden tried to attack William Godfrey's character. Mr. Godfrey, isn't it true you made a wager with a co-worker about the outcome of this trial? William Godfrey was like, yeah, we made a friendly wager. And that was it. The defense's tactic kind of fell flat because William Godfrey's testimony was very detailed. Yeah.

And painted quite the picture for the jury. What was his profession again? Was he the medical examiner? William Godfrey was the superintendent of carts. He was in charge of all those cartmen. Okay, gotcha. And he was there when they uncovered the body on the ship. Hold on, backing up.

Yeah. You said it fell flat. Do you think that Dudley was hoping for the guy to deny it? Maybe, or maybe just some sort of like, I can't believe he would do this, like bet on the outcome of a trial. But I don't know. Is that so bad? Well, so that's why I asked about his profession. If he's the supervisor of the carts, I don't think that's a big deal at all.

Now, if he's the medical examiner, then, oof, that's pretty tacky. That's pretty bad. He could influence the trial. Sure. Because he's like, yeah, I bet he'll be guilty. And then he can testify. But also, like, this is part of his job. Yes.

This is very unusual for this guy. He's just a cart supervisor, you know? He is. So, yeah, that makes sense to me. I do wonder if Dudley was trying to catch him in a lie. Probably. Yeah. But yeah, it seemed like the jury didn't really care all that much.

The final testimony that day came from the coroner, Mr. Abner Milligan. Abner Milligan was the first person to examine Samuel Adams' body. Inside the crate, Milligan said they found, quote, a dress coat, much cut to pieces, and a black stock cut in front, smeared with blood. He recalled the awful smell. He said they had to clean and disinfect everything before they could even. begin the autopsy. Prosecutor James Whiting then went for shock and awe. He said, Your Honor, we would ask that the crate be brought into the courtroom and admitted

as evidence. Gross. Abner Milligan interjected. He said, quote, if the whole box is brought in, it'll make everybody sick. Yeah. Judge William Kent agreed. And he was like, okay, how about we just bring in the lid of the crate? and a few articles of clothing.

He added, quote, As they are bound to be offensive, we will have them examined at the end of the day. We will then adjourn immediately afterwards so the room can be ventilated. They weren't going to take any chances with the smell, Kristen. Court resumed on Saturday, January 22nd, 1842. They had to work on the weekend, Kristen.

That morning, coroner Abner Milligan came to court with an announcement. He could not find the lid to the crate. What? He said, quote, I have made a thorough search for it, but it is lost. The crowd gasp. Employees at the tombs believed a watchman may have stolen it and sold it to a museum. Gross.

And they thought perhaps they had sold it to that new museum over on Broadway and Anne Street. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. I swear to you, Kristen. No, I believe it. Kristen, you're a huge fan of PT Barnum. No, I am not.

Got you that 24 by 36 poster for Christmas. Professionally framed, by the way. And I got you that big picture of pizza. So we're both happy. We both lust after our posters. P.T. Barnum would definitely want that crate. Yeah, of course. Oh, my goodness.

But, yeah. So they thought maybe somebody sold the lid of the crate to a dime museum or maybe Barnum's museum. Yes. Prosecutor James Whiting was pissed. So he was like, well, if we can't find the lid, then the actual box should be brought into court and shown to the jury. Yeah, bad news about that. Abner Milligan interjected again. He was like, dude, I'm telling you, the smell of the box is, quote, still very offensive.

Ultimately, it was up to Judge William Kent, and he ruled, bring forth the box. Of course, I would have to wait until the end of the day so they could ventilate the room. So meanwhile, testimony continued. And first up to the stand was Mayor Robert Morris, who, according to him, is the hero of this entire story. He explained how he got involved in the case when you're chuckling over there. I just like when someone can be a hero to themselves. What wonderful confidence. Listen, Mayor Morris definitely helped out in this case.

Yeah. But, man, I don't think I've ever seen a mayor get so involved in, like, a murder case. Well, maybe old-timey mayors did this? No, this is a thing throughout time. This is, here's a way for me to get in the headlines and be a hero. It's politics, baby. I'm ready to see our mayor hit the streets. He does hit the streets.

Leave our mayor out of this. I saw him, I saw him this morning on a run. Norm, you are such a creep. Leave the mayor. I waved. He waved back. I know. We're best friends. I don't think you are.

You know, I followed them to the movies the other day. We saw the same movie. Stop it, Norm. We're going to get on a list and rightly, so they're going to come to the house and I'll be like, you know what, my husband does have, you know, a creepy admiration for the mayor. Maybe go ahead and, you know, lock him up for a little while, see if that straightens him out. Mayor Morris explained how he got involved in the case when Aisa Wheeler and Samuel Adams' father-in-law came to see him. Mayor Morris also described the various items they found in John Colt's trunk.

his Marine Corps discharge papers, business cards, locks of hair belonging to John's mother and sisters. As Mayor Morris described the hair, John, quote, burst into tears, covered his face, and wept bitterly for some time. It was one of the only times John Colt showed any emotion in court. But the most important discovery in that trunk was the gold pocket watch that belonged to Samuel Adams. To verify Adams owned it, the prosecution next called his wife to the stand. Emilyne Adams. Now, Kristen, the press is very excited for this testimony. They're like, oh, the drama, the emotion.

This is going to make one hell of an article. But to their surprise, Emmeline Adams showed little emotion. She was cool as a cucumber. She recalled her last meal with her husband. She testified to his temperament. He was nice. He never lost his temper. She perfectly remembered his outfit on the day of his murder.

And it matched exactly what in the moment. investigators found in the crate. And finally, she identified the gold pocket watch found in John Colt's trunk. Emmeline said her husband had one, quote, precisely like it. He had gotten it for a debt. He was carrying it when he left home on the day he disappeared. Emeline Adams was an excellent witness, but a few reports disagreed on that because it really pissed all over their upcoming articles. They later wrote Emmeline Adams was, quote, cold, unfeeling, and flippant.

Those assholes. I know. What a bunch of jerks. In the afternoon, the prosecution focused on the medical side of things. Up first was Dr. Gilman. He was the man who did the autopsy on Samuel Adams. Dr. Gilman recalled being summoned to the dead house

for an autopsy, and when he arrived, he found the body, quote, excessively offensive and covered with worms. I should think it have been dead seven or eight days. Its head was so much decayed that the scalp could be pushed off by the rub of a finger.

Oh, God. Dr. Gilman then described the injuries. The hole of the upper part of his forehead was beaten in, which was no doubt made by John Colt's hatchet hammer tool. But there was one wound Dr. Gilman said he could not explain.

He had discovered a, quote, small, round, clean hole into which you could thrust a finger behind Samuel Adams' left ear. I never could account for it satisfactorily myself, he said. I suppose the hatchet might possibly have done it, but it would be a remarkable fact if it did. Prosecutor James Whiting pressed Dr. Gilman for more. What do you think caused it? he asked.

Perhaps a nail or a spike driven with a mallet. It could have been a bullet, too, but we found no evidence of that. So it was kind of pure speculation. Yeah. But it was influential because John Colt was the brother of Samuel Colt, the gun inventor. So the prosecution hoped that if the jury believed John used a gun to kill Samuel Adams, any defense of, you know, oh, it's only manslaughter or it was self-defense, that goes out the window if a gun's involved for the prosecution. So the defense objected to this whole line of questioning. They said, Your Honor, there's no evidence of a gun.

Why are we talking about this? Well, I mean, a hole in the back of the head is not nothing. Not nothing. But the defense was like, they didn't find a bullet. They didn't find a gun. Why are we talking about this? So, well, Judge Kent overruled. He was kind of curious about this mysterious wound.

Yes. So he ordered a reexamination of Samuel Adams' skull over the next few days. so they could get a definitive answer. At the end of the day, the crowd looked on as Abner Milligan carried in the evidence they had all been waiting for. The crate. Milligan set it down on the floor in front of the jury.

It was a crudely made crate. Two planks of wood on each side, two on the bottom, all secured with nails. The wood was stained with blood. Cloth had been stuffed into the sides of the box to keep Samuel Adams' body from moving around. A musky, foul odor

emanated from inside. Jurors pressed handkerchiefs to their noses. Many spectators left the court, feeling queasy and nauseous. It was quite a way to end the day. Court wasn't in session on Sunday. It was the Lerds Day, and it resumed on Monday, January 24th, 1842.

That day, the prosecution focused on character witnesses. They brought in several people who could attest to Samuel Adams' gentle and Pacific nature. A cobbler. Gentle and what? Pacific. What's that mean? Like,

pacify. Oh. Yeah. Okay. I've never heard. I've only ever heard of like Pacific Ocean. I know. I know.

And I was like, is this said in a different way? But it's pronounced Pacific. In Japan, they say. Pacific. Pacifying nature, I guess. A cobbler said Samuel Adams, quote, had a very good temper. A bookbinder admitted he had blown up at Samuel Adams many times. But Adams, quote, never made any reply.

I'm a huge asshole, and he let me get away with it every time. I'm the biggest douche there is, all right? He never said anything to me. A clergyman told the court that he had spoken to Adams harshly one time, and all Samuel Adams did was shed a single tear. Oh, my God. It's like that PSA from the 70s, the Native American and the littering. Wow.

Shut his single tear. By the way, did you know that actor was Italian that played the Native American in the PSA? That sounds about right. And by right, I mean wrong, but you know what I'm saying. Are you working on a children's book for the right wing? No, I am not. Right to me. No, no.

That is all you. That's a great title. The Bernstein Bears sounds right to me. You keep the Berenstein Bears out of this. Mandela effect. Is it Barronstain or Barronstein? Barronstein? We always said Barronstein.

Isn't it Barronstein? I don't know. Yeah, it's... Well, did we say Barronstein? Now I don't even know what's in my own head. There's an A in there. But the Mandela effect is they think it's an E on the end. Not on the end.

Oh, it's B-E-R-E-N-S-T-A-I-N. Berenstain Bears. Berenstain Bears. But the Mandela effect is people always thought it was B-E-R-E-N-S-T-E-I-N, like Berenstein, Berenstein Bears, the Berenstein Bears. I can't say words good, well, at all. Well, in your defense, your mom is a 17-year-old Japanese exchange student. That's right. So, yeah, the prosecution brings up character witnesses where they're like,

Samuel Adams, he's a great guy. Yeah. mild, inoffensive. So the defense tried to squash that notion. So on cross-examination, they asked these people, well, have you ever done anything to really piss off Samuel Adams? Have you really tried his temper? And they all said, no.

The prosecution also called up Charles Post, who testified he was in the room when Samuel Adams got that gold pocket watch as payment. On cross-examination, Dudley Selden asked Mr. Post, how did Mr. Adams react to getting that pocket watch? Charles Post admitted Samuel Adams was, quote, angry because the merchant didn't have the money to pay him. He believed the man meant to swindle him out of his debt. He said, everybody is trying to cheat me. As court was wrapping up that day, a police officer ran in with breaking news. The mystery of the missing crate lid had been solved.

So it turns out a couple of weeks back, that police officer, and then another police officer, were on guard duty. And they were like, who, it sure is cold. We were, quote, looking for anything we could make a fire with. No. They saw the crate lid, took it, chopped it up into Kinley. No. Built a fire with it. Oh, my gosh.

So this is before the Lerd had invented crime scene tape and also before the Lerd had invented evidence lockers. Yes. Good grief. The police officer told the court that the crate lid smelled strong at first, but even stronger when we put it in the fire. Oh, my God. Well, Kristen, they wrapped up another wild day in court, but the next day, Tuesday, January 25th, 1842 would prove to be the wildest day of this trial. Are you ready? I'm ready.

Okay. That morning, everyone anticipated that the prosecution would rest, but they had one final trick up their sleeve. District Attorney James Whiting had been really intrigued by Dr. Gilman's testimony of the mysterious wound behind Adam's left ear. So he thought, what if we could prove it's possible that John Colt shot Samuel Adams? And then that would leave no doubt that it was premeditated murder. Of course, there's a lot of problems with this, Kristen. Number one, there's no evidence of a bullet. Number two, there's no evidence of a gun.

And number three, no one has. no one had heard a gun go off. Guns are kind of loud. Yeah. Nevertheless, James Whiting tried his best. So here's a deal. When you fire a gun, that super loud noisy here, that's the gunpowder exploding.

Okay. That's what sends the bullet shooting out of the gun at high speeds. So James Whiting stood and he said, Your Honor, today I would like to prove that a gun can kill. someone without the use of gunpowder that a percussion cap and a bullet alone could, quote, explode with sufficient force to drive a bullet into a man's head without making enough noise to be heard in the next room. This is very interesting.

Why do you say that? I mean, that's quite an angle to be like, well, this guy who has this brother who is an expert on guns, he's at the cutting edge of guns. oh, he's got all that inside information, and he used that to murder this man. Is that where we're headed with this theory? He's trying to argue. So percussion cap guns were semi,

was like semi-new gun technology. Right. It was a lot safer, more reliable than using the old flint locks. And so, yeah, they were like, well, when that percussion cap explodes, it's not as powerful as gunpowder, but it's powerful enough to send the bullet into a man's head. Yeah.

especially if fired at point-blank range. Yeah. Defense attorney Dudley-Seldon objected. He was like, Your Honor, this is a waste of time. There's no proof that a gun was used. But Judge Kent overruled, and he allowed James Whiting to proceed with this questioning. So first, James Whiting calls up Asa Wheeler back to the stand. And he goes, Mr. Wheeler, did John Colt own a gun?

Asa Wheeler replied, yes, he did. Turns out four days before Samuel Adams was. killed, John Colt had actually shown his gun to Asa Wheeler. Are you kidding me? It was a Colt Patterson gun. Aza Wheeler described it as, quote, a very elegant weapon with a beautiful pearl handle and a very ingenious way of firing with a cylinder. It had his brother's name on it as the maker.

Asa Wheeler also admitted that when authorities finally found Samuel Adams' body, he assumed that John Colt had shot him. Yeah. On cross-examination, Dudley Selden wanted to let the jury know that they should not listen to Aisa Wheeler at all when it came to guns. So Dudley Selden was like, Mr. Wheeler, how does that gun work? How do you load it? What are these little metal caps for? How much gunpowder should I use when loading each bullet?

Aza Wheeler couldn't answer any of the questions. He replied, quote, I don't know anything about guns. mostly bookkeeping. Mm-hmm. I like that. I know a lot about bookkeeping, actually. Prosecutor James Whiting wasn't done yet, though. He called to the stand

military and weapon experts who testified that if you were to shoot a gun with no gunpowder, a bullet would dent aboard from about 150 feet away. Just imagine if that gun had been fired at point-blank range. Think of the damage.

it could do. And with that, the prosecution finally arrested their case. So, Kristen, what do you think? Do they have a strong case? And I also want to know your thoughts on the whole gun angle. I'm worried about it. Because, and folks, if you're a true history ho, you didn't listen to my old podcast, let me just let you know that I do have one semester of law school under my belt. And six years of a true crime podcast. That also makes me an expert in something. I... Something, all right.

I fear that they've gone on this tangent too far. Interesting. They're making too much of it. I understand the temptation. You've got this hole in the back of a skull. That's not nothing. The defense is being ridiculous. You say, oh, there's no evidence.

No, that's something. That could be something. Right. But if you've done the autopsy and there's no bullet in there, you've got to let that go and you know, ASA is an excellent witness, I think. The best one. There's so much evidence here. And I think there's enough in this guy's past.

Like if they looked more into John's past to establish that he's a shithead, he runs. This is just who he is. I think they'd have a better chance of getting him for that. But I think they got too worried about the defense. They got too worried about that theory. So then they tried to come up with an answer for it, and the answer isn't going to be satisfying. And I'm afraid that the jury is going to think, oh, this is what it all comes down to, is do we believe a bullet was used? Yes.

And my fear is that this jury is going to say, you know what, I don't think there's enough evidence here to say that a bullet was used and therefore not guilty. Here's the other reason it's super risky. On the defense's side is the literal inventor of the gun, Samuel Colt. You want to talk about an expert witness. The defense can bring him up and basically throw cold water on this whole theory. You think? Watch. Oh, I don't know.

To me, that's a little like, yeah, I've got a great alibi. It's my mom, you know, so I, okay. What if your mom was a 17-year-old Japanese foreign exchange team? Then I would be walking around saying, Fatone. That's right. The proper way to say it. That's right. Some people were joking that it sounded like I was saying, Joey Fatone.

That's what I always think of. Who's in... How dare you? Backstreet boys? How dare. Or in sync. Get out of this house. They're the same band.

No! They're the same band. That is the most offensive thing you've said all day. You've said so many offensive things. You're working on that right-wing propaganda book. Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad gay. Yeah. Joey Fatone was a member of InSink.

Okay. Noted. Yeah, thank you. I'm going to look up what this boy looked like. Joey Faton. Oh, he ran the hot dog restaurant. Didn't he open like a hot dog restaurant? on.

Joey Fatones. Hot dogs. Yeah. Fat ones. It's called fat ones. Yeah. Fat ones, hot dogs in Italian ice. Yeah.

Yeah. They were on, they did an impractical jokers. Well, let's not mention impractical jokers. They've been canceled, rightly so. Damn, that's a funny show.

We did you. Bad boys running that show, but damn, that was a funny show. That, I tell you what, when Peanut, our beloved Peanut Dog died, like that show was the only thing that could get my mind off it, just watching something stupid.

It's been a real disappointment to watch all those fellas fall down. Oh, my gosh. I don't know that they're all creeps, but boy, it... Two of them confirmed to be creepy. And also, if you're hanging out with creeps, what are the chances that you might also be a creep? Probably pretty high. Creep by association. It's creeping up there, as they say.

Okay, Kristen. So the prosecution has rested. they've gotten their little sleeping bags and taken a little nap so now it's the defense's turn to present their case Dudley Selden used his opening statement to show that John Colt was guilty of only manslaughter, not premeditated murder.

Quote, had John C. Colt intended to murder Adams, would he do it in a room adjoining wheelers? When he knew his students and himself were engaged where persons were continually? Would it be the felon's desire at such a time and under such circumstances when detection was certain to take a life? He must have been mad to do so.

Where is the motive? Where is the malice? No person saw Cole and Adams together in that room. But there are providential circumstances, which will show that there never was premeditation on his part, but that he was acting in a way to protect himself according to the laws of the God of Nature. We will show that the blows were such

as could only have been given in self-defense. We're bringing up the Lord quite a lot here. The Lord, quite a bit. It almost seems like the Lord is on the defense's side, which is convenient. Yep, called up Dudley Selden said, this is God, I've got you. So, you know, that was all well and good, but what about the fact that John Colt tried to hide the body afterward? Well, Dudley Selden addressed that issue, too, Kristen. Quote, in relation to the degrees of crime, you are to hold continually in your mind that you are bound to separate the actual homicide

from the subsequent conduct of the prisoner. No man, under similar circumstances, can tell how he would act. But it is for you to weigh how the act itself was done. They say in public prints that John was a hard-hearted man, everything bad and crude. But I will show that he was kind to the poor, always ready to do good, and has borne the character of one of the mildest

and one of the best disposition men in this community. Wow. And then the defense called their first witness, Kristen. It was John's brother, Samuel Colt. You could say that the defense had called an audible. You know what that means, Kristen? Yeah, it's a sports reference. I understand all sports references.

So that's a last-minute call. It's a, hey, you didn't see this one coming. Zip-Zam, boom. That's right. So they wanted to immediately disprove the idea that John Colt had used a gun. and what better witness than the literal inventor of the Colt Revolver? So Samuel walked to the front of the courtroom with a wooden case. He opened it up to reveal a shiny Colt Patterson gun.

Sir, please state your name and occupation. My name is Samuel Colt. I'm the inventor of Colts Patent Firearms, and I'm perfectly acquainted with their construction. Dudley Selden then took a chair, placed it in front of the court, and then he propped a large book up on it. Mr. Colt, will you please fire your revolver without gunpowder using only caps and bullets at that book? Are you nuts? So Samuel Colt obliged.

He loaded up five rounds into his revolver. He walked a few yards away, took aim at the book, and he fired. That's basically what it sounded like, too. Because without gunpowder, when you fire a gun, it kind of sounds like the crack of a whip. As the bullets hit the book. They lightly bounced off back at Samuel Colt, who then caught the bullets with his bare hand. That's pretty badass. Thank you, Mr. Colt.

How about you get closer and try again? Samuel Colt walked up to the book, and then he took about nine steps back. He loaded up the revolver, and he fired again. This time, the bullet actually penetrated the book, but barely. Mr. Colt, is there any way? way a bullet fired in this way could produce a hole in Samuel Adam's skull without the use of gunpowder. Samuel Colt replied, no. It is impossible for a ball to penetrate the head from one of these pistols if a cap alone is used, even if the pistol is held close to the head. In fact, Samuel Colt's salesman

regularly fired these guns without gunpowder when they gave demonstrations. At the most, Samuel thought, someone would get a bruise. Thank you, Mr. Colt. That will be all. Pretty impressive. What do you think, Kristen? Yeah, I think that that is pretty impressive. I was impressed that he could catch the bullets after he fired him.

I mean, it's an impressive bit of courtroom theater. Yeah. For sure. It's like a shooting gallery. Seems pretty damn dangerous, but okay. Also, is a book a good comparison to a human head? I know that's a gross question, but... It's softer than a human head.

Okay. Yeah. Next, Dudley Selden called up Dr. Gilman, the medical examiner who had discovered the mysterious circular wound. If you recall, a few days earlier, Judge Kent had ordered medical experts to re-examine Samuel Adams' wound. So they had dug up Samuel Adams' body. They detached his head. Oh, my God. And they re-examined the wound.

And Dr. Gilman was ready to present his findings. Dr. Gilman said, quote, We found no evidence of a bullet, no foreign substance there whatsoever. Dr. Gilman noted he could fit his pinky finger into the wound. It had sharp, ragged edges, and it had more of an oval shape than a circular shape. Dr. Gilman said, quote,

my conclusion is changed from what it was. I think it improbable that the hole was made by a ball of any description. However, I find it inconceivable how such a hole could have been made by a hatchet. Uh-huh. Where are you going to say you held up your finger? Yeah, but you just kept on talking. You had an objection. So I had to mouth my prediction to the camera, a fireplace poker.

A fireplace poker? Yeah. Interesting. In the library with the professor. Sorry. So, Dr. Gilman had his own theory. Okay. He believed Samuel Adams had gotten that wound after he was already dead.

Oh. It was when John Colt hammered nails to secure the lid to the crate. Oh, duh. So one of those nails must have punctured Adam's skull. Yeah, that makes so much more sense. I should have waited for the actual expert to give the opinion. Yeah, and that does make a ton of sense. And Dr. Gilman also said, you know,

when the crate was being moved, if the nail punctured, it's going to move in and out, in and out, in and out, in and out, as the body's moved, and the hole's going to get bigger, bigger, bigger, and that explains the ragged edges as well. It also explains partly why he smelled so bad, why there was so much blood, yeah, oof. So at this point, the whole gun theory is basically dead. Yeah. But Dudley Selden wasn't done yet. He wasn't going to drop the gun thing yet.

So he called his own medical examiner to the stand, Dr. Valentine Mott. He was the founder of Rutgers Medical College. It was then that Dudley-Seldon made a wild request. Your Honor, we would like to have Mr. Adams' skull produced in court so Dr. Mott could examine it. Oh, my God. The crowd gasped in shock. At that point, Samuel Adams had already been reburied. Was it really necessary to go through this again?

Leave this poor man alone. Well, Judge Kent thought it was necessary. He ordered Samuel Adams' body, dug up again, his head removed again, and brought into court. Well, that would take some time. So while they waited, the defense brought up witnesses to testify to John Colt's character. They said he was gentlemanly, mild, charitable. Sometimes he spent too much time volunteering. Then two hours later, be quote, head of.

Mr. Adams was brought into court. It was wrapped in newspaper and carried to the front of the courtroom. Spectators gasped. Judge Kent pounded the gavel. Counselors, please approach the bench. They spoke privately. So how do we do this? This is a literal head.

You don't do this. Are you nuts? I know. That would be my choice. Let this happen in an exam room and then come and tell us about it later. So everyone agreed that the defense's medical expert, Dr. Mott, he should examine the head privately in a room next door. And so he did. I can't even type with someone watching over my shoulder. I can't imagine. Here's some old skull. Sorry to Samuel. You're thinking Dr. Mott's under pressure here to examine this head.

Well, it's weird. Why would there be an audience? Well, less than an hour later, Dr. Mott emerged from that private. room and he said in my opinion that wound was caused by the sharp side of the hatchet he said it fits the wound precisely the defense was relieved he was like they're like who okay this officially kills the gun theory we have a medical expert that says a hatchet caused this but prosecutor james whiting thinking quickly made a gross but brilliant move in my opinion your honor we ask that the head and hatchet be shown to the jury. Oh my God. Judge Kent was like, uh, seriously?

Whiting responded, quote, the defense has left us no choice but to take this extreme measure because they're making desperate efforts to break down the testimony of our witnesses. If it could be avoided, we would gladly agree not to have the head exhibited, but it is necessary that the jury see it. Why? James Whiting wanted to shock the jury. Yeah, that's not necessary.

He thought it was. He didn't think that. He wanted to win his case. Well, yeah. Of course. He's going to do what he has to do to win the case. This is disgusting. It is.

So Dudley Selden objected. Judge Kent overruled. He said the demonstration would be, quote, painful, but in the interest of justice, he would allow it. How? How? I mean, at this point, it does feel like theater. It is theater? And I'm sorry, is the jury full of medical examiners?

Is it full of doctors? Is it full of people who have any kind of expertise? No. Dentists, cobblers, grocers, and they're all boys, you know. That's the thing is all they're going to know is that they are looking at something horrible and gross. And, God, hope I don't get murdered. Being murdered's bad enough, but then they're going to dig up your body and parade. around your body parts to people with no expertise so that they can decide how you died?

This is ridiculous. I'm just imagining Emmeline Adams. That's what I'm witnessing. That's who I'm thinking about. This woman who they said was so cold and, you know, terrible. You would have to steal yourself. Yeah. So Judge Kent ruled he's going to let the jury see the head and the hatchet.

he ordered all of the women to leave the room Okay And then in front of the court Samuel Adams' head Turning black from decomposition And decay Was presented and held up in front of the jury John Colt couldn't look

He buried his face in his hands With the head in one hand And the hatchet in the other A medical examiner demonstrated How the hatchet fit into the wound Behind the ear A reporter called it, quote, an interesting but dreadful sight.

Deadly Selden had done a good job proving a gun was not used, but it cost him because the jury's sight of Samuel Adams' decapitated head, no doubt, made an impact. Said one reporter, quote, the awful impression made by the ghastly head would never be obliterated. Yeah. So that was the wild day in court. You got the shooting gallery, you got show in the head,

you know, John Cole volunteers too much. This is, this is ridiculous. It's, it's a, it's a wild case. I don't think I've ever seen, I've ever read anything like that. Like, show one's, have you ever, has anyone shown a decapitated head in court that you've know of? I mean, not that I know of. I'm just familiar with prosecution, the prosecution will sometimes want to show really

graphic, usually it's crime scene photos. Yeah, and I get that. Well, but there's a reason why that could be argued against because if it's not showing any actual evidence that the person who is accused did this thing, then it's just shocking and inflaming the jury. And you run the risk of getting people to think, well, someone has to pay for this. This is so horrible. This image I'm seeing, or God, in this case, this decapitated decomposing head, someone has to pay for this. Oh, we've got this guy here. well, let's go with that.

And you don't want that. If you're looking for justice, that's not what you want. Right. You want what's the evidence that this person who's accused did this thing? Mm-hmm. No, I agree. It would definitely leave an impression on me. Of course, and that's what it's designed to do.

Yeah. The next morning on Wednesday, January 26th, 1842, the defense called up witness after witness to testify that John Cole was easygoing, chill, non-threatening boy. Others testified that Samuel Adams had a short temper. He was of an excitable disposition. He was a threatening boy. But the

highlight of the day, Kristen, was when the defense called Caroline Henshaw, John's lover, to the stand. Caroline, seated next to Samuel Colt in the back of the courtroom, stood up and headed for the bench. She wore a veil that covered her hypnotic, dark blue eyes

and rosy cheeks. All right. Are you looking at pictures a pizza or are you looking at pictures of this woman? Calm down. Her cheeks were red like cuped pepperoni. Oh. Her skin fair like mozzarella cheese bubbling. Her hair was the color of a golden crust.

Her lips as red as marinera. Oof, sweating over here. So Caroline started her testimony by going over. They're meat cute. She said she met John in August of 1840. They were living in the same boarding house in Philadelphia. John was trying to sell his books while Caroline worked in a dress shop. And they hit it off and then six months later, John moved back to New York City and Caroline went with him. They shared a room and Caroline usually read books or sewed while John worked and then in the evenings they would go out together. But on that fateful day, Caroline said John came home later than usual. And she said he had a big, black and blue bruise on his neck. Dudley Selden then asked about their relationship. Caroline had just given birth to a boy who they named Samuel after John's brother. Yet they were not married. Caroline said that they definitely wanted to get married, but they didn't have the money yet. Dudley Selden stated, quote, adverse circumstances alone

caused them to live together in the illegitimate manner they did. No. Still, her character in every other way is good. So the defense was very worried about John and Caroline's relationship. Right. Because at that time, that was very unsavory. Right. To do that.

On cross-examination, James Whiting focused on the relationship as proof that John was a bad boy. How dare he shack up with a woman, get her pregnant, and still not marry her? But if he was trying to rattle Caroline Henshaw, it did not work. Caroline Henshaw was cool, calm, and collected. In fact, if anyone was getting frustrated, it was James Whiting. At one point, James Whiting wanted to ask how John was dressed on the day of the murder. But instead, he asked if John was dressed on the day of the murder. Oh, that's cute.

Caroline chuckled and replied, was he dressed? He was. Do you suppose a gentleman would go into the street without clothes? Okay. Oh, she spanked him. She spanked him good. She spanked him. That's rough.

Right on his bare ass. It was solid testimony for the defense because they were really hoping that the evidence of a bruise on John's neck would help convince the jury that this was self-defense. Caroline left the stand, head held high, and walked out of the courtroom, escorted by Samuel Colt. Kristen, it's now Thursday, January 27th, 1842. It's the final day of testimony. On that day, the defense was ready to prove that John Colt had nothing to hide. Dudley Selden was like, Your Honor, we have new evidence we would like to submit.

What were they? Soiled and stained pieces of clothing. And then a couple of items, a pencil case, some keys, and a pair of shoes. Dudley Selden said, These items were dumped by John Colt into the outhouse behind the granite building on the night of the killing. John told us about them a day or two after his initial arrest. Dun, dun, done. You're looking at me like... They were dumped into the outhouse?

They were. Who had to fish him out? I will tell you. Oh, no. To discuss this evidence, they called to the stand John Brinkerhoff. Oh, poor John. John Brinkerhoff ran a company that cleaned outhouses around New York City. And you think your job stinks.

Hey, hey! John Brinkerhoff testified that in the first week of October, the defense team had asked him to search the outhouse of the granite building. So to do that, they lowered a man into the toilet. No, they don't have the technology to get like a strainer? Well, okay. A really long ladle. Well, Kristen, outhouses, outhouse toilets,

they dig them real deep because the farther, the deeper they are, the less smell there is. Yeah, I get it. So they lowered a man into the toilet with rope. He had a lantern and a rake. Oh, my God. And that man's delicious job was to sift through two feet of piss and shit looking for evidence. You know what?

I'm pleasantly surprised that it was only two feet. That's a ton, Kristen. No, I... Listen, I don't envy. It's compacted. Oh, my God. Yeah, that's enough. And at first they found...

nothing. They didn't find anything. So that guy wasted a whole afternoon, raking up piss and shit, didn't find a thing. But the defense insisted, our client says he dumped stuff down there, please look again. So John Brinkerhoff looked again. But this time, they hauled up the piss and shit in buckets. You are kidding me. And they sifted through it in the daylight. God. John Brinkerhoff took a sip and said, yep, this is definitely piss. No. So when they brought it up in buckets and they were looking through it, they found a handkerchief tied up in a bundle and it had the following items in it.

A folded up vest, a torn pair of pants, suspenders, a torn shirt covered in blood, a pair of shoes, two keys, a pencil case, and a half dollar. So what? So what? Well, you know, just wanted to let everybody know. No. How does this prove or disprove anything? Oh, we'll get to that. Okay.

I hope so. I think it's stupid, but we'll get to it. I was going to say, if you're going to send me down into an outhouse and then have me bring up buckets of shit to sift through, like I just went through an Easter egg hunt, Now we're opening them all up on the living room floor. Disgusting. They're better, I'd better have found the smoking gun, but you're telling me I found a hanky filled with bits of clothing. Dudley Selden thought it was hilarious. Did he?

No, I'm just kidding. So the prosecution was probably thinking, okay, this is weird. Why are we looking at this? Yes. And they also maybe thought, well, you just planted all this evidence. But Dudley-Seldon didn't shy away from that possibility. He asked, quote, Is it your belief that the bundle was down there when you first examined that outhouse?

John Bringerhoff replied, Yes, I have no doubt that they have laid there for some months. I think the pencil case had also been there for some time. Parts of it were very rusty. They must have been overlooked on the first examination. I would just like to interrupt and say I no longer want pizza. Why not? I'm actually not hungry at all now.

Huh. I wonder why. After John Brinkerhoff's testimony, Dudley Seldon called up several of Samuel Adams associates, and they all confirmed those items from the outhouse. They all belonged to Samuel Adams. This is the first new piece of evidence in this case. And the prosecution didn't seem to mind. They were just like, well, okay, yeah, John Colt killed Samuel Adams and he dumped all the evidence down the turlid. He got rid of his body, got rid of the evidence. Okay. What are we proving? in here. Yeah. What is the defense doing? And honestly, I am wondering myself, do you have a theory as to why they did this? It's, I think it's ridiculous. The only thing I can think of, gosh, no, everything I'm thinking of is wrong. I mean, it'd be one thing if somehow Samuel's clothing, no, hang on, let me think some more. What are the items that they dug up? It's like a little bit of change in clothing, right? They found clothing, shoes, shoes, keys, a pencil case, and a half dollar. I see no reason

for this whatsoever because it doesn't, none of that, like it'd be one thing if he showed up with a gun or something, then that might be something like, look, he showed up with a gun. He was trying, he was aiming for a fight and so our client had to defend himself, but like, no, this guy showed up with some keys, a little bit of money, and he was fully clothed. That's right. I don't, I don't get it. Okay. They, it's so stupid.

Basically, they are going to present John Colt's confession. And in the confession, John Colt admits to dumping items into the outhouse. and so it was basically to give credibility to John Colt's confession. His confession, which is, yes, I killed him, but it was in self-defense. In summary, yes. I think that is stupid. And that poor man had to go into that house and rake up a bunch of shit. You know.

So, yeah, I think it was purely for credibility. Well, sure, and that's what it's all about. Yeah. Okay, hearing that, I don't actually think that's super stupid. Okay. Mostly because, again, it speaks to kind of distraction. If you can make the jury think, oh, it's about whether there's a bullet in his head. Yeah.

You know, I feel like the prosecution was making a mistake going down that lane. And yeah, I do think, I do think if you can be like, here's evidence that he's being so truthful. Okay, that could be meaningful. but boy does it suck for the guy whose job it is to sift through literal shit. If that were me, I'd be wanting to do it for more than just some dude's credibility. Kristen, John Brinkerhoff loves his job. Yeah, he didn't do it for the money. He did it for the passion.

John Jacob Brinkerhoff's shit. He loves scooping turds. No, it's not a problem. It's been a long time passion It's really not a big deal I'll grab some buckets and haul it up I do this on Saturdays just for fun I dive headfirst in

I was already down here When you asked me to do this Everybody says I smell so bad Don you down there Leave me alone This is my private time It's Saturday, man. What do you want?

All right. Okay. To wrap up the day. Hold on. You have spent so much time in this series. So much time. Talking about how Samuel Adams' body just stink, stunked, stunk up the whole courtroom, stunk up the whole ship. Stinky, stinky, stinky.

Very stinky. Then you bring up this clothing that had been evidently. sitting in the bottom of a shitter for months and you didn't mention a thing about the jury being like you know I think there's a I think like a rotting corpse

smell is way more powerful than like a shirt covered in poo norm I completely agree with you and the poo dries and the smell really like give me a break give me a break I agree sure if we're awarding Olympic medals for

stinkiness, gold goes to the decomposing body, sure. But let me tell you, cloth that has been in the bottom of an outhouse for months, that's getting bronze, buddy. Maybe an honorable mention. I don't know if they do that in the Olympics, but they should. So I just think for the purposes of storytelling. You think the jury should react to the shit-covered clothing? Yeah, I think once again, all the ladies should leave.

the room. By the way, I think that's a great rule for this podcast. You say something real nasty like that. The lady must leave the room and I'll come back later when you stop being gross. All you history is listening, please leave the room if you're a woman.

Okay, can we move on from the shit? I don't know. You're the one who insisted on making up that song. Okay, so to wrap up the day, the defense had one more piece of information for the jury to hear.

What? What? This information came from another nearby toilet. We searched another our house, and John Brinkerhoff said, no problem. He did a triple Lindy dive right in. Okay, they said, quote, we do not contend anything other than that the death of Mr. Adams was caused by Mr. But no matter how appalling in appearance, Colt's actions do not constitute deliberate murder,

but instead manslaughter. The particulars of the crime render that conclusion irresistible. And then the defense held up a stack of papers. We have admitted that John Colt took the life of Mr. Adams, and we now propose to tell you as far as possible how it was done. on the next episode of an old-timey podcast. Oh, man. And the finale of this series.

John Colts written confession and the final verdict. Dun, done, dun, dun. Well done, normally see. John Jacob Brinkerhoff's shit. He dives head first in. It's probably not a problem to rake through piss and shit. Kind of a hobby of mine. I can't believe I get paid to.

do this. You know it used to be his hobby. What? No, it used to be his hobby. Yes. But then he turned it into a job. And that's why he is so happy. Isn't that some business advice?

Yes. Turn what you love into a job. Yeah. I love pissing shit. God, I just wish someone would pay me to jump down into these outhouses. Oh, boy. Yeah, what a wild trial, huh? Yeah. A lot of stuff going on.

It's so gross. So ridiculous. Yep. Ugh. Yeah, so next week we'll hear John Colt's side of the story, and then we'll get the verdict. You know, part of what we do here on an old-timey podcast is we do come up with photos for, like, Instagram, social media, that kind of stuff. And I'm like, what on earth could we possibly take a photo of our cell? doing that would illustrate this story.

Me in a swimming cap, goggles, and a speedo, diving into a toilet. Covered in melted twix bars. Yeah. Look for it on a social media platform near you. The caption, it's my pleasure. That's disgusting. Well, Kristen, how did you feel about this headphones-free episode of an old-timey podcast? I really enjoyed it.

Yeah? Yeah. Yeah, it feels a little... It feels less formal to me. You know, I have psoriasis in my ears. Very bravely to talk about it. Yes, of course. Shout out to all my psoriasis homies out there.

So, yeah, when I wear headphones, it gets really irritated and itchy. So it's actually really nice not to wear headphones. I myself have no medical problems. Haven't you always talked about you don't like your ears, though? What? Your cute little ears. My gigantic dumbero ears. You know what?

The headphones do cover them up pretty well. Your hair's doing a good job. Well, that's what it's designed to do, buddy. You've kind of got like a ferret faucet hair vibe going on. Oh, really? Yeah, looks good. Oh, my goodness. Well, okay, thank you very much.

And for all you horn dogs out there, just $10, you can look at Chris. The video version. What kind of husband are you? That's a fair question. Hey, for just $10, you can get a look at my wife's hair. I don't mind. For 15, you can do stuff to work. No, we're not going there.

No. No. No. Minimum. Minimum. You have to buy Norma pizza. That's about the cost of a large pizza. Inflation, am I right?

Okay, let's wrap this up. Norm, you know what they say about history, hoes? We always cite our sources. Because if we don't, it's plagiarism, and then we turn into murderers. Isn't that right? That's right. For this episode, I got my information from the books. Killer Colt, Murder, Disgrace, and the Making of an American Legend by Harold Schechter.

The Devil's Right Hand, the tragic story of the Colt family curse by M. William Phelps. The story of Colt's Revolver, the biography of Samuel Colt by William B. Edwards. And, remarkable trials of all. All Countries by Thomas Dunphy. That's all for this episode. Thank you for listening to an old-timey podcast. Please give us a five-star review wherever you listen to podcasts. And while you're at it, subscribe.

Support us on Patreon at patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. Join the Reddit community, our slash old-timey podcast. Follow us on Facebook and YouTube and Instagram at Old Timey Podcast. You can also follow us individually on Instagram. She is the lovely Kristen Pitts-Karuso. I go by a gaming historian. and until next time, doodoo,

Tata, and Cheerio. Goodbye.