The Manhattan Well: How Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton United to Solve a Murder Mystery

Dylan Thuras is exploring a unique shop in Soho, New York, where he discovers a brick well that is connected to a famous murder case from the late 1700s. The case involves a young woman named Elma Sands, who was found dead in the well, and a young carpenter named Levi Weeks, who was accused of her murder. Levi's brother, Ezra Weeks, assembled a powerful legal team, including Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, to defend him in the trial. The trial was the first fully recorded murder trial in American history, and a 99-page transcript of the trial still exists today. Elma Sands was an illegitimate cousin of the woman who ran the boarding house where she lived, and she was known for being lively and eager to get out of her station as a poor relation. On the night of her disappearance, Elma told her cousin that she was leaving to marry Levi Weeks, but Levi returned without her, and no one knew what to do. The investigation into Elma's disappearance led to the discovery of her body in the well, and Levi was immediately accused of her murder. The motive behind the murder was believed to be that Levi had induced Elma to sleep with him under promise of marriage, got her pregnant, and then killed her to avoid marrying her. However, the coroner's inquest determined that Elma was not pregnant at the time of her death, and some believe that she may have slept with someone else and lost a baby in early December. The trial was a sensationalized event, with the public eager to see Levi punished for his supposed crime.