On June 17th 1926, the body of 22-year-old Sylvia Gaines was found on the shore of Green Lake in Seattle. The city was shocked. Who could have murdered this young woman so brutally?
Show Notes
Trigger Warning: Talk of suicide and sexual abuse.
As the investigation unfolded, horrible secrets were revealed as attention turned towards her father for this horrific crime. Did he murder his daughter? And does her ghost still haunt the shores of Green Lake, seeking justice?
References
Helf, Susan (April 24, 2009). “Murder at Green Lake: Sylvia Gaines,” HistoryLink.org, retrieved from: https://www.historylink.org/File/1051
Staff Editors (no date). “Wallace Gaines,” True Crime Library, retrieved from: https://www.truecrimelibrary.com/crimearticle/wallace-gaines/
Vickers, Marques (Feb. 5, 2016). “Murder in Washington: Notorious Crime Sites: The Topography of Evil,” Marquis Publishing, 1st Edition
Nordheim, Theresa (Nov. 28, 2016). “Murder & Mayhem in Seattle,” The History Press
Clarridge, Christine (Oct. 28, 2019). “High weirdness is not so strange — creators of Seattle’s liminal map find it in everyday life,” The Seattle Times, retrieved from: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/chroniclers-of-the-paranormal-look-for-the-mysterious-in-everyday-life/
McNerthney, Casey (June 15, 2011). “Seattle history: The shocking murder at Green Lake,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved from: https://www.seattlepi.com/local/seattle-history/article/Seattle-history-The-shocking-murder-at-Green-Lake-1426368.php
Staff Writer (Aug. 31, 1928). “Gaines Hangs, Dies Bravely,” San Pedro News Pilot, Univ. of California at Riverside Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research, retrieved from: https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SPNP19280831.2.21&e=——-en–20–1–txt-txIN——–1
Staff Writer (June 17, 1926). “Seattle Girl is Brutally Slain,” Fresno Bee
Staff Writer (Aug. 10, 1926). “Trial of Gaines is Gaining Interest,” The Klamath News
Staff Writer (Oct. 31, 1927). “Brother of Doomed Seattle Man says Portland Prisoner Slew Woman in Washington,” Albany Democrat Harold
Garber, Yvonne (no date). “John Pender,” The National Registry of Exonerations Pre-1989, Univ. of Michigan School of Law, retrieved from: https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetailpre1989.aspx?caseid=246
Staff Writer (June 30, 1926). “Father Arrested in Gaines Murder,” The New York Times, retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/1926/06/30/archives/father-arrested-in-gaines-murder-he-is-charged-in-seattle-with.html
Staff Writer (June 21, 1926). “Coroners Jury Will View Body of Miss Gaines,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Staff Writer (July 30, 1930). “Wife of City Banker Ends Life in Lake,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Graham, Nathalie (June 27, 2018). “If Seattle Is Haunted, Where Do I Chill With the Neighborhood Ghosties?,” The Stranger, retrieved from: https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/06/27/28311286/okay-seattle-is-haunted-so-how-do-i-kick-it-with-the-neighborhood-cryptid
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Researched & Written by Kim Douthit
Edited & Produced by Gabi Fiore
Music by Dan Moretti