Harry T. Hayward (c. 1865 – December 11, 1895) was an American socialite, gambler, arsonist, and murderer, dubbed by newspapers of the era as the "Minneapolis Svengali" for his ability to manipulate others. A seemingly respectable member of polite society, Hayward masterminded one of America's most infamous crimes during the Gilded Age—the 1894 murder for hire of dressmaker Catherine Ging.
In the hours before his hanging at Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis, Hayward gave a detailed interview to his cousin Edward Goodsell and a court reporter in which he admitted to numerous arsons, assaults, swindles, and three unsolved murders across three states.
Early life
Harry T. Hayward was born circa 1865 in Macoupin County, Illinois, the son of William and Lodusky Hayward; his family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, when he was an infant. When Hayward was aged 6, his family briefly returned to Illinois and lived there for about a year. Following his return to Minneapolis, Hayward attended a private school for six months before transferring to a public school. Interviews with school acquaintances revealed accounts of Hayward engaging in bullying and torturing domestic animals.
Upon graduating high school, Hayward found a job as a clerk. However, by age 20, he had developed what in modern times would be considered a gambling addiction. Despite taking Catholic religious instruction in his youth, Hayward began pursuing literature promoting atheism, the content of which he used to justify his self-centered worldview and criminal behavior.
Ging murder
In January 1894, Hayward met Katherine "Kitty" Ging, a tenant of his parents at the Ozark Flats building on Hennepin Avenue and Thirteenth Street. He persuaded her to front him large sums of money, which he used gambling. When Ging demanded the return of her money, Hayward paid her with counterfeit currency. Privately, he described her as "an easy mark."
On December 3, 1894, Ging's body was found, shot behind the ear, on a road near Lake Calhoun. It was later revealed that Hayward had persuaded her to purchase a $10,000 life insurance policy which named him as sole beneficiary.
Hayward appeared to be in the forefront in the search for the killer. He began playing up the fact that Kitty had borrowed money from him, and how he was certain someone killed her for it.
However, Harry's brother Adry confided to a family friend Levi Stewart that Harry had asked him to do away with Kitty. Stewart contacted the Hennepin County Attorney’s office. Adry revealed that the actual killer was Claude Blixt. After the confession of Claude Blixt, he and Harry Hayward were arrested.
Trial
Harry Hayward's trial for first degree murder began, before Judge Seagrave Smith, on January 21, 1895. Hennepin County Attorney Frank M. Nye appeared for the prosecution.
Hayward's defense team included William Erwin, known as "The Tall Pine Tree of the Northwest", and John Day Smith, a Baptist Deacon and Republican State Senator. Smith's experiences as a soldier in the 1st Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War had inspired him to become Minnesota's foremost death penalty abolitionist.
The trial lasted, according to Walter Trenerry, a total of 46 days and consisted in the calling of 136 witnesses.
The prosecution's main witnesses were triggerman Claus Blixt and Harry's older brother Adry Hayward. The defense unsuccessfully tried to have Adry Hayward's testimony ruled inadmissible, calling him "insane on the subject".
After the defense took over, Hayward took the stand himself and denied all allegations.
On March 8, 1895, the jury found Hayward guilty of first degree murder. On March 11, Judge Smith sentenced him to death by hanging.
Interview
Prior to his execution, Hayward gave a detailed series of interviews to his cousin Edward H. Goodsell. During this conversation, he admitted to numerous acts of illegal gambling, arson and three other murders. Transcripts were taken down by a court stenographer.
His victims included a twenty-year-old "sporting girl" whom he met in Pasadena, California. Hayward claimed to have lured her into a remote location in the Sierra Madre, shot her in the back of the head, and buried her in the woods. Hayward then made off with $7000 which she had carried in her wallet.
Hayward also claimed to have fatally shot a "consumptive" near Long Branch, New Jersey, robbed him of $2000, and disposed of his body in the Shrewsbury River.