Episode 151: Captain William J. Costello and The Smiling Widow

What would you do in the face of murder charges? Most people would be frantic, pleading their innocence, and very anxious of what is to come. But that was not the case for Jessie Costello in 1933. That February, she found her husband, Captain William J. Costello, dead on the floor of their home in Peabody, MA. At the request of close friends, an autopsy was performed which found poison, despite the body having already been embalmed.  It was confirmed the poison had been sold to Mrs. Costello the night before the captain’s death, but Mrs. Costello claimed she had been using it simply as a cleaning agent. With the evidence piling up, Jessie Costello was charged with the murder of her husband. As the trial began, the media and community became obsessed with this woman. Smiling, calm, entrancing all those around her. She would receive hundreds of love letters daily from men all over the country, pose for photos as she entered the courtroom and would smile all throughout the court proceedings. But would her charm be enough to convince the jury of all men of her innocence?   Sources: “Justice and Jessie Costello” by Undine on Strange Company (https://strangeco.blogspot.com/2014/05/justice-and-jessie-costello.html) “Widow’s Illness Laid to Ordeal: Mrs. Costello’s Condition will Prevent Questioning Today” by Alfred J. Monahan in The Boston Globe on March 2, 1933 “The Smiling Widow: Jessie Costello” by Susan Edwards on Salem State University on August 4, 2020 (https://libguides.salemstate.edu/home/archives/blog/Jessie-Costello-The-Smiling-Widow) “Mrs. Costello says McMahon’s Statement ‘Tissue of Lies’” in The Boston Globe on March 22, 1933 “Jessie Costello - The Smiling Widow” by Salem State University Archives, Neighbor on Patch on October 16, 2018 (https://patch.com/massachusetts/salem/jessie-costello-smiling-widow) “Widow Must Face Trial for Murder” in The North Adams Transcript on March 18, 1933 “The Festive Murder Trial of Jessie Costello” on New England Historical Society (https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/festive-murder-trial-jessie-costello/) “Widow to Fight Today for her Life on Stand” by Alfred J. Monahan in The Boston Globe on August 2, 1933 “The Murder Trial of the Century” on Peabody Historical Society and Museum (https://peabodyhistorical.org/2023/02/the-murder-trial-of-the-century/) “Mrs. McMahon on stand Against ‘Other Woman’” by Alfred J. Monahan in The Boston Globe on July 27, 1933 “History of Pioneer Village in Salem, Massachusetts” by Rebecca Beatrice Brooks on History of Massachusetts Blog on March 13, 2022 (http://historyofmassachusetts.org/pioneer-village-salem/) “Crowd of 5000 at Courthouse” by Joseph F. Dinneen in The Boston Globe on July 27, 1933 “The Suspicious Death of William Costello (Massachusetts)” on Dark Downeast (https://darkdowneast.com/williamcostello/) https://www.masshist.org/object-of-the-month/march-2013#:~:text=They%20established%20a%20close%2Dknit,immigrants%20scattered%20throughout%20the%20city. https://streetsofsalem.com/tag/great-depression/#:~:text=A%20couple%20of%20years%20ago,1930s%2C%20and%20left%20its%20mark. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141811440/william-joseph-costello https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141810730/jessie_burnett-costello