Startling charges that Harry Kendall Thaw administered unmerciful lashings to Evelyn Nesbit, and tortured her because she would not accuse Stanford White, were made in the famous affidavit prepared by Abe Hummel and allowed by Justice Fitzgerald to be introduced in evidence, after Hummel had sworn the prisoner’s sweetheart—whom he later married—had signed and sworn to the document.
Threats of death were added to the pitiless whippings and torture, some of which made the girl—then traveling in Europe as Thaw’s wife—faint in agony, and on one occasion confined her to bed for three weeks, so read the affidavit. In this document Evelyn declared White did not injure her. With blanched face—shuddering—Thaw listened to the reading of the document. He had never heard it before. The full text of this affidavit, classed by many lawyers as “the most remarkable exhibit ever introduced in a New York law court,” was as follows:
“Evelyn Nesbit vs. Harry Kendall Thaw.
“Supreme Court, city and county of New York:
“Evelyn Nesbit, being duly sworn, says:
“I reside at the Savoy hotel, Fifth avenue and Fifty-ninth street, city of New York. I am 18 years of age, having been born Christmas day, 1884. For several months prior to June, 1903, I had been at Dr. Bull’s hospital at 33 West Thirty-third street, New York city, where I had had an operation performed on me for appendicitis during the month of June, and then went to Europe with my mother, at the request of Harry Kendall Thaw, the defendant above named.
“My mother and I had apartments at the Hotel Maintenon in Paris, France, and from there traveled to Boulogne, during which time we were accompanied by Mr. Thaw. Mr. Thaw left us once for London, England. Mother and I remained at the Imperial hotel about three weeks.
“While the said Thaw was in London he wrote me a number of letters. He then returned to Boulogne and took my mother and myself and we went back to Paris, where we stayed at the Langham hotel. We left there about two weeks after and the said Thaw, my mother and I returned to London, where we located at Claridge’s hotel; that is, my mother and I lived in that place, while Mr. Thaw stayed in Claridge’s hotel for some little time and then removed to the Russell Square hotel, in Russell square, London.
“I went with Mr. Thaw to Amsterdam, Holland, by way of Folkestone. I was ill during this entire period. Mr. Thaw and I traveled throughout Holland, stopping at various places to make connecting trains and then went to Munich, Germany.
“We then traveled through the Bavarian highlands, going to the Austrian Tyrol. During all this time said Thaw and myself were known as husband and wife and were represented by the said Thaw and known under the name of Mr. and Mrs. Dellis.