Episode 575: Veronica Gedeon & the Easter Sunday Murders (Part 1)

The Gideon family, Hungarian immigrants led by Joseph and Mary, forged their American lives amidst the backdrop of Prohibition, the free-spiritedness of '20s New York, and shifting family dynamics.

Joseph and Mary Gideon's Beginnings

Joseph Gideon left Hungary in the early 1900s, seeking new opportunities in New York where he would meet his future wife, Mary Karatowski. They married in 1908 and settled in Astoria, Queens, where they started their family. It was a modest beginning, with Veronica "Ronnie" Gideon being one of two children, born in 1917.

Business Ventures and Family Strife

Joseph, a stern disciplinarian, viewed America's permissive culture with disdain. This created friction, particularly with Ronnie, whose young American spirit directly clashed with Joseph's rigidity. To support his family, Joseph operated a speakeasy from their brownstone's basement, which, during Prohibition, was closed down by the police for its illegal activities.

Aspirations and Tensions Clash

Despite such setbacks, Joseph's industriousness led him to open a successful upholstery shop. But the financial stability it brought couldn't mend the familial rifts. Joe's firm parenting style and Ronnie's bold, “boy crazy” nature continued to cause household tension.

Separation but Not Estrangem ...

Ronnie’s life was marked by a vibrant modeling career and tumultuous personal relationships, both of which became the focus of public attention following her tragic end.

Ronnie pursued a career as a model, posing for pulp magazines and developing a reputation as a "wild" and "boy-crazy" young woman.

Ronnie entered the world of modeling through her sister's connections, meeting a magazine publisher at Condé Nast who recommended she model for his daughter's artwork. Ronnie quickly became a working model and was regularly featured on the covers of detective fiction magazines. Despite her professional success, the media fixated on her personal life, highlighting her romantic endeavors and dubbing her "wild" and "boy-crazy," which played into the salacious media coverage after her murder.

In the weeks before her death, Ronnie had become fearful of a man she only referred to as "B" in her diary, concerned that his obsession with her was escalating.

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On Easter Sunday, Ronnie, her mother Mary, and a family boarder named Frank Burns were brutally murdered in the Gideon family's apartment.

On March 28th, 1937, Joe Gideon was set to celebrate Easter dinner at the apartment he shared with Mary and Ronnie, his estranged family with whom he had just reconciled. Upon arrival, Joe discovered not a festive atmosphere but an unchanged kitchen from the night before, signaling something amiss. He then found the overt signs of a grim scene: Ronnie lay lifeless, nude, and bruised on the bed, while Frank Burns was similarly strangled in his bed with evident stab wounds. Mary was located under the bed, having been strangled with significant force.

The initial scene was perplexing, with the apartment door ajar though undisturbed from the inside, suggesting no resistance to the assailant. Bloody evidence and a non-stop barking family dog were the few oddities; the dog's typical behavior suggested the attacker was recognized, explaining the lack of uproar the preceding night.

The crime scene showed no signs of forced entry or struggle, suggesting the killer was let into the apartment.

Detectives Owens and Gilmartin observed that the apartment was untouched and peaceful except for the grisly murders. Mary's bruised knuckles indicated a personal battle, while both she and Ronnie appeared to have been sexually assaulted. Aside from inexplicably missing elements like a clock and strands of gray hair clutched in Ronnie's hand, no leads presented themselves.

Investigators initially suspected Ronnie's ex-husband Bobby Flowers and a former boarder named George Gray, but both were eventually cleared.

George Gray and Mary Baco, both associated with the Gideons, garnered immediate police attention. Despite keen interest from the police, both were freed after short detainments. Ronnie's ex-husband, Bobby Flowers, had his share of altercations with Ronnie but was working publicly during the incident, clearing his name.

The case expanded with over 200 NYPD officers scouring for leads and questioning potential witnesses, but clues remained elusive. The absence of any clear suspect or motive was puzzling; detectives turned their su ...

The media's coverage of the sensational murders, with a focus on Ronnie who was a beautiful young model, played a significant role in shaping public perception and the progress of the investigation.

The sensational nature of the murders

From the onset, news of the murders hit the headlines with a sensational spin.

The press centered on Ronnie's beauty and her modeling career. The New York Daily News went as far as dedicating their entire front page to a provocative photo of Ronnie, while an inset image showed her lifeless body. The headline "Three Murders And Model's Flat: She Opened The Door For Death," along with the story, suggested that Ronnie was to blame for the events that led to her death, despite a lack of evidence.

The narrative presented by The Daily News painted a melodramatic scene, referring to her as the "murder of the artist's model," and posited the unsubstantiated theory that she was the intended target with the others merely collateral.

Articles, which often were accompanied by photos of Ronnie in various stages of undress, mirrored the style of pulp magazines rather than respectable newspapers. Tabloids and photographers sought to capitalize on Ronnie's murder by selling nude and semi-nude photos of her. Ronnie was portrayed as a low-class nude model to those who didn't know her, and her death was framed with a misogynistic tone, insinuating she was responsible.

Her father gave an interview suggesting that her behavior toward men may have precipitated the tragic events. The press, feeding on this narrative, printed stories that laid blame at Ronnie's doorstep.

In an effort to counter the media's misogynistic narrative

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