The trial which followed became the most sensational and bizarre criminal proceedings in New Hampshire's history. It ended many months later, on a Saturday at about midnight, when an overwhelming body of circumstantial evidence convinced the jurors to bring a unanimous verdict of guilty. As the clerk of court polled each juror, the wailing and sobbing of the accuseds' relatives grew so loud the clerk had to stop several times and repeat his questions. While polling the sixth juror, the clerk dropped to the floor and died of heart failure in the center of the court room.
The tragedy of that night wasn't over even then. While the judge was sentencing these two men to hang for the brutal premeditated murder of a wealthy Rhode Island businessman, in Kansas two men were murdering another wealthy business man and his family. These killings would also shock the nation, and are still famous today as the basis for the book and movie "In Cold Blood".[link]