NY NY - Alice Parsons: Heiress, Long Island, 1937

[zwiebel]

This is a wildcard but what if his middle name was Raj not Roy? Google does bring up info about someone with this (H Raj S) name but I don't want to link erroneous / unrelated info.

Ah! Totally see the Raj. What about Han though? I've never heard of an Indian name Han, but I'm no expert.............

 

[zwiebel]

Sorry, fred&edna, I'm there now. Plural, rather than singular, shows Han is an Indian name. Agree we shouldn't link though, especially as the person is deceased.

 

[Ausgirl]

Han's an Indian name. GREAT call on 'Raj'!

So he might be 'Han Raj Sonir Somi' - or something like that.

 

[fred&edna]

Han's an Indian name. GREAT call on 'Raj'!

So he might be 'Han Raj Sonir Somi' - or something like that.

I was so tempted not to post the "Raj" possibility and nearly deleted it. The likelihood that someone has that name now? Well... I don't know?! It truly is a wildcard. But it does make some sense

 

[London]

Oh I just wrote a long post and lost it, how frustrating. Anyway - this is my first time hearing of this case. Unusual for me to read about Surrey, England (where I'm from) on WS!

My first thoughts were certainly that Anna was responsible for the murder. I find it unlikely if William was privy to the plan of a murder occurring then that he would not have been in the house that day - on the one hand it provided an alibi but surely they would have worried Anna would not be able to succeed on her own. I might have suspected he was involved had Alice not been seen that day and thought perhaps she was already deceased when William went on his trip, but the fact that she had been seen alive makes me think Anna was responsible.
I agree with a previous poster that I think Anna may have thought she was acting in the best interests of her relationship and that William would be pleased. He may have been saying things such as wishing they could be together openly, that Alice wasn't around and Anna took this literally.
I do wonder if William really wanted anything to happen to Alice, although marrying Anna 4yrs later does suggest a lack of concern.

Marilynilpa I hope you find someone to publish your book soon! What an interesting case.

 

[Ausgirl]

Ah! Just found an article that states it was -Anna's- father whom she claimed to have been an aid to the Czar.

And that after fleeing Russia, she married an 'English student' who was killed in a car accident in 'Southern Europe'.

Testing this link.. link

 

[fred&edna]

Looks like a couple of books published under the name H.R. Soni "London School of Economics & Political Science".

Still may be more of the same wildcard ??

Maybe he wasn't a student? Maybe a professor?

 

[Ausgirl]

Wow, the more I read.. the more I wonder how on earth Anna was NOT arrested for Alice's murder. That a body was never found, but notes came stating she was dead (complete with a -replica- of a the brooch Alice purportedly wore that day..) seems to me a calculated act..

Alice was seen by the postmistress at 12.45 in her car, time set by a radio program the postmistress had been listening to at the time. Yet Anna stated Alice was 'abducted' at 11.am - by people who apparently had an uncanny knowledge of Alice's most recent financial affairs.

Notes from the 'kidnappers' came addressed to Anna, not to Alice's husband (who'd been away that day to meet some Russian businesspersons, all arranged by - big surprise - Anna... ).

It just stinks to high heaven. How was she not arrested, on the basis of the time discrepancy lie alone, I do not understand.

 

[fred&edna]

Wow, the more I read.. the more I wonder how on earth Anna was NOT arrested for Alice's murder. That a body was never found, but notes came stating she was dead (complete with a -replica- of a the brooch Alice purportedly wore that day..) seems to me a calculated act..

Alice was seen by the postmistress at 12.45 in her car, time set by a radio program the postmistress had been listening to at the time. Yet Anna stated Alice was 'abducted' at 11.am - by people who apparently had an uncanny knowledge of Alice's most recent financial affairs.

Notes from the 'kidnappers' came addressed to Anna, not to Alice's husband (who'd been away that day to meet some Russian businesspersons, all arranged by - big surprise - Anna... ).

It just stinks to high heaven. How was she not arrested, on the basis of the time discrepancy lie alone, I do not understand.

I thought all the ransom letters were sent to Anna, too. But then I read an article that said one was addressed to "Bill Parsons". Also, I read another article that said one of the ransom notes somehow used "nautical" terminology or style (not sure exactly how that applies). Then there's another article that talks about a taxicab driver coming to the home, speaking with William Parsons, and then he is followed away from the home by one of Alice's brothers.

I think Anna (and some associated thugs) is the guilty culprit without a doubt.

 

[fred&edna]

It is obvious Alice's brothers had "something incriminating" when they protested the will but I wonder what it was?

 

[zwiebel]

BBM

I thought all the ransom letters were sent to Anna, too. But then I read an article that said one was addressed to "Bill Parsons". Also, I read another article that said one of the ransom notes somehow used "nautical" terminology or style (not sure exactly how that applies). Then there's another article that talks about a taxicab driver coming to the home, speaking with William Parsons, and then he is followed away from the home by one of Alice's brothers.

I think Anna (and some associated thugs) is the guilty culprit without a doubt.

This may be tenuous, but here's a link to some old pics of the Crimea, where Anna was born and, presumably, brought up. One looks pretty nautical to me. Maybe that reference was a hint that Anna tended to use such terms herself?

http://www.antik-falkensee.de/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=crimee&x=0&y=0

The pics show a pretty grand palace there although that doesn't prove Anna's claim to 'countess'. Those palaces needed a lot of servants to run them, so it's certain there were more servants than grand folk living in that area.

 

[zwiebel]

Oh I just wrote a long post and lost it, how frustrating. Anyway - this is my first time hearing of this case. Unusual for me to read about Surrey, England (where I'm from) on WS!

My first thoughts were certainly that Anna was responsible for the murder. I find it unlikely if William was privy to the plan of a murder occurring then that he would not have been in the house that day - on the one hand it provided an alibi but surely they would have worried Anna would not be able to succeed on her own. I might have suspected he was involved had Alice not been seen that day and thought perhaps she was already deceased when William went on his trip, but the fact that she had been seen alive makes me think Anna was responsible.
I agree with a previous poster that I think Anna may have thought she was acting in the best interests of her relationship and that William would be pleased. He may have been saying things such as wishing they could be together openly, that Alice wasn't around and Anna took this literally.
I do wonder if William really wanted anything to happen to Alice, although marrying Anna 4yrs later does suggest a lack of concern.

Marilynilpa I hope you find someone to publish your book soon! What an interesting case.

Sorry to hear about your post, London! It happens to me all the time, so I often write them out elsewhere and copy and post. Trouble is, they come out full of stars and it drives me crazy!

Do you have any idea where a foreign student living in Richmond in the twenties might have been studying? Did you see Marilynilpa's earlier post about the FBI bugging the house and hearing Anna tell William she had got rid of the suspicious bottle of chloroform? I didn't realize phone bugging started so early!

 

[zwiebel]

It is obvious Alice's brothers had "something incriminating" when they protested the will but I wonder what it was?

Maybe:

Writing style of the ransom notes looked familiar to them?

Something suspicious about Alice's new will?

William insisting the bottle of chloroform in the house was for chickens, while Anna insisted it was for cleaning materials, then that bottle disappearing when the FBI asked for it? Even more damningly, the FBI microphones picking up Anna telling William she had got rid of it?

Anna refusing to let the trash collectors into the basement to collect it as usual, the week Alice disappeared?

Perhaps the family knew, or found out, something about Alice's friends*
or the 'squab recipe Russians' William went to meet that day?

Or ( and this is likely, I think) they found out Anna had told them a pack of lies about her background, maybe from genuine Russian aristocrats who came forward when the story hit the headlines?

 

[fred&edna]

BBM



This may be tenuous, but here's a link to some old pics of the Crimea, where Anna was born and, presumably, brought up. One looks pretty nautical to me. Maybe that reference was a hint that Anna tended to use such terms herself?

http://www.antik-falkensee.de/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=crimee&x=0&y=0

The pics show a pretty grand palace there although that doesn't prove Anna's claim to 'countess'. Those palaces needed a lot of servants to run them, so it's certain there were more servants than grand folk living in that area.

I love looking at these old photos! Anna may have had brothers who were seamen or family involved in the shipping (sea) trade. Also, I've wondered if "Anna" was a shortened version of Svetlana or other Russian name. I really need to learn more about Russian history.

The same article where I read about the "nautical" terms used, also said there was a drawing (or stamp or something, I can't remember the words used) on one of the notes... but for the life of me I can't find the article again.

 

[zwiebel]

Ah! Just found an article that states it was -Anna's- father whom she claimed to have been an aid to the Czar.

And that after fleeing Russia, she married an 'English student' who was killed in a car accident in 'Southern Europe'.

Testing this link.. link

The plot thickens! So the Indian student has now become an English one and the car accident conveniently happened in Southern Europe - much of which was about to become totally inaccessible because of the war.

I suppose an English person of Indian ancestry might well call themselves both English and Indian. It's too much of a coincidence that Roy named his son Ravi without some connection. IMO, I don't believe the auto accident story for one dang minute. I think Anna saw better opportunities in the good old USA and ran off and left Roy's dad.

 

[fred&edna]

The plot thickens! So the Indian student has now become an English one and the car accident conveniently happened in Southern Europe - much of which was about to become totally inaccessible because of the war.

I suppose an English person of Indian ancestry might well call themselves both English and Indian. It's too much of a coincidence that Roy named his son Ravi without some connection. IMO, I don't believe the auto accident story for one dang minute. I think Anna saw better opportunities in the good old USA and ran off and left Roy's dad.

So, I wonder if Soni lived in the US at some point?

 

[zwiebel]

Yes, I wondered that too. I did a brief search of the 'find a graveyard' site Ausgirl posted and documents do come up for the US. Nothing for England though, even though that was what I used in the search terms.

 

[fred&edna]

Thanks so much, I'm feeling better and getting back to work on Alice's story. It seems like there is always just one more thing to research, one more fact to check. I need to cut it off at some point, or I'll never finish!

When I researched this case at the National Archives, everything was kept under Anna Kuprianova's name, even though most of the documents refrred to Alice Parsons and/or William Parons. There were eight boxes, and I found out some very "juicy" stuff about Anna and William Parsons, as well as information about Anna's ex-husband who just happened to live a few miles away from the Parsons home at the time Alice disappeared.

More to come.....

I can't wait! Probably better not to dig to much deeper into this and just let you tell us the story

 

[fred&edna]

Ohhh... I just saw an article about a woman in Bridgeport CT (associated with Alex K) possibly admitting involvement? Maybe this is the info the brothers had to contest the will??
Hmmm.... wonder how much truth there was in this?

 

[Stella]

Maybe:

Writing style of the ransom notes looked familiar to them?

Something suspicious about Alice's new will?

William insisting the bottle of chloroform in the house was for chickens, while Anna insisted it was for cleaning materials, then that bottle disappearing when the FBI asked for it? Even more damningly, the FBI microphones picking up Anna telling William she had got rid of it?

Anna refusing to let the trash collectors into the basement to collect it as usual, the week Alice disappeared?

Perhaps the family knew, or found out, something about Alice's friends*
or the 'squab recipe Russians' William went to meet that day?

Or ( and this is likely, I think) they found out Anna had told them a pack of lies about her background, maybe from genuine Russian aristocrats who came forward when the story hit the headlines?

It looks like there was a good deal of quality circumstanial evidence; I wonder why J. Edgar Hoover didn't go after Anna and Parsons. Anna especially, since he considered most Russians to be spies and anarchists. The FBI leaned heavily on such people before and after but not during this time period?