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Excerpted from
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/brooke_hart/index.html
... In November 1933, Brooke
Hart was abducted in broad daylight just yards away from his
father's store. Alex J. Hart ran a profitable retail
business, called L. Hart and Son Company, for generations.
Brooke Hart, 22, was the heir apparent to take charge of the
family business. He was young, ambitious and expected to
become the leader of the next generation of Harts.
Unfortunately, his family's wealth also made him a prime
target for kidnapping. In November 1933, Brooke Hart was
abducted in broad daylight just yards away from his father's
store. ...
... The outrage over the
killing of Brooke Hart was brewing like a hurricane in
Santa Clara
County. "Give them to us!"
one man yelled. Sherriff Emig watched the men from the jail
window. As soon as the crowd saw him, they reacted. "Give
them up sheriff!" another demanded. "We'll take care of 'em!"
"Turn them over! Hang the bastards!" they yelled. By 9:00
p.m. the mob had grown to over 5,000, most of who milled
around St. James Park making noise, lighting fires and on
occasion, tossing pieces of iron pipe, bottles and bricks
toward the jail. Telephone wires had been destroyed so
police had no way to call for reinforcements. ...
... Press people from the
local newspapers snapped dozens of photographs and easily
recognized many of their neighbors. For hours afterwards,
people roamed through the park and children played nearby
while the naked bodies of Thurmond and Holmes swayed in the
gentle night breeze. ...
... Though many thousands
witnessed the events of November 26, 1933 in San Jose, no one was ever
convicted of any crime related to the lynchings of Thurmond
and Holmes. ... |
