Bessie C. Darling (''née'' Warren; August 4, 1885 – October 31, 1933) was an American hotel proprietor and minor socialite from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

who was brutally murdered at her hotel on Halloween night, 1933, by a State of Maryland employee.

Biography

Bessie Darling was born in Maryland to John Wesley Warren, a grocer, and Fannie Fresh Warren. Darling was married to Charles Howard Whitridge Darling, with whom she had a son, Charles Howard Wesley Darling (1904–1965). They had been separated or divorced for several years prior to her death. In 1920, she was again living with her parents, the Warrens. During

Joseph Pache Joseph Pache (1861–1926) was a composer, teacher, and director of the Baltimore Oratorio society from 1892 to 1924 when the society disbanded. Move to the United States and Professional Career Pache was a native of Germany and studied at the Mu ...

's term directing the

Baltimore Oratorio Society The Oratorio Society of Baltimore was founded by Otto Sutro in 1882, with Fritz Finke as music director. Its first performance came in 1885. In 1892, Finke left the Oratorio Society to return to Germany. Mr. Sutro contacted Joseph Pache Joseph Pa ...

, Darling worked as his secretary. In 1918, she opened the Valley View Hotel, a 12-room manor resort in

Thurmont, Maryland Thurmont is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,935 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the northern part of Frederick County (north of Frederick, the county seat), approximately ten miles from the Pen ...

, with Pache's financial backing.

Murder

Sometime in 1926, Darling became acquainted with George F. Schultz, who worked for the Health Department of the State of Maryland. Schultz and Darling were so close that Schultz went to see her family for Christmas in 1930. In the fall of 1933, Schultz (then 62 years old) began to suspect Darling (then 48) of passing her time with other men. His suspicion was particularly directed toward Charles Wolfe, a 63-year-old widower who had just lost his wife in the previous year. To avoid his anger, Darling left Baltimore in September and stayed at the Valley View Hotel in Deerfield with her maid. On Halloween night, 1933, Schultz took action on his suspicions. He hopped on a mail train to Thurmont which did not stop at Deerfield Station. (It was 10 minutes from the Darling residence). He then got a ride from a Clarence Lidie and insisted that Lidie take him to the Valley View Hotel, threatening Lidie with his pistol. After being informed by the maid that Darling was in her room, Schultz strode upstairs and forced open the door at which point he shot and killed Darling in the chest with the pistol. He then sent the maid to call the authorities. As she was doing so, Schultz attempted suicide by shooting himself. His attempt failed and he was captured and brought to the local hospital. Schultz recovered from his self-inflicted gunshot wound and was tried on March 13, 1934. He was found guilty of

second degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. His plea during the trial was that the murder was in self-defense, as Darling had also been armed with a pistol, but the court decided that Darling had a reason to be in possession of her weapon as he had previously threatened her life.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darling, Bessie 1885 births 1933 deaths People from Baltimore American socialites American murder victims Deaths by firearm in Maryland People murdered in Maryland 1933 murders in the United States