Peter Hains
Encyclopedia
Peter Hains was an Army
Captain convicted of killing his wife's lover. The case became a sensational murder
trial in New York City
in 1909.
Abetted by his brother, sea novelist Thornton Jenkins Hains
, Peter Hains gunned down prominent magazine editor and Harper's contributor William Annis at the latter's yacht club in Bayside, Queens
. The crime, known as the Hains-Annis Case or the "Murder at the Regatta," played an important role in the development of criminal and matrimonial law. Peter Hains was convicted of manslaughter and received an eight-year sentence. His brother was initially acquitted but later convicted on retrial before finally receiving a pardon from the governor of New York.
It was one of the last cases in which a defendant pleaded Dementia Americana, the psychiatric pathology that allegedly drove American men to kill the lovers of their unfaithful wives. Harry Thaw used a similar defense during his trial for the murder of architect Stanford White
.
The trial was front page news across the country at the time and ranks with the trials of Josephine Terranova
and Richard Bruno Hauptmann as among the most widely watched and reported American criminal trials of the first half of the twentieth century.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Captain convicted of killing his wife's lover. The case became a sensational murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
trial in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1909.
Abetted by his brother, sea novelist Thornton Jenkins Hains
Thornton Jenkins Hains
Thornton Jenkins Hains was a popular American sea novelist best known today for his role in the murder of William Annis. Hains later used the penname Mayn Clew Garnett....
, Peter Hains gunned down prominent magazine editor and Harper's contributor William Annis at the latter's yacht club in Bayside, Queens
Bayside, Queens
Bayside is a suburban neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York, New York in the United States. Bayside is known as one of the most expensive areas to live in Queens, with well kept homes and landscaping...
. The crime, known as the Hains-Annis Case or the "Murder at the Regatta," played an important role in the development of criminal and matrimonial law. Peter Hains was convicted of manslaughter and received an eight-year sentence. His brother was initially acquitted but later convicted on retrial before finally receiving a pardon from the governor of New York.
It was one of the last cases in which a defendant pleaded Dementia Americana, the psychiatric pathology that allegedly drove American men to kill the lovers of their unfaithful wives. Harry Thaw used a similar defense during his trial for the murder of architect Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
.
The trial was front page news across the country at the time and ranks with the trials of Josephine Terranova
Josephine Terranova
Josephine Pullare Terranova was the defendant in a sensational murder trial in New York City in 1906. After years of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of her aunt and uncle, the 17 year old Terranova stabbed the pair to death...
and Richard Bruno Hauptmann as among the most widely watched and reported American criminal trials of the first half of the twentieth century.