Chief Desmond Solves Cooper Killing
On Thursday, January 23, 1902, St. Louis awakened to the news millionaire A. Deane Cooper was found murdered in the Vista Bathhouse at Franklin Avenue and North Grand Boulevard. Cooper, one of St. Louis’ wealthiest men, owned residential real estate and other assets valued at 2 million dollars. Cooper aspired to be the biggest property owner in St. Louis. He may have accomplished the feat if not for his untimely death at 49-years-of-age.
On Wednesday, January 22, 1902, Cooper arrived at the Vista Bathhouse, which he owned. After he suffered an attack of apoplexy in 1901, he bought the bathhouse to take regular Turkish baths. Cooper was attended by William Strother aka William Straugher. Cooper had a close relationship with Strother, which was unusual in turn of the century St. Louis. Strother was both poor and black. Cooper was wealthy and white.
Illustration of Desmond Questioning Strother from the January 26, 1902 edition of the St. Louis Republic
After Cooper arrived, Strother heated up the sauna for Cooper. After a steam bath in the sauna, Cooper returned to the cooling room, where he had a cot. Cooper told Strother he was expecting a man and two women to visit him at the Turkish bath. Cooper stated one of the woman was having an affair with him but due to her prejudice she did not want any black people around her.
Strother agreed to stay out of sight but Cooper told him he could peek in the bathhouse after he saw the agreed upon signal. The newspapers proceeded very cautiously around these details but it seems Cooper arranged for Strother to be able to peek in at the naked women, who often joined Cooper at the bathhouse.
Strother did peek in on them after receiving the signal from Cooper. Strother returned around midnight to find everyone gone. He observed Cooper lying on a cot. When he checked on his employer, he found Cooper insensible from a strike to the head. Strother summoned Cooper’s son, Theodore Cooper, and the St. Louis Police.
In a case of this significance, the Sherlock Holmes of St. Louis, Chief of Detectives William Desmond, personally handled the investigation. The police quickly found the murder weapon, a sledge hammer with blood stains, in a stack of coal underneath the Turkish bath in the basement.
St. Louis Police Officer from the Public Domain
Chief Desmond quickly focused on the three visitors and William Strother. Strother’s alibi crumbled quickly. Under a series of “sweatings”, the term Desmond used for his interrogations, he progressively got confessions from Strother.
Strother admitted taking Cooper’s missing jewels, that he brought the murder weapons up out of the basement, that he hid the sledge hammer in the basement and finally that he struck Cooper with the fatal blow.
Desmond never discovered a clear motive. Strother attempted to hide the jewelry, so robbery could have been a motive. Cooper had also recently purchased the house that Strother lived in. Despite Cooper’s promises he was going to redeem the house for Strother, Strother feared Cooper was going to put him out of his house. Cooper acquired Strother’s house during the week of January 22, 1902.
Besides his mistress, A. Deane Cooper had a dark side. Cooper was supposed to be bankrolling the operation of St. Louis gambler Johnny Winn. Cooper asked Winn to have one of Cooper’s co-workers “slugged”. Cooper hoped his employers would think the co-worker was keeping bad company and fire the man.
Cooper’s dual life may have led to the hung jury at Strother’s first trial. Strother quickly plead guilty to 2nd Degree Murder during jury selection for his second trial. Strother was sentenced to a 15 year sentence from which he was released early due to good behavior as a prisoner. Strother was released on September 9, 1913. He would live less than a year.
On July 25, 1914, 52-year-old William Strother died in the City Hospital. Strother died as a result of lung disease. He was working in a lead mine at the time, which may have contributed to his disease. Strother, homeless at the time of his birth, was buried in the Potter’s Field.
Chief William Desmond would solve many other crimes including one leading to the imprisonment of Ben Kilpatrick, who rode with Butch Cassidy. Chief Desmond almost always got his man or woman.
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