Detective Tracy Transports Trunk Murderer

During April 1885, St. Louis experienced one of its most sensational murders.  Two English travelers had checked into the Southern Hotel in early April 1885.  C. Arthur Preller and H. M. Brooks, who was going by the alias of Dr. Maxwell, appeared to be very friendly.  Although they had separate rooms, they often stayed in the same room together.

At the end of March, Dr. Maxwell checked out of the hotel with the story that he was going to meet Preller in San Francisco on their travel to Auckland, New Zealand.  “Maxwell” was indeed traveling to New Zealand but Preller was not going to meet him.

During the second week of April 1885, C. Arthur Preller’s partially clothed body was found in a trunk in Room 144 of the Southern Hotel.  Suspicion quickly fell on the usually broke “Maxwell”, who rented the room and was walking around with several hundred dollars before he left for San Francisco.

“Maxwell” registered for the train to San Francisco under the name “H.M. Brooks”.  “Maxwell” turned out to be Hugh Mottram Brooks.  Brooks did indeed book passage to New Zealand.

St. Louis officials sent a telegram which cost $517.70, a fortune in 1885, to hold Brooks for extradition back to the United States.

Perhaps smarting from the cost of the telegram, Missouri Governor Marmaduke originally only intended to send Detective James Tracy to bring Brooks back to St. Louis.  Tracy was a capable officer but asking one man to guard a desperate criminal on such a long journey was a terrible decision.

Fortunately, St. Louis Police officials were successful in convincing the governor such a plan would most likely have a tragic outcome.  Still looking to save money, the President of the Police Board James Blair initially asked a tough local reporter Frank O’Neil to accompany Tracy.

The hope was that O’Neil’s paper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, would underwrite some of the costs for the long trip.  The Post-Dispatch was willing but timing was not with the board.

When O’Neil took a new job with the Missouri Republican, the deal died.   The new employer was unwilling to pay for O’Neil’s travel.   Detective George Badger eventually accompanied Tracy.  Tracy and Badger left on a ship from San Francisco on June 6, 1885.

New Zealand authorities turned Brooks over to Tracy and Badger who spent almost two weeks with him on board the ship.  They reached San Francisco on August 11, 1885.  The officers arrived in St. Louis with their prisoner on August 16, 1885.

The nearly three week trip must have been very trying for the officers.  Brooks was desperate to get away and had already killed once.  The officers would have to sleep in shifts even when out in the middle of the ocean.  If Brooks could overpower an officer, he could take his chances in a life boat.

Once back on solid ground in the United States, Brooks could have slipped away and hid in a major city.  It is a testament to Detectives Tracy’s and Badger’s ability that they successfully delivered Brooks back to St. Louis.

Brooks made a feeble defense in an attempt to cover up that he killed Preller because Preller no longer wanted to foot the bill for both men.  Brooks and Preller became friends and most likely lovers, when they traveled to the United States on the same ship in 1884.

C. Arthur Preller was a successful salesman while Brooks was perpetually broke.  Preller seems to have tired of paying for everything and was going to leave Brooks in St. Louis, if Brooks could not pay his way to San Francisco.

Brooks was found guilty of the murder in June 1886 and hung behind the Four Courts Building in 1888.  Brooks was buried in Calvary Cemetery while Preller had been laid to rest in the adjacent Bellfountaine Cemetery.  In life and in death, their fates seemed to be intertwined.

This murder is often considered St. Louis’ most sensational.  Without the efforts of officers like James Tracy and George Badger, it would not have come to a successful conclusion.

What surprised you about this story?  Had you heard of the Southern Hotel Trunk Murder Case?  You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Facebook page and Twitter profile.

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