Jarvis Catoe

Overview

Jarvis Theodore Roosevelt Catoe was convicted of killing a woman in Washington and was later brought to trial for that killing. He was arrested in Washington, confessed to multiple murders, and was executed by electrocution in the District of Columbia on January 15, 1943.

Timeline

• January 15, 1943 — Jarvis Catoe was executed by electrocution in the District of Columbia.
• September 1 — Another slaying in the District of Columbia was added.
• September 08, 1941 — The case was described in “Stay Away from My Door” on Time.com Monday, Sep. 08, 1941.
• August 29, 1941 — Jarvis Catoe confessed to the murders of seven women in Washington and one in New York City.
• August 4, 1941 — Evelyn Anderson left her home in the Bronx at 6 a.m. and was later found dead at 9 p.m.
• August 4, 1941 (earlier events) — Evelyn Anderson’s watch was recovered from a New York pawn shop hocked by Charles Woolfolk.
• March 8, 1941 — Rose Abramovitz, a bride of one month, hired Catoe to wax some floors; she was murdered.
• June 15, 1941 — Rain fell in Washington; Jesse Strieff mistakenly climbed into Catoe’s car after mistaking it for a taxi.
• July 1941 — An unsolved homicide recorded in July 1941 was suspected to be connected, according to officers from Lynn, Massachusetts.
• 1940 (between 1938 and 1940) — Authorities from Hamilton Township, New Jersey questioned Catoe about a series of shotgun murders between 1938 and 1940, later cleared with the arrest of Clarence Hill.
• 1940 (earlier) — Detectives from Garden City, Long Island were curious about the death of a patrolman in 1940.
• December 1, 1939 — Josephine Robinson was murdered.
• 1935 (year) — Florence Darcy was raped and strangled.
• January 2, 1941 — Ada Puller was murdered.
• February 1940 — The February 1940 strangulation death of Helen Foster was linked for questioning.
• September 1940 (two months apart from November) — Lucy Kidwell was killed.
• November 1940 (month) — Mattie Steward was killed.
• April 1941 (implied by “six weeks later” from June 15) — Washington police began looking into the cases more intensely when Catoe shifted to Caucasian victims for the first time, described after June 15.

Background

Jarvis Theodore Roosevelt Catoe had a police record and had been accused four times of indecent exposure. He lived within a few blocks of where he committed two crimes. He was described as having “spells” and as having caused a police shake-up in Washington and a Congressional investigation after he murdered Jessie Elizabeth Strieff, a Government clerk.

Catoe had a common-law wife, Emma, who had supported him for the past year. Emma read about Catoe’s murders and stated: “He can't stay with me no more.”

Catoe held a chauffeur’s cap and was described as having gently told the police about the murders.

The offences

Washington, District of Columbia rampage and victims

• Florence Darcy (1935) — Florence Darcy was the first to die, and she was raped and strangled in 1935. The case had been “closed” a year later with the conviction of an innocent suspect.
• Josephine Robinson (December 1, 1939) — Josephine Robinson was murdered on December 1, 1939.
• Lucy Kidwell (September 1940) — Lucy Kidwell was killed in September 1940, two months apart from the death of Mattie Steward.
• Mattie Steward (November 1940) — Mattie Steward was killed in November 1940.
• Ada Puller (January 2, 1941) — Ada Puller was murdered on January 2, 1941.
• Rose Abramovitz (March 8, 1941) — Rose Abramovitz, a bride of one month, hired Catoe to wax floors on March 8 and was murdered. She was sprawled across her bed; Catoe also scooped up twenty dollars and escaped.
• Jesse Elizabeth Strieff (June 15, 1941) — On June 15, it rained in Washington. Jesse Strieff, a secretary at the War Department, was relieved when Catoe stopped to offer her a lift. Mistaking his car for a taxi, she climbed in and was driven to a nearby garage. Catoe raped and strangled her, hid her umbrella, and stuffed her clothes in a trash bin. Strieff’s nude body was discarded in another garage, ten blocks away. Her death provoked congressional investigations and a personnel shake-up in the Washington police department.

Additional slaying in the District of Columbia

• September 1 — Another slaying in the District of Columbia was added on September 1.

New York City victim and investigation link

• Evelyn Anderson (Bronx)
  • Evelyn Anderson, age 26, left her home in the Bronx at 6 a.m. on August 4, 1941 to walk to her job as a waitress in a nearby restaurant. She never punched the clock that day, and it was 9 p.m. before her lifeless body was discovered in an alley off Jerome Avenue.
  • She was strangled by a powerful assailant, with marks of fingernails imbedded in her throat, and she had not been sexually abused.
  • Her watch was recovered from a New York pawn shop, hocked by Charles Woolfolk, a few days later.
  • Under questioning, Woolfolk swore that he received the watch from a lady friend, Hazel Johnson, who pointed an accusing finger at suspect Mandy Reid.
  • Hauled in for interrogation, Reid said she got Anderson’s handbag—containing the watch—from her friend, Jarvis Catoe, a resident of Washington, D.C.

After this New York incident, authorities sought to question Catoe in connection with other unsolved murders in multiple jurisdictions.

Investigation

After Catoe had been arrested and confessed, corroborating details were described as follows:

• Catoe told police where they could find one victim’s lost umbrella.
• Catoe knew that twenty dollars had been stolen in another case; this fact had been known only to detectives, members of the victim’s family, and her killer.

The confessions were described as leading police to multiple jurisdictions:

• Officers from Lynn, Massachusetts suspected a connection with a homicide recorded in July of 1941.
• Detectives from Garden City, Long Island were curious about the death of a patrolman in 1940.
• Authorities from Hamilton Township, New Jersey questioned Catoe about shotgun murders between 1938 and 1940, later cleared with the arrest of Clarence Hill.
• Spokesmen for NYPD requested that Catoe be questioned about the February 1940 strangulation death of Helen Foster.

A final tally was described “as far as anyone can tell” at nine.

Arrest and confession

Catoe was arrested by authorities in Washington. It was stated that he confessed to the murders of seven women in Washington and one in New York City on August 29. The narrative described additional details from the confession:

• Four others had been raped but left alive.
• He reportedly had failed in efforts to abduct two more.
• He named Evelyn Anderson as his New York victim.
• The rampage was described as having started years earlier in Washington.

Catoe was also described as having been “resigned to his fate.” During the narrative, Catoe said:

• “About ten,” he finally said.
• “About ten,” he repeated. He had been accused with killing and also had admitted to ravishing and choking them to death, stating he had had “spells.”

Catoe’s confession included a statement that he had murdered Jessie Elizabeth Strieff, a Government clerk.

Trial

Catoe was brought to trial in late October 1941 for killing Rose Abramovitz. He sought to recant his confessions, claiming that police had tortured him while he was “sick and weak.”

A jury failed to buy the act and returned a guilty verdict after deliberating only eighteen minutes. The verdict included a recommendation of death.

Sentencing

The jury returned a verdict of guilty with a recommendation of death after deliberating for only eighteen minutes.

Outcome

Catoe was executed by electrocution in the District of Columbia on January 15, 1943.

Other details

• Catoe had been accused four times of indecent exposure.
• Florence Darcy’s case had been “closed” a year later with the conviction of an innocent suspect.
• It was stated that Catoe got careless in New York, and that New York cops found evidence including a wrist watch that led them to Catoe.
• The narrative stated that after Catoe started in New York, police from several eastern jurisdictions sought to question him about other unsolved murders.
• Catoe had been driving along Florida Avenue when it began raining, and it was described as a cloudburst turning the afternoon into night.
• Jessie Strieff’s umbrella was hidden by Catoe; her clothes were stuffed in a trash bin. Her body was discarded in another garage ten blocks away.