Raymond Fernandez

Case overview

Raymond Martinez Fernandez was executed by electrocution at Sing Sing prison in New York on March 8, 1951.

He and his common-law wife, Martha Beck, became known as “The Lonely Hearts Killers” after their arrest and trial for serial murder in 1949. Between 1947 and 1949, they were believed to have killed as many as twenty women.

Raymond was born on December 17, 1914 in Hawaii to Spanish parents. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Connecticut. As an adult, he moved to Spain, married, and had four children, all of whom he abandoned later on in life.

After serving in British Intelligence during World War II, Fernandez decided to seek work. Shortly after boarding a ship bound for America, a steel hatch fell on top of him, fracturing his skull and injuring his frontal lobe. After his release from a hospital, Fernandez stole some clothing and was imprisoned for a year. During this time, his cellmate taught him voodoo and black magic. Fernandez later claimed black magic gave him irresistible power and charm over women.

After serving his sentence, Fernandez moved to New York City and began answering personal ads by lonely women. He would wine and dine them, then steal their money and possessions. Most were too embarrassed to report the crimes.

Martha Beck was born Martha Jule Seabrook on May 6, 1920 in Milton, Florida. Due to a glandular problem, she was overweight and went through puberty prematurely. At her trial, she claimed to have been sexually assaulted by her brother. When she told her mother about what happened, her mother beat her, claiming she was responsible.

After she finished school, she studied nursing, but had trouble finding a job due to her weight. She initially became an undertaker’s assistant and prepared female bodies for burial. She quit her job and moved to California where she worked in an Army hospital as a nurse. She engaged in sexually promiscuous behavior and eventually became pregnant. She tried to convince the father to marry her but he refused. Single and pregnant, she returned to Florida. She carried out an elaborate charade in which she claimed that the father was a serviceman she married, later claiming that he had been killed in the Pacific Campaign. Shortly after her daughter was born, she became pregnant again by a Pensacola bus driver named Alfred Beck. They married quickly and divorced six months thereafter, and she gave birth to a son.

In 1946, she found employment at the Pensacola Hospital for Children. She placed a lonely hearts ad in 1947, which Raymond Fernandez then answered. Murders occurred in 1949, leading to their arrest and conviction.

Timeline

• December 17, 1914 — Raymond Martinez Fernandez was born in Hawaii to Spanish parents.
• May 6, 1920 — Martha Jule Seabrook (Martha Beck) was born in Milton, Florida.
• World War II — Fernandez served in British Intelligence during World War II.
• December 1945 — Fernandez arrived at the port of Mobile and was placed into the hospital; he remained until March 1946.
• March 1946 — Fernandez was released from hospital after remaining there until March 1946.
• 1946 — Fernandez was released from prison and moved to Brooklyn to live with his sister.
• 1947 — Fernandez began correspondence with a young widow named Delphine Downing and also answered a personal ad placed by Martha Beck.
• December 1947 — Fernandez met Martha Beck for the first time in Florida; she visited him in New York.
• October 1947 — Fernandez and Jane Lucilla Thompson bought cruise ship tickets with Jane Thompson’s money and took a trip to Spain.
• November 7, 1947 — Jane Lucilla Thompson was found dead in her room of unknown causes.
• December 28, 1947 — Fernandez arrived in Pensacola, Florida.
• Before Christmas Day in 1947 — Martha Beck received her first reply letter from Raymond Fernandez.
• January 4, 1949 — Fernandez, Beck and Janet Fay left Albany and drove to Long Island.
• January 15, 1949 — Raymond retrieved the trunk from his sister’s home and buried it in the cellar of a rented house; Raymond then covered the grave with cement.
• February 28, 1949 — Police arrived at their door and Beck and Fernandez were arrested.
• Late January 1949 — Delphine Downing met Fernandez in connection with correspondence as “Charles Martin.”
• June 28, 1949 — Trial of Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez opened in Bronx Criminal Court / Bronx Supreme Court.
• July 11, 1949 — Raymond Fernandez took the stand.
• July 25, 1949 — Martha Beck began testimony and took the stand.
• August 18, 1949 — Jury returned guilty verdict of first-degree murder.
• August 22, 1949 — Judge Pecora sentenced both Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez to die in the electric chair on October 10 of that year.
• August 19, 1949 — They arrived on Death Row in Sing Sing prison.
• September 1950 — Rumors appeared that Martha was having an ongoing sexual relationship with one of the guards.
• January 8, 1951 — Fernandez wrote letters professing love to his first wife Encarnacion.
• March 8, 1951 — Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez were executed by electric chair at Sing Sing prison in New York.

The offence

Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck killed multiple women between 1947 and 1949.

Their convictions involved three murders. The victims were:

• Janet Fay, 66
• Delphine Downing, 41, and her two-year-old child
• A third victim that was part of the three murders for which they were later convicted during the 1949 trial process.

Investigation

After their final murders, neighbors became suspicious and called police. Police arrived at their door on February 28, 1949.

Fernandez quickly confessed. The confession was made with the understanding that they would not be extradited to New York; Michigan had no death penalty, but New York did. The pair were, however, extradited.

They signed a 73-page confession.

Arrest

Beck and Fernandez were arrested on February 28, 1949.

They were brought to the Kent County D.A.’s office, where they were questioned by police and the District Attorney. The record described that neither asked for an attorney nor did they attempt to avoid questioning.

Trial

Their trial was sensationalized. Beck and Fernandez were convicted of the three murders and sentenced to death.

The trial occurred during the summer of 1949 and opened on June 28, 1949. The trial moved to Bronx Supreme Court near Yankee Stadium.

Judge Ferdinand Pecora sat on the bench.

The prosecutor was Nassau County District Attorney Edward Robinson Jr.

Raymond Fernandez denied any role in the Fay killing and said he only met Martha a short time before by writing to lonely hearts clubs. He admitted confessing to the Michigan authorities but wished to retract the entire statement because he said he confessed only to save Martha.

The testimony included extensive sexual relations described in connection with their victims and their interrogations and confession.

Martha Beck testified beginning July 25, 1949. She recounted her childhood and claimed she had been subjected to “two incestuous attacks” and said she had “attempted suicide on several occasions,” and she stated she had tried to commit suicide six times in the year before she was arrested.

Martha also testified about the circumstances surrounding the Fay killing. She described seeing Janet naked with her arm around Raymond and said: “I was just burning up with jealousy and anger!” She also described an argument and the alleged directive she attributed to Fernandez: “Keep this woman quiet. I don’t care what you do! Just keep her quiet!” She testified: “The next I knew, the defendant Fernandez had me by the shoulders and was shaking me!” She said she blacked out and couldn’t remember what happened.

The trial record described that during the reading of the confession the courtroom reacted to descriptions of the murders.

“I think at this time, your honor, I want to take the stand!”
— Martha Beck

“I was just burning up with jealousy and anger!”

“Keep this woman quiet. I don’t care what you do! Just keep her quiet!”
— Martha Beck (describing what Fernandez allegedly said)

“The next I knew, the defendant Fernandez had me by the shoulders and was shaking me!”

Sentencing

On August 22, 1949, Judge Pecora sentenced both Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez to die in the electric chair on October 10 of that year.

They were sent to Sing Sing prison. Martha became inmate #108594 and Fernandez became #108595.

Appeals

After being placed on Death Row, Fernandez submitted court papers to have his case dropped in response to rumors involving Martha and a guard.

“Approximately 25 million persons heard Winchell’s broadcast tonight ─ including members of my own family. And I’ll admit it will be a shock and embarrassment to them.”
— Martha Beck (in a letter to Warden Denno of Sing Sing)

Martha also wrote:

“To print that or say that I am having an affair with a guard is one of the most asinine and ridiculous statements ever made!”

She asked Herbert Rosenberg to do something to stop the rumors:

“What do they expect me to do?”

“Sit here and let him destroy the one thread of decency I have left? He has done so much talking about how he has me wrapped around his little finger that it was a blow to his ego when I unwrapped myself and forgot about him…All I can say is: what a character!”

Outcome

They were executed by electric chair on March 8, 1951 at Sing Sing prison.

Fernandez made a statement as the execution proceeded:

“I want to shout it out. I love Martha! What do the public know about love?”
— Raymond Fernandez

At 11:24 p.m., Martha Beck was dead.

“What does it matter who is to blame?”

“My story is a love story, but only those tortured with love can understand what I mean. I was pictured as a fat unfeeling woman…I am not unfeeling, stupid or moronic…in the history of the world how many crimes have been attributed to love?”

Aftermath

Martha and Raymond’s official last words were described as evidence of their relationship. Raymond was described as having said:

“I wanna shout it out; I love Martha! What do the public know about love?”

Martha’s recorded last statement included:

“My story is a love story. But only those tortured by love can know what I mean [...] Imprisonment in the Death House has only strengthened my feeling for Raymond....”

The execution involved other convicts first. The executioners and witnesses were described, including Joseph Francel of Cairo, New York, who was paid $150 per person.

The execution date was March 8, 1951.

People

• Raymond Martinez Fernandez — defendant; executed
• Martha Beck (born Martha Jule Seabrook) — common-law wife and defendant; executed
• Janet Fay (66) — victim
• Delphine Downing (41) — victim
• Rainelle Downing — Delphine Downing’s two-year-old child mentioned in connection with the murders
• Alfred Beck — Pensacola bus driver named as father of Martha’s son; later referenced as Martha’s divorced husband
• Herbert E. Rosenberg — attorney chosen to represent Martha and Raymond
• Judge Ferdinand Pecora — presiding judge
• Edward Robinson Jr. — Nassau County District Attorney, prosecutor
• Kent County D.A. Roger O. McMahon — district attorney present at confession process
• Matron Evans — prison matron mentioned in relation to Martha’s last day
• Warden Denno — warden named in connection with Martha’s letters
• Thomas Dewey — New York Governor mentioned as making phone calls to Michigan
• Joseph Francel of Cairo, New York — executioner named
• John King (22) — executed before Fernandez in the same procedure
• Richard Power (22) — executed before Fernandez in the same procedure
• Encarnacion — Fernandez’s first wife in Spain, referenced as still considering him her husband; they had four children
• Willa Dean — Martha’s daughter
• Carmen — Martha’s daughter referenced as 5 years old
• Anthony — Martha’s son referenced as 4 years old
• Myrtle Young — identified as one of the other women named in connection with later marriages
• Jane Lucilla Thompson — identified as a victim in relation to a prior story of unknown causes of death
• Encarnacion Robles — Fernandez’s wife in Spain; also referenced in connection with three women
• Walter Winchell — columnist referenced in connection with Martha’s letters and press comments
• The New York Times — newspaper referenced in connection with coverage
• The Daily News — newspaper referenced in connection with press comments and reporting
• The New York Mirror — newspaper referenced in connection with protest letters
• Roger O. McMahon — named specifically as Kent County D.A.

Other details

The case was described as “The Lonely Hearts Killers,” and it was connected to films and television content, including:

• The 1970 movie The Honeymoon Killers
• The 1996 movie Deep Crimson
• The 2006 movie Lonely Hearts
• An episode of the TV series Cold Case

Martha Beck allegedly protested media comments about her appearance by writing letters to the editor.

Their jury verdict was delivered after 44 days of testimony and a five-hour charge by Judge Pecora.

The record described the jury deliberations as beginning at 9:45 p.m., continuing through the night, and reaching a verdict by 8:30 a.m. the next morning.

The record described that their execution was the first quadruple execution since 1947. Witnesses for the executions totaled at least 52 people, including nine judges and numerous police officials and press representatives.