The Man Who Killed His Wife And Started Life Sentence For The Crime All Within 3.5 Hours
The wheels of justice moved incredibly fast in the case of one murderer nearly a century ago
Unfortunately, the legal system can move painfully slow at times. This is especially true for more significant crimes, given the stakes at hand. However, this was not the case in 1932 when a Wisconsin man named Leonard Tritt murdered his wife at 8:30 in the morning and was in prison to start serving a life sentence for that crime at noon the same day.
The June 4, 1932 issue of the Chicago Tribune reported how the 31-year-old Tritt shot and killed his estranged 27-year-old wife, Mabel at her home in Omro, Wisconsin. He also shot and wounded his two young sons, Jack and Lowell, but fortunately they survived the attack due to first aid provided by the sheriff who arrived on the scene.
Following the brutal shooting, Tritt immediately drove to nearby Oshkosh, where he surrendered to police just 20 minutes later. Offering no opposition to the accusations, he waived a preliminary hearing by 10:15 that morning, and just a half hour after that was before Judge Fred Begliner to formally plead guilty to first degree murder. He was immediately given a life sentence at 10:55 a.m. and transported to the state prison, which was about 20 miles away from the court house.
Amazingly, in less than four hours, Tritt had committed his atrocities and moved on to facing the consequences.
Given the whirlwind nature of the horrible events, it was only later that additional details emerged about what had happened. Tritt admitted that his wife pressing him for a divorce had sent him into a violent rage. They had been apart for some time leading up to that fatal day. A county road worker, he had barely provided any financial support as of that time, and the prospect of what he might be forced to pay legally once their marriage was officially ended weighed heavily on his mind.
Tritt described the final moments leading up to the murder, after he had gone to see Mabel:
“We sat around a little and I asked her if she would not forget it, and she said, ‘I’m too stubborn.’
“I guess it was then that I shot her. I don’t know if I said anything or not. I don’t know where I shot her or how far away she was. I don’t know how many shots I fired. I believe she was standing. I don’t know whether I shot the children. I did not intend to shoot the children or myself.”
Tritt was described as smiling throughout much of his official confession. When asked if he believed he was insane, he allowed that he would let doctors determine such a diagnosis. However, he did indicate a belief that he was probably better off behind bars than out in the free world.
It seems that Tritt came to his senses not long after going behind bars. He applied for a pardon in 1933, which was denied. Similarly, he requested clemency in 1940, citing that the murder was “an act of passion predicated upon a mental turmoil created by fear and alcoholism.”
His lawyer went even further in a passionate defense, arguing:
“The record attests that a helpless, gibbering idiot has committed a crime of which he was no more responsible than if he had been hypnotized and the gun placed in his hand.”
Finally, in June, 1942, Wisconsin Governor Julius Heil commuted Tritt’s sentence from life to 14–25 years in prison. It’s unclear when the convicted murderer was released from prison, but he did ultimately get out, moving to Oregon. Records indicate that he never remarried and passed away in 1973 at the age of 72.