I forgot to mention something about the autopsy. Not only is Marion pregnant; she's a virgin. 46/

I mean. 47/

So they're questioning Will about, like, "Do you know how sex works?" These have to be extremely awkward questions. Basically he says that HE knew they hadn't really had sex, but apparently she thought they'd had sex. Which... It's 1916. I get it. 48/

But he's fairly experienced (he claims) and so he's saying he KNEW she couldn't possibly be pregnant. So the idea that he'd kill her bc she was pregnant and he didn't want to marry her doesn't really hold. 49/

As long as we believe that HE knows they didn't have sex. 50/

And then: A classmate testifies that just before Marion’s death, he had found her alone in the chemistry lab. They had cyanide in there. 51/

But there's cyanide in the greenhouse too. And Orpet can't really explain why he wanted his friend to send letters, other than wanting an alibi. And he can't explain why he messed up his bed. (Honestly I'd just go with "I never make my bed," but whatever.) 52/

The prosecution brings in a toxicologist who says the cyanide she took must have been liquid, because of the residue found in the palm of her hand. The theory is that he bought this bottle, mixed up the cyanide from the greenhouse with some other liquids, and gave it to her 53/

saying it would induce an abortion. And then once she'd taken it, he just walked away and left her there. And, as he admitted, threw the bottle out the train window. 54/

On the stand, he says he's a coward and a jerk and a horrible person, but that he didn't kill her. 55/

THEN. The defense calls three different expert chemists. They've all concluded that Marion was killed by potassium cyanide. Potassium cyanide could indeed be found in Marion's HS chem lab. But what the police had found in the McCormick greenhouse was sodium cyanide. 56/

It turns out that gardeners had started using sodium cyanide several years earlier. The state's expert hadn't known this, and hadn't tested Marion for anything but cyanide content. 57/

I'm talking like I know something about chemistry. I don't. And honestly, I don't know how much they really knew in 1916 either. More than I do in 2020, but not a ton. 58/

The jury took five hours and three ballots, and finally reached a unanimous verdict of not guilty. 59/

After the trial, Orpet says, "I’m going to the country. I’ve had a bad time but my nerve is still with me. I’m just going to start in where I left off and make good.” 60/

Here's what I personally think about the cyanide thing: The prosecution was too confident about where the poison came from. They found cyanide, and of course it's like "HERE'S THE CYANIDE." But don't forget that he was engaged to... a chemistry teacher. 61/

I don't think that he's gonna buy the bottle and come down with it empty, hoping to find cyanide in his father's greenhouse. I think he comes down with the poison. 62/

Orpet left Lake Forest and kind of vanished. He served as a sergeant in the Air Force during World War I. (Thank you for your service, douchebag.) 63/

According to some sources, he became a cowboy in Wyoming. He definitely took on the name W. H. Dawson, and in 1920 he was arrested in San Francisco for abandoning his nineteen-year-old bride. (Dodged a bullet there, sweetie.) He died in 1948 in LA. 64/

People claim to see Marion's ghost along Sheridan Road, which is right near the woods. Or rather, they'll see a young woman in a green coat, and then she'll vanish. 65/

I actually go back and forth on the case. He seems SO guilty -- I mean, he's totally guilty, right? -- but then I can also see a teenage girl thinking this is the end of the world and taking things too far. But I mean, he did it. 66/

Did he do it?

Every time I think about it, part of what makes me so mad (in either scenario) is that she missed the 1920s. She would have had so much fun! She'd have gotten so over him! 68/

Thanks for bearing with me. 69/

And hey, I spent my night this way because we met a partway goal raising funds for @volumesbooks and I promised I'd tell you a ghost story if we did. If you haven't donated yet, PLEASE do, and then you can order a billion true crime books from them. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-volumes-bookcafe?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet

Uh, sorry, major important typo earlier. Marion was NOT pregnant. And also a virgin. That's important. Yikes.

Addenda:
1) The cyanide in the lab would've been powder/crystal form, not liquid, so the fact that she didn't have a bottle becomes a moot point. (I think? Is anyone here a chemist?)

2) The thing I keep coming back to is that she was still holding her books. If someone hands you something to drink, maybe you don't put your books down. If you're going to kill yourself, I think you put them down, right??

Oh wait, I forgot one of the coolest* things! (This thread is never going to end.) Theodore Dreiser became obsessed with the case, and he researched it while he was writing An American Tragedy.

*to like three people