Murder of Vera Schneider

Late April 24, 1920, 21-year-old Anson Best and 19-year-old Vera Schneider would meet in Pontiac, Michigan. They would walk around downtown. They would go and sit on a porch to an empty house. In the early morning the next day. Anson would then strangle Vera with two handkerchiefs tied together. He had wiped the blood from her mouth and went to the river to wash his hands. 

He would then return to the scene. By this time police had already stumbled across her body. 

To the police was obvious that whoever had done it had tried to wipe away the blood coming from Vera's mouth and stepped on a splotch of blood. This would lead the police to use bloodhound to lead them to the river where Anson washed his hands. The man who saw him came washing his hands came forward with their information. The description match Anson who was at the scene.

Anson was soon identified as the man washing his hands and taken in by police. He would soon confess that he only killed her because she asked him to do it. 

He said that the night started with her talking to him. She had asked him to take a walk downtown. She seemed down about something and he told her not to worry about it. When they got to the empty house on the sidewalk she was killed at she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.  He states that she asked him to kill her. 

He said that she pulled out his handkerchiefs and tied them together. She then tied around her neck, but it wouldn't choke her. He sais that she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him and said goodbye. He said that she wanted to kill her so he pulled it tight around her neck. He said when he was strangling her she didn't kick at first, but towards the end, she kicked her feet a little.  

On May 7th the jury would find him guilty. He would be sentenced to life in prison. 

SOURCES:
The Boston Globe April 28, 1920
Fall River Daily News April 29, 1920
The Boston Globe May 8, 1920
The Sacramento Bee May 8, 1920
Virginia Chronicle May 23, 1920
The Logan County News July 8, 1920