When a medical professional is murdered, oftentimes the motive is one of two things – envy, or anger. In the case of Dr. George Parkman, the motive was much simpler than that. It was money.
George Parkman was born on February 19th, 1790 to a very, very wealthy Boston family. The Parkmans were considered the elite of the elite in Boston, Massachusetts. They owned property in several towns in several states. Many of the Parkman children oversaw these different properties, and George was chosen to oversee the Boston estate.
At a young age, George was a sickly child. As such, he was motivated to attend Harvard University in order to pursue medicine. At the age of fifteen, George enrolled as a freshman, and even gave the “Salutory Oration” in 1809.
While in school, a lecture by Benjamin Rush inspired him. George took a deep interest in mental health, and the horrendous conditions of asylums in the United States. After graduating from Harvard, George attended the University of Aberdeen in Scotland for his medical degree.
Upon completion of this degree, George went back to Boston for a time, where a friend introduced him to another friend, who encouraged him to return to Europe where George was introduced to many doctors around Paris, France.
While in Paris, George saw the developing humane treatment of mentally ill patients – the complete opposite of how they were treated in the US. George was especially impressed with the work of Philippe Pinel and Étienne Esquirol, two pioneering French psychiatrists.
Under their tutelage, George was determined to make a difference in the field of mental health. He studied the history and treatment of mental health while at the Parisian Asylum, and studied with “men of Science” in England for a time.
In 1813, George returned to the United States where he was called on as a physician during the War of 1812. He set up practice in South Boston, where he set on replicating the care and courtesy of everything he’d learned under Pinel and Esquirol.
He was so enthused by what he’d learned in France, he tried to replicate the residence-like setting of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital at the Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1817, George wrote two papers in the hopes of convincing the faculty and trustees that adding a wing for the purposes of treating mental health was a good idea. The trustees weren’t swayed.
Dismayed, George continued to practice medicine, and study mental health, until he retired. In 1823, he organized the publication of The New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery with two colleagues, while managing various properties owned under the Parkman name.
When his father passed away in 1824, George took complete control of the estate land, and real estate assets. George realized that money lending and real estate really helped his income, and proceeded with these ventures for the continuation of his life.
Dr. George Parkman was often seen strolling around Boston, collecting rents from tenants. He was described as a tall, lean man with a protruding chin, and always wearing a top hat.
The last time Dr. George Parkman was seen alive was November 23rd, 1849. He was last seen by two men, John White Webster, and Ephraim Littlefield.
John White Webster was a professor and lecturer in chemistry at the new Harvard Medical School, where George had given the school lands for the build. While many claimed that Webster’s lectures were engaging, he had a tendency to use pyrotechniques that made faculty panic.
Webster was also in severe amounts of debt. He had borrowed money from a number of friends, and his salary from the medical school weren’t enough to cover his vast expenses.
Ephraim Littlefield worked at Harvard Medical School as a janitor. He and his wife lived in the basement of the school, very near where Webster’s chemistry laboratory was located. Littlefield was friendly with most of the medical school staff, including Webster and other doctors.
Being in close contact with labs and equipment, Littlefield took it upon himself to supplement his income by obtaining cadavers for dissection. He’d sell them to students and professors for $25. Littlefield had vast access to the school. And he often saw things.
In 1842, George lent Webster $400. By 1847, George saw very little of this loan repaid. By November 23rd, 1949, things came to a head.
George set about town collecting his rents, when Webster came upon him and suggested they meet at the Medical College at 1:30 PM. George agreed. He was last seen at 1:45 PM that afternoon.
Later, Littlefield noticed that Webster’s rooms and laboratory were all locked, and water was running. By 6 PM that evening, Webster attended a party, seeming no worse for wear.
The following day, November 24th, George’s wife and children contacted the police. George was a creature of habit. It wasn’t like him to be gone overnight without sending word.
That same day, Webster asked Littlefield to make a fire for him. Webster was carrying a bundle.
The following day, the 25th, Webster met with police, and various members of the Parkman family. He told them that he’d repaid his debt to George, and then he hadn’t seen him since George had left him at the Medical College.
On the 26th, a $3,000 reward was issued for finding George alive. Later, $1,000 was offered for finding his body. Flyers, or wanted notices, went up all over Boston, asking for any information in regards to the whereabouts of Dr. George Parkman.
The search expanded into neighbouring towns, and the Charles River and Boston Harbour were dragged by City Marshal Francis Tukey. Search parties were formed, and search parties failed at finding anything. Parkman properties were searched on multiple occasions, to no avail.
As this was transpiring, Littlefield was starting to panic. Webster was acting oddly. He’d gotten angry with Littlefield when he’d answered Webster’s question honestly in regards to seeing George Parkman the week prior. The inquisition was the most that Webster had ever spoken to Littlefield.
On November 28th, Littlefield watched as Webster made eight trips, back and forth, from the furnace room to the fuel closet and back. When he went to investigate for himself after Webster left, he found the recently filled kindling barrels nearly empty. Littlefield grew more and more suspicious.
The following day, Littlefield borrowed tools and began to chisel away at the wall under Webster’s lab privy. From there, he continued to excavate, while his wife kept watch. After a time, Littlefield and his wife left their task to attend a dance.
On November 30th, the next day, Littlefield got back to his project. After a time, Littlefield managed to break through the concrete. As he looked around, he saw what appeared to be part of a thigh, and part of a lower leg in a mound of dirt.
Littlefield departed his excavation, and found Marshal Tukey. A group of men gathered to help “uncover” the body.
As this was transpiring, three police officers went to find Webster, and detain him. He was taken to jail on the charge of murder. He denied any knowledge of a murder, and placed the blame squarely on Littlefield – only Webster and Littlefield had access to the lab privy.
All in all, the group, led by Marshal Tukey found a pelvis, right thigh, and lower left leg in the crevice dug by Littlefield. He also made mention to a furnace that Webster had access to through his laboratory. There, they found bone fragments, a button, coins, and part of a jawbone with teeth.
On December first, a coroner’s jury was assembled, but the search for the remaining parts of the body was still underway. During the search, police discovered a foul smelling chest. When upturned, they found “an armless, headless, hairy, and partly burned torso”. A thigh was stuffed inside the torso, and the organs were missing. They also a bloody saw.
Later that day, Mrs. Parkman and George’s brother-in-law positively identified the body as that of Dr. George Parkman.
Seeing as the body had been dismembered on the premises of a medical school, officers, doctors, and experts laid out the parts, gave them thorough examination, and wrote detailed reports. After the examination, the general estimation was that the height of the body matched that of Dr. George Parkman.
As more searches were conducted, a pile of bloody clothing was found. They were identified as belonging to John White Webster.
Boston’s elite were uproarious. Webster was one of their own. They couldn’t conceive of the notion that he’d do such horrendous things to anyone, let alone a Parkman. For all his support, Webster was still charged with murder.
On December 6th, 1849, a funeral was held for Dr. George Parkman. Thousands were in attendance. Nearly 5,000 people had toured the crime scene.
But nothing, absolutely nothing, would top the spectacle that was the trial of John White Webster.
Stay tuned for part two.
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Sources:
Murder in the medical school: The Parkman-Webster murder case, Boston 1849-1950 – Corinne Hogan – Royal College of Surgeons of England
The Murder of a Wealthy Boston Physician by a Harvard Professor, 1849 – Thomas Duke – Historical Crime Detective
George Parkman Wikipedia page
Parkman-Webster murder case Wikipedia page