The holiday season had just ended in New York City, but a grim pall was cast over Harlem on Saturday, January 2, 1954. That day, Margaret Branch, a 40-year-old resident, was brutally murdered in her own apartment building, becoming the first victim of a man who would come to be known as "The Dreaded Strangler." Her death marked the beginning of a winter and spring of fear in Upper Manhattan as a serial killer prowled the streets.
Ms.
Branch was walking home alone when a young man began to follow her. Inside her building, as she neared the safety of her own room, he ambushed her. The attacker, later identified as 18-year-old Norman Roye, choked and robbed her of a small sum of money. He then dragged her to the fifth floor of the building, where he sexually assaulted her. In a final act of horrific violence, Roye strangled Margaret Branch to death with one of her own Christmas stockings, a festive object twisted into a weapon of terror.
For months, Margaret’s murder remained unsolved, and the city was on edge. The killer struck again over four months later, on May 28, murdering 25-year-old Kathleen Stewart after following her from a subway station to her Harlem River apartment. The community’s fear intensified, but the assailant remained a shadow. The break in the case finally came after his third and final attack.
On June 7, 1954, Roye assaulted 66-year-old Isadora Goomes in her apartment building, demanding money and tightening a noose around her neck until she died. Goomes had only five pennies on her. In a display of chilling detachment, Roye used the pennies to buy a box of crackers and stood across the street eating them while he watched the police investigate the crime scene. His strange behavior drew the attention of detectives, who promptly arrested him.
Once in custody, Norman Roye confessed to the murders of all three women, providing detailed accounts of each attack. He explained how he had stalked and killed Margaret Branch, Kathleen Stewart, and Isadora Goomes. Despite his detailed confession, he later tried to recant it during a jailhouse visit with his sister, claiming, "they found my pants in the hallway." His initial confession, however, was damning.
Roye’s background revealed a troubled youth. Orphaned at age eight, he was raised by his grandmother and fell into petty crime as a teenager, leading to time in a state reformatory. After his release, he showed promise as a baseball player and dreamed of making it to the major leagues, but he also supported himself with purse snatchings and thefts. This darker path ultimately led him to murder.
On February 4, 1955, a jury found Norman Roye guilty of the first-degree murder of Isadora Goomes. They did not recommend mercy, which made a death sentence mandatory. On March 5, 1955, he was formally sentenced to die. While on death row at Sing Sing Prison, Roye received no visitors and reportedly turned to religion.
After 10 months on death row, Norman Roye was executed in the electric chair on January 19, 1956. His last meal was roast chicken and steak; he had no last words. His execution closed the legal chapter on a series of crimes that had terrorized Harlem, but for the family and friends of Margaret Branch, the senseless violence of that January day left a permanent void.
