John M. Rosenthal, a 69-year-old Caucasian male, was working in his family-owned business, Rosenthal's Drug Store, in Hartford, Connecticut, on the evening of January 26, 1957. At approximately 9:00 p.m., two men, Joseph Taborsky and Arthur Culombe, entered the establishment with the intent to commit a robbery. At the time of the incident, Rosenthal was alone on the main floor of the store.
During the course of the robbery, Taborsky, armed with a 9 mm Luger pistol, shot Rosenthal twice
in the chest, leaving him fatally wounded. Rosenthal's son, Henry, who had been working in the basement of the drugstore, heard the gunshots. Upon coming upstairs, he witnessed Taborsky standing by the cash register. The two assailants then fled the scene.
The murder of John M. Rosenthal was part of a violent crime spree that terrorized Connecticut between 1956 and 1957, which the press dubbed the "Mad Dog killings." Following an intensive investigation, authorities apprehended Joseph Taborsky and Arthur Culombe. Both men were charged in connection with the crime spree, which included multiple robberies and murders.
For their roles in the "Mad Dog killings," both Taborsky and Culombe were convicted of first-degree murder. Taborsky, the man who shot John M. Rosenthal, was ultimately sentenced to death. His case gained notoriety as he became the last person to be executed in Connecticut's electric chair before a nationwide moratorium on executions. Arthur Culombe also received a death sentence, which was later commuted to life in prison.
