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March 18, 1910: Killer wore jewels in jail

Posted by: Ben Welter under Minnesota History, Crime Updated: March 21, 2010 - 8:24 PM

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Mrs. Dale probably looked much snappier in person than she did in this newspaper mug shot.

Shades of Martha Stewart: Mrs. Lina Dale, a Minneapolis hotel proprietor charged with first-degree murder, managed to show a little style and grace behind bars, wearing jewels and volunteering to help with the laundry. Alas, I can’t find any photos of her glittering form at the ironing board.

Dale, whose first name was reported as Lena in other newspaper accounts, landed in the county jail after admitting to police that she had shot William Lear during an argument. She said the shooting was accidental; she brandished the gun only to avoid another physical confrontation with a man who appears to have been her lover and tormentor.

After a brief trial the following month, a jury found her not guilty. The Minneapolis Morning Tribune reported that she embraced and kissed each of the jurors after hearing the verdict, “and then took an affectionate farewell with the matron of the county jail.”

Diamond-Bedecked Woman
Working in Jail Laundry

With diamond earrings in her ears and rings on her fingers, Mrs. Lina Dale, who shot and killed William Lear several weeks ago in a fight at the Alberta hotel, 622 Hennepin avenue, is working in the laundry at the county jail while awaiting trial on a charge of murder.

The woman, who has retained her jewelry, although forced to don the jail uniform, spends three hours a day over the ironing board. The work is not compulsory, but it is preferred by the prisoner rather than spend the hours in idleness in her cell.