Thomas Starr was a descendant of a wealthy merchant family in Middletown, Connecticut. Starr was about twenty-five years old when he committed the murder of Samuel Cornwall on August 2, 1796. Starr stabbed Cornwall seven times with what is said to be a “penknife.”
Cornwall died eleven days after the stabbing. Records do not reveal any motive for the crime. Starr was convicted and hanged in front of a large crowd in Middletown on June 14, 1797.
Story contributed by Kimberly Singh.
Middletown 366 