On February 7, 1898, a heated argument erupted between Martha Place and her husband William.


 Following William's departure, Martha, consumed by anger, looked for Ida, his teenage daughter who had taken her father's side during the altercation.


When Ida defiantly shut the door in Martha's face, an enraged Martha seized a bottle of acid from William's desk and callously hurled it upon the 17-year-old's countenance.


Subsequently, Martha smothered Ida to her death, using the bedding at hand. Armed with an axe, she then patiently awaited her husband's return.


Later that evening, as William ascended the steps leading to their brownstone, Martha assaulted him.


Despite his harrowing encounter, William managed to escape and get help. Soon after, the authorities discovered a horrifying scene within, where Ida's lifeless body lay disfigured, her eyes distorted, and blood oozing from her mouth.


Martha Place was arrested and underwent trial, during which the gravity of her crime was deemed so abhorrent that she became the first woman to be executed by the electric chair, a method previously unused for female offenders.

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