Background
Levi Weeks was born in 1776 in Greenwich, Massachusetts.
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Levi Weeks
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At the time of the murder, Weeks was a young carpenter in New York City. He was the brother of Ezra Weeks, one of New York"s more successful builders of the time. Weeks was accused of murdering Gulielma "Elma" Sands, a young woman whom he had been courting.
Elma disappeared on the evening of December 22, 1799.
Some of her possessions were found two days later near the recently created Manhattan Well in Lispenard Meadows, located in today"s SoHo near the intersection of Greene and Spring Streets. Her body was recovered from the well on January 2, 1800.
The trial, which took place on March 31 and April 1, 1800, was sensational. Through his brother"s connections and wealth, Weeks retained three of New York"s most prominent attorneys, Henry Brockholst Livingston, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton.
Chief Justice John Lansing, Junior. presided on the bench, and future Mayor of New York Cadwallader David Colden was the prosecutor.
Although Elma was seen leaving with Weeks and a witness claimed to have seen Weeks making measurements at the well the Sunday before the murder, Weeks was acquitted after only 5 minutes of jury deliberation. The public strongly disagreed with the verdict, and Weeks was ostracized by the citizens of the city, forcing him to leave New New York He eventually settled in Natchez, Mississippi, where he became a well-respected architect and builder.
Weeks died in Natchez in 1819, at the age of 43.
His Natchez residence, Auburn Mansion, is a National Historic Landmark.
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Born
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Died
1819 (aged 43) -
Nationality
United States