Kate Townsend became involved with a sailor named Peter Kearnaghan after saving him during a bar fight and became pregnant.
23 Facts About Kate Townsend
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The house was successful and Kate Townsend made many influential friends through the business including city officials and politicians.
3.
On July 30,1870 gambler Gus Taney was murdered in the brothel by Jim White following an argument after Kate Townsend had extended Taney credit.
4.
Kate Townsend kept the knife with her at all times from then on for self-defence.
5.
Kate Townsend had known Troisville Egbert Sykes since soon after her arrival in New Orleans.
6.
The arrangement didn't work well and Kate Townsend had him arrested for forging her signature on cheques to the value of $7,000.
7.
Kate Townsend subsequently dropped the charges, but after that led Sykes a dogs life.
8.
In October 1883 Kate Townsend started to pay a lot of attention to a young gigolo named McLern, who she received in her private rooms.
9.
The next day Kate Townsend was in the kitchen with her head girl, Molly Johnson, when she grabbed a carving knife and started making stabbing motions, saying she was going to open up Sykes' belly.
10.
Skyes appeared in the kitchen and Kate Townsend attacked him with a breadboard until he fell to the floor and escaped on his hands and knees.
11.
Kate Townsend told Johnson that she had been to Sykes room to open his belly, but he was not there.
12.
McLern and Kate Townsend got into an argument in which McLern threatened to smash a bottle over Kate Townsend's head.
13.
Kate Townsend pulled out her bowie knife and McLern told her the bottle threat was only a joke.
14.
Kate Townsend kept the knife in her hand and told the others she needed to cut somebody with it, and then said she was going to go home and open Sykes belly and left the cafe, Johnson left the cafe and when Thompson went to her boudoir, Johnson warned Sykes to keep his door locked and barred.
15.
The next day and night Kate Townsend remained in bed with a hangover.
16.
Kate Townsend said to the housekeeper "Well Mary, Kate's gone" and, when Philomena asked him what he'd done, replied "I had to do it".
17.
Philomena, who had now been joined by the cook, Rose Garcia, opened the door and found Kate Townsend lying in a pool of blood.
18.
Venize examined the body, but Kate Townsend had been dead too long for him to do anything for her.
19.
Skyes told the police that as soon as he entered the room Kate Townsend had attacked with a knife she had hidden under her pillow.
20.
Kate Townsend had managed to get the knife off her but she then attacked her with a pair of pruning shears.
21.
Kate Townsend's body was laid out in the drawing room in a $600 white silk dress.
22.
Sykes produced a will dated September 3,1873, in which Kate Townsend made him the sole beneficiary.
23.
In 1885 Ellen Talley, nee Cunningham, claimed to be the sister of Kate Townsend and entered a claim on the estate.