Beulah Annan confesses to police at the Hyde Park station that she shot her lover earlier that day, April 3, 1924.

Beulah Annan confesses to police at the Hyde Park station that she shot her lover earlier that day, April 3, 1924. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

Photos: Chicago's Murderess Row in 1924 — and all that jazz

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Beulah Annan. Belva Gaertner. Kitty Malm. Sabella Nitti. These are not household names, but they are the real women of Murderess Row, the Cook County Jail’s infamous holding block for women waiting to stand trial for murder in the early twentieth century. However, you’re probably familiar with Roxie and Velma, the good-time gals at the center of Maurine Dallas Watkins’s famous 1926 satirical play Chicago, which she was inspired to write after covering Annan, Gaertner, and the other women of Murderess Row for the Chicago Tribune in 1924. The play was later adapted into the wildly successful 1975 stage musical—the second longest running show in Broadway history—and then the 2002 Academy Award–winning movie.

Beulah Annan confesses to police at the Hyde Park station that she shot her lover earlier that day, April 3, 1924.

Beulah Annan confesses to police at the Hyde Park station that she shot her lover earlier that day, April 3, 1924. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

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Beulah Annan poses doe-eyed for a cameraman after admitting she killed her lover, Harry Kalstedt, in April 1924.

Beulah Annan poses doe-eyed for a cameraman after admitting she killed her lover, Harry Kalstedt, in April 1924. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

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Belva Gaertner, 38, center, listens during the coroner's inquest for the death of Walter Law, 29, held at the South Wabash Avenue station on March 12, 1924, in Chicago.

Belva Gaertner, 38, center, listens during the coroner's inquest for the death of Walter Law, 29, held at the South Wabash Avenue station on March 12, 1924, in Chicago. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

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Cabaret singer and divorcée, Belva Gaertner spends time in Cook County Jail awaiting trial for the murder of Walter Law, 29, on March 12, 1924.

Cabaret singer and divorcée, Belva Gaertner spends time in Cook County Jail awaiting trial for the murder of Walter Law, 29, on March 12, 1924. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

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Beulah Annan, left, and Belva Gaertner, right, both on trial for murder in 1924. Annan was accused of killing her sweetheart Harry Kalstedt on April 4, 1924. Gaertner was accused of shooting Walter Law in her car after a night of drinking on March 12, 1924.

Beulah Annan, left, and Belva Gaertner, right, both on trial for murder in 1924. Annan was accused of killing her sweetheart Harry Kalstedt on April 4, 1924. Gaertner was accused of shooting Walter Law in her car after a night of drinking on March 12, 1924. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

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Katherine "Kitty Malm" Baluk took the stand in her own defense during the murder trial, saying she had never carried a gun. Judge Steffens is on the bench.

Katherine "Kitty Malm" Baluk took the stand in her own defense during the murder trial, saying she had never carried a gun. Judge Steffens is on the bench. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

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The jury that convicted Sabella Nitti Crudelle of murder.

The jury that convicted Sabella Nitti Crudelle of murder. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

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Katherine "Kitty Malm" Baluk after turning herself in to police and confessing her involvement in the death of Edward Lehmann, circa 1923.

Katherine "Kitty Malm" Baluk after turning herself in to police and confessing her involvement in the death of Edward Lehmann, circa 1923. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

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Sabella Nitti, from left, Belva Gaertner and Katherine "Kitty Malm" Baluk pose for a newspaper photographer inside Cook County Jail in 1924.

Sabella Nitti, from left, Belva Gaertner and Katherine "Kitty Malm" Baluk pose for a newspaper photographer inside Cook County Jail in 1924. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

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Sabella Nitti Crudelle with her two youngest children, Mary Nitti, 4, and Philomena Nitti, 6, visit her in Cook County Jail in 1923. During the trial, the children stayed with neighbors in Stickney.

Sabella Nitti Crudelle with her two youngest children, Mary Nitti, 4, and Philomena Nitti, 6, visit her in Cook County Jail in 1923. During the trial, the children stayed with neighbors in Stickney. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

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Sabella Nitti Crudelle, from left, her son Charles Nitti and her second husband Peter Crudelle during the trial for the murder of Sabella's first husband, Nitti, circa 1923.

Sabella Nitti Crudelle, from left, her son Charles Nitti and her second husband Peter Crudelle during the trial for the murder of Sabella's first husband, Nitti, circa 1923. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

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Sabella Nitti Crudelle, center, smiles as she leaves Cook County Jail after 16 months on June 16, 1924. With her are Margaret Bonelli, left of Sabella, who helped her obtain a new trial, and Sabella's attorney, Rocco de Steffano, to the right of Sabella.

Sabella Nitti Crudelle, center, smiles as she leaves Cook County Jail after 16 months on June 16, 1924. With her are Margaret Bonelli, left of Sabella, who helped her obtain a new trial, and Sabella's attorney, Rocco de Steffano, to the right of Sabella. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

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