Hamptons History: The Sensational Case Of The Corn Doctor Murder

In the summer of 1932, Henry Frank Tuthill, known locally as the “Corn Doctor,” was a regular fixture on the East End of Long Island.

Mr. Tuthill was often described by those who knew him as a “walking bank” and an “eccentric.” But his unusual personality was a bit more flamboyant.

The man, who resented being called a “chiropodist,” insisted on being introduced as a corn doctor. The 68-year-old gentleman, who rented a room from Fillmore Dayton and his wife in Quogue, was often found wandering the streets of Quogue and Hampton Bays, invariably wearing two black overcoats, one on top of the other.

Come winter, summer, spring or fall, the two coats were always there. He was also known to carry as much as $30,000 cash in the pockets of those coats, along with at least two weapons. Mr. Tuthill didn’t trust the banks, and rightly so.

By 1932, the “American Dream” had become an economic nightmare. Beginning with the stock market crash in October 1929, the economy plummeted and led the country into what is now historically referred to as the “Great Depression.” This was the atmosphere in which Henry Tuthill lived.

Rooming houses were very popular in the Village of Quogue during this time period and the Daytons had grown quite fond of their boarder, in spite of his peculiarities. He was never late with the rent and considering the troubling times, this provided some financial security for them.

According to weather sources, 1932 was known as “the year without a winter.” In spite of record-breaking heat across the country, on the night of August 6, Henry donned his two black coats and had a short conversation with the Daytons before leaving the house. He displayed the five revolvers and pistols he carried that night with bravado.

“Let ’em start something!” he dared, telling the Daytons that he also had $10,000 cash on him that night but refused to go into further detail. As Henry walked out the door, he turned and spoke his last words to them: “If I’m not back by tomorrow, call the police.”

The next morning, when Mr. Tuthill did not return home from his mysterious meeting, that’s exactly what the Daytons did.

The police began a search the next day that ended two weeks later on a deserted road in Hampton Bays. Mr. Tuthill had been found dead. He lay crumpled inside his dilapidated car with all of his pockets turned inside out. The corn doctor had been brutally beaten and then shot.

It didn’t take long for the police to make an arrest. Two men and a woman were taken into custody the next day and charged with first degree murder. Victor Downs, 44, his wife, Mitzie, 25, and their companion, Joseph Hojenski, 24, were escorted to the Suffolk County jail and held without bond.

It turned out that Mr. Tuthill had been acquainted with the Downses.

Mr. Downs was a former Virginia policeman and an ex-member of the Bill Dwyer Liquor Mob. He was a man who lived on the “left” side of the law. He had come to Long Island and settled in Riverhead with his young wife, Mitzie, a few years before the murder.

The prosecution in the case would claim that on the night in question the couple, along with Mr. Hojenski, conjured up a scheme to rid the corn doctor of some of his cash. It came out at the trial that after meeting Mr. Tuthill in an unknown location, Ms. Downs admitted during police questioning that it was she who had lured the victim back to her home with complaints of a foot ailment. There, she claimed, a fight ensued and Mr. Tuthill was murdered.

Ms. Downs offered to testify against her husband in exchange for immunity. However, when she took the stand at trial she did something that shocked everyone in the courtroom. To the astonishment of the prosecutors, she began screaming that they had fooled her into signing a false statement.

“You tricked me! You made me lie!” she shrieked.

This threw the entire proceeding into an uproar and made national news. One newspaper wrote: “Rarely does the scene of a criminal court serve as the setting for a drama with such a breath-taking climax, that it rivals anything shown on a motion picture screen.”

When the disorder in the court subsided, Prosecutor L. Barron Hill was forced to admit that he had no other evidence against Mr. Downs other than the testimony of his wife. He then reluctantly dismissed the charges for lack of evidence.

But the saga wasn’t over yet. After Mr. Downs was discharged, both he and his wife were re-arrested and charged again with first-degree murder.

Mr. Downs’s attorney argued double jeopardy and he was released, however Ms. Downs remained charged.

But Prosecutor Hill was still not done. Mr. Downs was again arrested, this time he would be charged with stealing $3,000 from the victim. The other $7,000 of the money Mr. Tuthill was said to have been carrying was never discussed.

In the end, Mr. Downs pled guilty to a first-degree assault charge in a completely separate case and was sentenced to 10 years in Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York. He accepted the charge on the condition being that his wife be freed.

No one was ever effectively prosecuted for the murder of the corn doctor. But the story still does not end there.

Mr. Downs apparently held a grudge against the former prosecutor in the Tuthill case, who had since become a judge. Upon his release from Sing Sing, Mr. Downs was promptly arrested again. This time he was charged with extortion as he had apparently targeted Mr. Hill, who Mr. Downs felt had pressured his wife to testify against him. So back to jail Mr. Downs went for several more years.

In the end, in spite of the fact that justice eluded the unfortunate corn doctor, it could be argued that the person most responsible still spent the better part of his life in prison for related crimes.