Ruth Taylor
Toronto Daily Star, November 8 1935
The lead story in this edition of the Toronto Daily Star was the murder of 20-year-old Ruth Taylor. There was an article describing that she had been buried next to her recently deceased mother:
There were a number of photographs of the casket, the floral tributes, and the mourners:
There was already a suspect in custody: 25-year-old Harry O'Donnell, who worked as a gas station attendant. He was married and the father of a newborn child; his wife was in hospital and did not know why her husband had not come to visit her and why she hadn't been allowed any newspapers. She was told that her husband had the flu, and the Daily Star printed a special edition of that day's paper just for her:
The Daily Star printed special editions of the paper for the next few days until Mrs. O'Donnell was finally discharged from the maternity home with her newborn baby. Harry O'Donnell was put on trial in February 1936; it took a jury only three hours to convict him of murder with no recommendation for mercy. While awaiting execution, he confessed to the crime and to several other assaults. He was hanged on May 5 1936.
A search revealed the following:
- The Star has an article on the murder, mentioning that a special paper had been printed for Mrs. O'Donnell.
- A research paper on the murder.
The 1935 Toronto city directory lists Harry O'Donnell as working as a gas station attendant for George M. Hillman and living at 46 Wembley Drive, which is near the ravine where the murder took place. Ruth Taylor doesn't appear to have a listing in the directory - there is a Ruth Taylor listed who was working as a stenographer, but her address is wrong.
Created October 7, 2025.