Alice Crimmins (born March 9, 1939, in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) is an American woman who was charged with killing her two children, 5-year-old Eddie Jr. and 4-year-old Alice Marie (known as Missy), both of whom went missing on July 14, 1965. Alice Marie's body was found that day, and Eddie Jr.'s was found five days later. After numerous criminal trials and appeals, Crimmins was convicted of manslaughter for Missy's death.

Killing of her children

Crimmins' children, Eddie Jr., age 5, and Missy, age 4, disappeared from their garden apartment in

Kew Gardens Hills Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Interstate 495 (New York), Union Turnpike to the south ...

in the

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

borough of

on July 14, 1965. She reported the missing children to the police. Later that day, Missy's strangled body was found. Five days later, Eddie's body was discovered, but authorities were unable to identify the cause of his death. No evidence could be found tying anyone to the deaths. Crimmins was followed and covertly recorded by the

New York Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

for three years, before finally being charged and going to trial in 1968. She was found guilty of the

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

of Missy and sentenced to five to twenty years' imprisonment. This conviction was overturned on appeal, and in 1971 a second trial resulted in Crimmins being convicted of the first-degree murder of Eddie Jr. and the manslaughter of Missy. In 1973 both convictions were overturned, before Crimmins was re-convicted of the manslaughter of Missy in 1973. She was paroled in 1977. The Casey Anthony trial has been compared by some in the media to the Crimmins trial. Under her married name of Alice Grace she lives in Northwest Florida.

In popular culture

*''The Alice Crimmins Case'' by Kenneth Gross (1975) (non-fiction account) *''Ordeal By Trial'' by

George Carpozi Jr. George Carpozi Jr. (November 25, 1920 – May 14, 2000) was an American journalist, biographer and non-fiction author. Early years He was educated at James Monroe High School, New York University and Dartmouth College. He served in the US Marin ...

(1972) (non-fiction account) *''The Investigation'' by

Dorothy Uhnak Dorothy Uhnak (April 24, 1930 – July 8, 2006; née Goldstein) was an American novelist. Uhnak was born in New York City. She attended City College of New York and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Uhnak worked for 14 years as a detec ...

(fiction based on the case) *'' The Price of Justice'' (

TV-movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...

version of Dorothy Uhnak's ''The Investigation'') *''

Where Are The Children? ''Where Are the Children?'' is a 1986 American mystery thriller film directed by Bruce Malmuth, starring Jill Clayburgh, Max Gail, Harley Cross, Elizabeth Wilson, and Barnard Hughes. It is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by Mary Higgins ...

'' (book and subsequent 1986 movie) by

Mary Higgins Clark Mary Higgins Clark (born Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins; December 24, 1927 – January 31, 2020) was an American author of suspense novels. Each of her 51 books was a bestseller in the United States and various European countries, and all of her ...

*''A Question of Guilt'', with

Tuesday Weld Tuesday Weld (born Susan Ker Weld; August 27, 1943) is a retired American actress. She began acting as a child and progressed to mature roles in the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcome ...

as Alice Crimmins, aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

Feb. 21, 1978 *''

Landscape of the Body ''Landscape of the Body'' is a two-act play by John Guare, first performed in 1977. Synopsis The play is episodic and non-linear, as it travels back and forth in time. The plot centers on a woman named Betty, whose son, Bert, was recently murde ...

'' play by

John Guare John Guare ( ; born February 5, 1938) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known as the author of '' The House of Blue Leaves'' and '' Six Degrees of Separation''. Early life He was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens.Druckma ...

, opened in 1977 *''

Two Small Bodies ''Two Small Bodies'' is a 1993 thriller directed by Beth B and starring Fred Ward and Suzy Amis. The film is based on the 1977 American stage play '' Two Small Bodies'' by Neal Bell. The film was screened at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival ...

'' play by Neal Bell, opened in 1977 *''

'' film by

Beth B Scott B and Beth B (also known as Scott and Beth B, Beth and Scott B or The Bs after B Movies) were among the best-known New York No Wave underground film makers of the late 1970s and early 1980s. They went on to form an independent film ...

, from 1993 *''

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netw ...

'' series ''

A Crime to Remember ''A Crime to Remember'' is an American documentary television series that airs on Investigation Discovery and premiered on November 12, 2013. It tells the stories of notorious crimes that captivated attention of the media and the public when th ...

'' episode, "Go Ask Alice", aired in 2013"A Crime to Remember: Go Ask Alice" ''Discovery Communications''
Retrieved December 3, 2013 *''Little Deaths'' by Emma Flint, 2017 novel, Picador *The ''

Crime Junkie ''Crime Junkie'' is a true crime podcast hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Production and format In a Q&A with ''Inside Radio'', Flowers said that she and Prawat, her co-host, have been friends since birt ...

'' podcast covered Alice Crimmins on 7/9/2019 *The '' Let's Go To Court'' podcast covered Alice Crimmins on 9/5/2018 *'' Murder Mystery and Makeup'' series by Bailey Sarian episode, "Cold-blooded Killer or FRAMED? Was Alice Crimmins Really Guilty?" on 3/18/2024

References

1939 births American female criminals American people convicted of manslaughter Criminals from the Bronx Filicides in New York (state) Living people Child filicides in the United States {{US-crime-bio-stub