Vengeance in the Afternoon

"Vengeance in the Afternoon" recounts the true story of the first murder that occurred in Monroe, Wisconsin. During the 1860's Angeline Schroyer met Patrick Crotty when both were teenagers in nearby rural townships. They fell in love and became engaged. Finding herself pregnant, Angeline soon had more shocking news: Patrick would not marry her, nor would he support their child, and he quickly married another woman. Abandoned by Patrick, Angeline suffered the slings of unwed motherhood in the unforgiving post-Civil War years. Further threats and humiliations from her ex-fiance and his family led finally to an explosion of violence in January, 1869, and in September a sensational murder trial at the Green County Courthouse, with a surprising verdict. In this book Tom Mitchell captures the essence of the era and the details of the murder trial as it unfolded.