Shots rang out in a prominent Pittsfield family home on the morning of August 20, 1900, ending the life of young socialite May Fosburgh. Who pulled the trigger was unclear, and the scandal captivated attention well beyond the Berkshires. Her brother was a top suspect, but the distraught family claimed an intruder was to blame. Investigators, media and the public struggled to make sense of conflicting details, including suspicious gunpowder residue, as the mystery remained unsolved. Author Frank J. Leskovitz unravels the tale that still lingers in the hills generations later.
Frank J. Leskovitz is a retired dispensing optician and history buff from Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He is a member of the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum in conjunction with the Pittsfield Library. Frank currently works as a freelance writer and maintains the website Science Leads the Way.