Edward John Baker drove down: Vineland Daily Journal, August 20, 1952, p. 1.
He died in 2014: Obituary of Edward Baker, Vineland Daily Journal, July 28, 2014.
“She impressed me as a darn nice girl”: Vineland Daily Journal, August 20,1952, p. 1.
Ed Baker pulled onto the highway: “Crash at Shore Kills Girl Kidnap Victim,” Camden Courier-Post, August 18,1952, p. 1; “Victim of 1948 Kidnaping Killed,” Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware), August 19,1952, p. 1.
The trip from Wildwood to Vineland: Vineland Daily Journal, August 20,1952, p. 1.
Just after midnight on Monday: Wildwood Leader, August 21, 1952, p. 4; ‘W’bine Crews at 4-Vehicle Crash Scene,” Cape May County Gazette, August 21,1952, p. 1.
The death certificate: Unredacted copy of Sally Horner’s death certificate obtained from NJSA.
The damage to her face: Interview with Al Panaro, August 2014.
Carol Starts was woken up: Interview with Carol Taylor, December 2016.
Vladimir Nabokov opened up a newspaper: Geographic location from VNAY, pp. 217–219.
The handwritten card reads as follows: Reproduced from LOC.
As Alexander Dolinin explained: Dolinin, “Whatever Happened to Sally Horner?”
“a golden-skinned, brown-haired nymphet”: Lolita, p. 288.
Rather, he writes: Dolinin, “Whatever Happened to Sally Horner?”
how much damage he has caused: Lolita, p. 285.
Véra’s diary note: Page-a-Day Diary, 1958, Berg.
“charming brat lifted from an ordinary existence”: Letter to Nabokov from Stella Estes, quoted in VNAY, p. 236.
why Nabokov himself ranked Lolita: Page-a-Day Diary, September 17,1958.
a front-page interview with Edward Baker: “Vineland Youth, Bewildered by Publicity, Describes Sally Horner as ‘Darn Nice Girl,’” Vineland Daily Journal, August 21, 1952, p. 1.
After he was treated: Camden Courier-Post, August 18, 1952, p. 1; “Driver Held at Shore in Horner Girl’s Death,” Camden Courier-Post, August 20,1952, p. 11.
not Baker’s first car accident: Vineland Daily Journal, July 24, 1951, p. 2.
Sally Horner’s funeraclass="underline" “Private Burial Held for Sally Horner,” Camden Courier-Post, August 22, 1952, p. 4.
Emleys Hill Cemetery in Cream Ridge: See https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11035529.
For Carol Starts, the funeral was awfuclass="underline" Interviews with Carol Taylor, December 2016 and August 2017.
Frank La Salle made his presence known: Interview with Al Panaro, August 2014.
The first court hearing: “Vineland Youth Freed in $1000 Bond Following Fatal Crash Near Shore,” Vineland Daily Journal, August 19, 1952, p. 1; “One Fined in Fatal Crash,” Cape May County Gazette, August 28, 1952, p. 4; September session, Cape May County Court (Criminal), September 3, 1952, pp. 19–21.
The most serious charge: The State v. Edward J. Baker, Indictment No. 283, New Jersey Superior Court, Cape May County, September 3, 1952.
The following week: September session, Cape May County Court (Criminal), September 10, 1952, pp. 25–26; “2 Plead Not Guilty in Girl’s Death,” Camden Courier-Post, September 12, 1952, p. 10; “Motorist Held in Death of Two,” Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware), September 15,1952, p. 12.
Carol was called to testify: Interview with Carol Taylor, August 2017.
Judge Tenenbaum threw out the charge: January session, Cape May County Court (Criminal), January 15, 1953, p. 63.
He faced a cluster of civil actions: “Civil Trials Set to Begin Before Jury,” Cape May County Gazette, May 14, 1953, p. 1; “$115,800 Damage Suits Settled Out of Court,” Camden Courier-Post, May 22, 1953, p. 15.
The byzantine nature of the lawsuits: “Fatal Accident Suits Resume After Mistrial,” Cape May County Gazette, May 21, 1953, p. 1.
A new hearing lasted two days: Camden Courier-Post, May 22, 1953, p. 15; “Consolidated Trial Suits Settled,” Cape May County Gazette, May 28, 1953, p. 2.
Written beside his name: Minutes, Cape May County Court (Criminal), June 30, 1954, p. 213.
a writ of habeas corpus: United States District Court for the State of New Jersey, C 679-50, “In the Matter of the Application of Frank La Salle for a Writ of Habeas Corpus,” December 14, 1950.
Hughes was so incensed by La Salle’s lies: “Kidnaper Seeking His Release from N.J. State Prison,” Camden Courier-Post, September 21, 1951, p. 1.
He kept on, in a lengthy series: State of New Jersey v. La Salle, Superior Court of New Jersey, A-7-54 (1955).
Tom Pfeil denied she’d ever said: Interview with Tom Pfeil, June 2017.
his mother’s supposed statement: State of New Jersey v. La Salle, Superior Court of New Jersey, A-7-54 (1955).
Frank La Salle also wrote letters: Interview with “Vanessa Janisch,” May 2017.
Her mother, Dorothy: Obituary, Camden Courier-Post, August 2011.
Madeline did not learn any details: Interview with “Madeline,” August 2014.
He appealed his sentence: State of New Jersey v. Frank La Salle, Superior Court of New Jersey, A-343-51 (1961).
He died of arteriosclerosis: Death certificate, State of New Jersey Department of Public Health.
another sensational crime: “Charge Is Due Today in ‘Perfect Murder,’” New York Times, September 2, 1952, p. 17.
this case got an entire paragraph: Lolita, p. 287.
The G. Edward Grammer case: Case summary is derived from State v. George Edward Grammer (Transcripts), George E. Grammer, 1952, Box 1 No. 3544 [MSA T 496-67, 0/2/2/39], as well as subsequent appeals, including Grammer v. State (1953) and Grammer v. Maryland (1954). The entire case file is deposited at the Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, MD.
openly critical of mystery novels: Catherine Theimer Nepomnyaschy, “Revising Nabokov Revising the Detective Noveclass="underline" Vladimir, Agatha, and the Terms of Engagement,” The Proceedings of the International Nabokov Conference, March 24–27, 2010, Kyoto, Japan. Available at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/creative/epub/harriman/2015/fall/nabakov_and_the_detective_novel.pdf.
called out Dostoevsky as a hack: Nabokov, Lectures on Russian Literature, p. 109—while this line is the opinion of the author, Nabokov’s judgment “Let us always remember that basically Dostoeveski [sic] is a writer of mystery stories” is meant to be pejorative.
As Véra told their close friend Morris Bishop: Schiff, Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), p. 232.
stabbing murders of Dr. Melvin Nimer and his wife: Nabokov almost certainly read “Prosecutor Says Boy, 8, Confesses Killing Parents; Boy Said to Admit Killing Parents,” New York Times, September 11, 1958, p. 1.
police detectives still claiming as recently as 2007: “Nimer Now” (video), Staten Island Advance, February 11, 2007, http://blog.silive.com/advancevideo/2007/02/nimer_now_458.html.