Here is an updated narrative, based on all the articles I transcribed. The thing that is pretty disheartening is the fact that even the papers seem so dismissive. Let’s change that narrative. I will start a Gofundme this weekend to finance the family documentary, and of course this is a very important part of our story, and honestly…it wasn’t where I was intending to go…It just feels right to follow where I’m led.
I have included all the facts I could find into this one narrative that explains all that was published in the paper, with a couple of omissions which we will share with police.
On November 4, 1957, Rosetta Edwards, a 22-year-old widowed mother of four, was found strangled to death in her basement apartment at 99 Orange St., Albany, New York. Her body was discovered by a neighbor, Mrs. Lucille Thurston, who lived on the first floor of the apartment house. Mrs. Thurston, who described Rosetta as “a nice girl,” had heard one of Rosetta’s children crying shortly before midnight and went to check on them. She found three-year-old Johnnie crying and went to the kitchen to get him some milk. When she noticed the bathroom door shut, she found Rosetta’s nude body lying face up in the bathtub, with one leg dangling over the side.
There was no water in the tub.
As a young woman, Rosetta had faced challenges in her life, but her kindness and warmth had earned her the respect and admiration of her neighbors, including Mrs. Thurston. (Note: The newspapers referred to Rosetta as a “Negro woman,” a term that reflects the racist language and attitudes prevalent at the time, and which dehumanizes and deindividualizes her.)
There were no signs of struggle, and police believe Rosetta may have known her assailant. Coroner Roman Campion reported bruises on Rosetta’s neck, and death was attributed to asphyxiation due to strangulation. The possible means of strangulation was a rope.
Rosetta had moved to Albany from Holyoke, Massachusetts, about two months prior to her death. She was employed as a waitress at the Greyhound Bus Terminal and was a member of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Holyoke. Her husband, Johnny, a meat packer, had died about six months earlier, leaving her to care for their four children, ranging in age from 1 to 6: Laura Jean, Marie Rose, John, and David. At the time of her death, her oldest child, Laura Jean, 6, was living with Rosetta’s mother, Adrilla Westbrook, and father, Edward “Eddie” Westbrook, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, while the other three children were with Rosetta in Albany.
Rosetta’s children were: Laura Jean (6), Marie Rose (4), John (3), and David (1).
Rosetta’s parents were: Adrilla Westbrook and Edward “Eddie” Westbrook, of 540 South Canal St., Holyoke, Massachusetts.
The funeral was held at Byron’s funeral home in Springfield, Massachusetts, and burial was at Oak Grove Cemetery, also in Springfield. Friends and family mourned her loss.
