As her relationship with Stanford White came to an end, Evelyn began to attract the attention of another wealthy suitor.1By the time she was seventeen, multimillionaire Harry K. Thaw, had begun pursuing her.2For months, Harry Thaw desperately pursued Evelyn at her shows, as he attended over fifty of them.3He wrote letters to her under a fake identity countless times.4 Initially she was unimpressed with his persistence, and showed no interest in him. However her attitude seemed to change when she discovered he was truly a Pittsburgh millionaire.
Following the trend of the previous wealthy suitor, Harry Thaw began to flourish Evelyn with luxuries in attempts to lure her into marriage.5 Before long, he was able to gain the trust of Evelyn and her mother.6
In 1903, Evelyn travelled to Europe with Harry Thaw.7During the trip, the beginning of a tumultuous relationship with Harry Thaw begun. One night, Evelyn revealed to him that she was raped by Stanford White.8He was fascinated by the idea of marrying a virgin, however, Stanford White had soiled his wishes.9Following the revelation, Thaw’s behavior became erratic and he continued to push Evelyn to reveal more details about her relationship with White.10While still on vacation, Thaw’s erratic antics grew worse. A few nights later he raped and violently abused Evelyn, while forcing her to recount the story of Stanford White.11
That event did not stop Evelyn from marrying Thaw. After two years of denying his requests to marry her, Evelyn agreed to a small wedding in 1905.12Harry continued to obsessively press Evelyn for more details about Stanford White throughout their short marriage.13Evelyn later reported that Harry forced her to refer to Stanford White as “the beast.”14Although miserable and restricted in her marriage, Evelyn continued married life with Thaw for a year before their lives were altered by one fateful event.15
On June 25, 1906, Harry Thaw and Evelyn attended a show on the rooftop of Madison Square Garden.16When Harry Thaw realized that Stanford White would be attending the show, his behavior changed drastically.17Witnesses recall seeing a pale and uneasy Harry Thaw, pacing back and forth in front of the stage.18Evelyn knew of her husband’s violent behavior, and as White took a seat in front of the stage, she insisted to leave.19Thaw, however, ran to White’s table, and quickly shot him three times.20With an abundance of witnesses, Harry was inevitably placed on trial for murdering Stanford White.21