Author: Stacy Horn

There was a murder that I mentioned very briefly in The Restless Sleep that I never forgot. I chose not to research it for various reasons, but I’ve decided to make it an ongoing project now. I’m pretty sure I’ve posted about here before. I’m going to find out what I can about the victim, and I’m also going to see if I can track down her family (or rather, the descendants of her family). Maybe I should call this project Resurrecting Ream Constance Hoxie/Hoxsie. Her name was often misspelled as Hoxsie so I’m always going to include both (for search reasons). Here’s what little I know.

Ream was murdered in her home on West 89th Street on a Monday, February 2, 1920, somewhere between 3 and 3:30 in the afternoon. She was only 17 years old. She was hit in the head with a hammer seven times, shattering her skull. It must have been pretty bad. The detectives in their notes repeatedly refer to the savagery of it and 1920 was a brutal year. 215 people were murdered that year in New York and another 38 were killed in a bombing on Wall Street. (People have been trying to blow up New York and New Yorkers for a long time.)

The killer then dragged Ream across the floor, flung her on the bed, and raised her dress and lowered her under garments. The police reports do not say what happened next, except that there may be evidence that she was “mistreated.” (Like bashing her skull in wasn’t proof that she’d been mistreated already.)

The only suspect was a thin, dark haired, 35 year old man who had answered an ad for a room. Ream’s father and step-mother rented rooms in the building. In fact, Ream was found by one of the roomers, a teacher named Sarah Reeves. Ream’s step-mother, a performer, was in New Orleans at the time, and her father, an auto mechanic, was at work in Queens. Miss Reeves found Ream in a darkened room, kneeling before the bed, her upper body resting on the mattress. I guess resting in not the right word. This man had knocked on the door 3pm. Ream didn’t answer, but a janitress who worked in the building let him in.

This is a picture of the hallway leading up to the room where Ream was found. (More below.)

I debated about whether or not to post about this here or on my Restless Sleep blog. I decided the Restless Sleep people might not be interested in the ongoing search aspect of it. So I’ll post the results there when I have them, and post about the hunt here.

UPDATE: Ream Constance Hoxie update here.

I’m putting together a to-do list now. I will post that when I have it because maybe some fellow research buffs might like to join me in the search.

If I can get motivated, but so far I’ve been unable to work up the energy. Some sort of post traumatic cat-illness disorder? Maybe I’ll go tomorrow. Yeah, that might make more sense. I can put more hours in tomorrow.

I’m so sad about Simon leaving American Idol. I was sad about Paula, and now this? There is absolutely no point to watching without Simon.

For the first time in two months, Buddy has actually gained weight! He weighs 14 and a half pounds. At his last two monthly visits he weighed 13 pounds. “He does look really boney,” the vet said, I think to make me feel better about being so wrong about his weight.

Bottomline, the vet was not alarmed about the diarrhea that’s been lasting so long. He gave me a new medication called metronidazole that tasted so bad Buddy was running around the apartment foaming at the mouth. There’s a pharmacist nearby who flavors cat medications to taste like tuna, so I’m going to take it to them. The vet also encouraged me to continue the transition to raw food. So I feel better. I’ve got things to do to address the problem.

Buddy is drinking water almost non-stop now, as pictured. Oh, he just went to the bathroom. Still very loose.

I know this blog has become all Buddy all the time, but now I’m really worried. Buddy threw up twice yesterday, once in the middle of the night. I upped all his meds yesterday so that should have brought him some relief, but he threw up and still has diarrhea.

Of course my vet is closed today. If I bring him to the animal hospital on a Sunday that will cost a lot of $$$ I don’t have, and I mean a lot, and what am I supposed to do, make my cat suffer to save money.

I don’t know what to do. I’m going to wait a couple of hours and see what his next bowel movement is like and decide.  I was so hopeful yesterday for a few hours.

Buddy’s diarrhea is pretty bad today, in spite of the medication, but at the same time, he gobbled down the raw food. I didn’t have to transition him or anything. I’m very hopeful, I’ve read report after report that this helps with IBS. So I’m going to try not to panic about the diarrhea and see how he is in a couple of days.

He’s well enough to park himself at the window, staring longingly at the shadows of birds. Like they will somehow materialize on this side of the window.

I’m going to try to watch a movie I downloaded. Wait, maybe I should go for a walk. That sounds healthier. And more relaxing.

I’m so happy about Buddy eating. I was all prepared for this to take a month. And then not work maybe. Finney didn’t do well on the raw diet, but maybe the problem was putting him on the raw diet exclusively. Maybe I’ll just slip a cube of meat into each of his meals.