July 8, 1943 – Sir Harry Oakes

Sir Harry Oakes was killed sometime after midnight in the pre-dawn hours of July 8, 1943, in Nassau, Bahamas. The wealthy American spent the night before at his 1,000-acre sheep farm with his friend, Sir Harold Christie. Christie said they spent the evening with other guests at the farm before he and Oakes retired to Oakes’ bedroom at 11 p.m. Christie left him there half an hour later, reading a newspaper in bed. The following morning, Christie went to Oakes’ room to get him up for breakfast, only to discover Oakes, 68, had been murdered. His skull had been fractured four times behind the left ear with a miner’s pick. Oakes also was smoldering after his attacker doused him with insecticide, set him on fire, and sprinkled mattress feathers over his corpse.

World War II hampered the investigation into Oakes’ murder. A pair of American detectives were brought in to assist, and eventually, Count Alfred de Marigny, Oakes’ son-in-law, was arrested and tried for murder. The trial ended with De Marigny’s acquittal, and police concluded their investigation.

Oakes made a fortune in gold in the early part of the 20th century. He owned the Lake Shore Mine in Canada. In 1939, King George VI gave him his title for his philanthropic work in the Bahamas. His murder remains unsolved.