"The Massie Affair"

As I was researching this case I was constantly reminded of the state in which our country has been in lately and how as much things change, they also seem to stay the same. While this case took place in 1931 it is still often debated today. The question has never been if Grace Fortescue, and her son in law, Thomas Massie, were guilty of murdering Joseph Kahahawai but whether Grace's daughter, Thalia, lied. But, just as is often the case with such old cases, some of the information is blurry.

Thalia Fortescue was the daughter of Granville “Rolly” Fortescue and Grace Bell. Both families were rather prestigious, even if you do not recognize their names. Granville was the illegitimate son of Robert Roosevelt, the uncle of future president, Theodore Roosevelt. Robert and Granville's mother, Marion would marry in 1888, after the death of Robert's wife, but also after Granville's birth in 1875. It seems that Granville was not the only child that Robert and Marion had out of wedlock and at some point it all became public. Grace Hubbard was the granddaughter of Gardiner Hubbard, the first president of the National Geographic Society. Her father was Charles Bell, and first cousin to inventor Alexander Graham Bell. With this lineage Thalia lived a very privileged life, was doted on and as a result apparently expressed an aura of superiority.

Although it is unclear exactly when Thalia married Thomas Massie, a member of the U.S. Navy, in 1930 the couple moved to Honolulu Hawaii to the base at Pearl Harbor. It was said that Thalia did not get along all that well with not just the other wives, but the public there in general. It appears that most people simply tolerated her. Whether she really thought herself superior to everyone else or they simply perceived her that way really makes little difference. Hawaii did not become a state in the United States until 1959 but considered to be a territory belonging to the United States. At the time Honolulu was having their own issues and it had divided law enforcement. They had what was considered to be two factions. One was let by Nelson McIntosh and one was led by David Hao, known as the McIntosh Faction and the Hao Faction. The McIntosh Faction was considered to be racist by the native Hawaiians and the Hao Faction was considered to be corrupt by those who supported McIntosh. While it appears that a man by the name of Patrick Gleason was sheriff over the force, it was inside, among the officers that created the factions and Gleason's job was to keep that under control and basically everyone happy. It seems that McIntosh and Hao were his chiefs. But then in August of 1931 Hao was forced to retire and it was said that McIntosh took over his position. This brought even more discord among officers, but it also gave McIntosh more power.

As time went on the Massie marriage was falling apart. It was reported that there was heavy drinking on both sides and there had been many public fights. To add to this Thalia had at least two miscarriages which also put pressure on the marriage. It was said that Thomas had put her “on probation” and had actually written up an “informal agreement” with a set of conditions in which he would continue with the marriage. A divorce would have put a damper on Thalia's reputation and mar her thoughts on superiority.

On the night of September 12, 1931 the Massie's and two other couples went to a Navy event at a nightclub. At about 11:30 that night Thalia had an argument with another officer although it was unclear what that argument was about. In the process Thalia slapped the man and stormed out of the nightclub. It was said that Thomas, who did not see the incident, would later just think that she was tired and had gone home. Considering the state of their marriage it seems that he likely put little thought, or care, into where she had gone. The party at the nightclub broke up about one in the morning and after looking for her Thomas decided to leave and head to an “after party” although once there it appears that the “party” was just a few people and Thomas went out for snacks. He attempted to call Thalia at home several times before she picked up and told him she needed him to come home immediately as something had happened.

Once he returned home Thalia informed Thomas that she had been attacked on her way home. It was said that over her objections he insisted on calling the police. Once they arrived it was said that Thalia told the first of at least two stories. Thalia would claim that she began to walk after leaving the night club and that she had been attacked and robbed, but not raped, by several Hawaiian men. Sometime between 12:20 and 12:45 she was picked up on an isolated road by a car occupied by two couples. The couples would say that she had claimed this story but would not allow them to inform the police and wanted to simply go home. It was said that they arrived at the Massie home around one in the morning but that the driver had apparently gotten lost a few times so he had not taken the shortest route from where they picked her up and to her home. Once she arrived home she realized she did not have any keys and broke in through the back door. When police interviewed her she could not provide them with any details saying that it was too dark to identify the men or the car they were driving. Several hours later the police returned to talk to her and it was said that could now describe the men as “locals” and that she gave them a license plate number.

In the meantime, on the same night, sometime between 11:30 and midnight on the other side of town from where Thalia said she was attack four local men were in a car and had what was described as a “near collision.” Horace Ida was driving his sister's car that evening. Also in the car were Joseph Kahahawai, Benny Anakueto, David Takai and Henry Chang. The other vehicle was driven by a Mr and Mrs Peeples. By all accounts it seems that the two vehicles did make contact which caused both vehicles stop to presumably check if there was any damage done. There was not but an argument ensued especially between Mrs. Peeples and Joseph Kahahawai to which it was said that Kahahawai “punched her in the face.” There was conflicting information about whether she was injured in any way and I also saw a comment that said “she gave as good as she got.” Things did not escalate and everyone piled back in their cars and drove away. However, the Peeples decided to go to the police station and make a report. An APB was issued for the car and the occupants.

A few hours after Thalia had changed her story about being able to see the men and giving the license plate number Horace Ida was arrested. Horace believed in the beginning that he was being arrested because of the incident with the Peeples the night before and seemed to be shocked when he was told he was being charged with rape. Now, this is what my research stated was the charge even though allegedly Thalia never stated she was raped and other research indicates that she had specifically indicated that she was not raped. One by one the other four men were arrested and all five were indicted and charged with rape and assault.

It was later learned that when the police had gone back to talk to Thalia they had fed her the license plate number as they had received it from Mrs. Peeples. Actually though the plate number was 58-895 and Thalia allegedly told them 58-805 but miraculously they still found their way to Horace Ida and his four companions.

It was said that after the charges were filed that Thalia's story began to show cracks. There were also now questions whether she had been raped at all. The problem here though, especially after all this time is that in the realm of the story, the trial, or trials of the men were not necessarily the important part. This makes sifting through the evidence much harder. There were reports that she may have appeared to have been beaten and possibly have a broken jaw at some point. I saw nothing that indicated that the people in the car who gave her the ride home mentioned anything other than attempting to get her to go to the police, nothing about medical attention. It was said though that there were other rumors or speculations made. One was that it was possible that she was having an affair with one of Thomas' shipmates and that he had caught her and beat her and the story about the men was concocted to cover that up. Once all of the speculations and rumors began Thalia's mother, Grace Fortescue became furious and it was said that she started a public campaign that attacked the men.

The trial lasted three weeks. The defense claimed that the men were innocent because at the very least they argued based on the locations there was no way the men could have gotten to the other side of town in the time needed. At the very most, they could not have been at two places at the same time. The jury deliberated for a “long” time but exactly how long I cannot say. They were deadlocked and the judge ordered a mistrial. It is unclear if the prosecution planned to try the men again but by the sound of things the men were set free.

It was said at this point that Grace had arranged for the kidnapping and beating of Horace Ida. Whether this occurred is unclear because as horrible as this is and was, this still was not the worse thing to happen in this case and was not what has made the case so infamous. Allegedly Grace then talked Thomas Massie into kidnapping Joseph Kahahawai and he enlisted the help of two Navy men, Albert Jones and Edward Lord. Grace, Thomas, Albert and Edward apparently all attempted to beat a confession out of Joseph. When it was all said and done one of the four, whether on purpose or on accident, shot Joseph in the head. The plan then was to dump his body in the Bay so they wrapped his body in a sheet and placed it in the car that Grace had rented. Soon it seems that the police were alerted to the kidnapping and Grace's rental car looked suspicious as all of the windows had been covered. An officer pulled them over, the body was found and all four were arrested.

While the murder of Joseph Kahahawai was unwarranted, involved a conspiracy and group killing, depending on how you look at the story, this too may not be the most shocking part of the story. Grace, Thomas, Albert and Edward all went on trial together. Famed attorney, Clarence Darrow agreed to represent the entire group for a fee of $30,000. As was the case in the trial against Ida, Kahahawai, and the other three men, complete details of the trial are not really known. Obviously they were caught red-handed with the body in the car, and while that is damning evidence I am sure there was more, including hearing Thalia's story once more. It is not clear if the prosecution still believed that the five men had attacked Thalia or not as they put her on the stand to testify for the state. It was said she “presented herself as the innocent victim” and when the prosecutor “pushed her” (about what I cannot say) she became angry, and “stormed off the stand.” One would think that being caught with the body would have warranted a murder conviction but when the jury came back they found the group guilty of manslaughter.

If racial tensions were not already high enough. They exploded but it appears that made no difference to at least one side. It is unclear exactly when it happened but the “Territorial” Governor decided to commute the sentences of the four people convicted. He apparently pulled them all into his office for one hour and let them go with time served.

Thalia and Thomas would divorce in 1934 and after another marriage and several suicide attempts, she succeeded in 1963. Albert Jones would die in 1966, Edward Lord in 1967, Grace in 1979 and lastly Thomas Massie died in 1987. Just before his death Albert Jones did an interview in which he stated it was he who had shot Joseph Kahahawai.

The Pinkerton Detective agency got involved in the case and investigated Thalia's claims. Apparently this occurred after her mother and husband had gone on trial. Their conclusion was that the five men were innocent of the crime they were accused. Once again it was said this conclusion was made based on the times that they had. They knew where the five men were when they had the altercation with Mr and Mrs. Peeples and they knew where and when Thalia claimed to have been attacked.

The American Bar Association did a mock trial for the five men in 2006 and “used 21^st century forensic techniques.” They too declared that the men were innocent and had not attacked Thalia as there was no way they could have made it across town in the time allotted. No one will ever know what really happened on that night in 1931 but most agree that the story Thalia Massie told was a lie. Whether her mother and husband knew that is unclear. The only thing that is known is that a man, who in all probability was innocent, lost his life.