Harvey Gruenwald is the murderer of Marion Whitney’s husband James, later being in league with Marion when she ordered the murder of Harvey’s mother Esther.
History[]
Harvey longer for adoration from famous and rich people, as his mother Esther was always possessive of him in spite of degrading him not making himself more than a grunt worker for people of higher status. He worked as a limo driver for Nick “Nicky Boy” Weaver, a loan shark and mobster affiliate, and because Harvey was squirrelly and had a nervous facial tic, people adored and pitied him alike to give him autographs and, with the right payments, guest appearances at public and private events on demand, like Weaver’s daughter having Charlton Heston at her wedding. Harvey himself was in massive debt from Weaver’s high-interest loans, so he turned to work as a fundraising event planner, where the money he’d earn and even embezzle would explicitly be into his debts or the next event, no matter the cost.
At Esther’s group home in Astoria, Marion, a retired child actress when she was still Marion Lester before she married, came to entertain the seniors by singing in her private group, Bound for Broadway, which she did with her time in her unhappy marriage that took her dream of stardom away. Harvey appealed to her, pleading to arrange a stage production and find contacts that would notice her, in exchange for her money paying off his debts. James was the only hurtle, so since Esther had an oxygen tank for emphysema, he dismantled and tinkered with it to figure out its working parts. He then laced James’ tank with an organophosphate toxin and petroleum jelly to coat the inner walls, slowly killing him before his staff had the tanks removed.
The plan would’ve worked, as Marion didn’t shed a tear and spent her inheritance on the events Harvey arranged, as well as paid Weaver back in full for Harvey. However, Esther was jealous, so she used the senior center’s dot-matrix printer to write an anonymous letter accusing Marion of murdering James, and he was exhumed to test for and confirm the poisoning. Harvey was shaken by the discovery, as well as the chance Marion was to find out, and he would argue repeatedly with Esther because she couldn’t stand his work and the company involved, despite her not encouraging him. When Esther’s butalbital she took for her migraines was found secreted onto the letter from her sweat, the detectives went back to question her. However, Marion scheduled a Radio City show for Harvey to attend by obligation. She gave Weaver an autograph as payment for getting the tickets last minute, then sending one of his affiliates to bludgeon Esther to death in her apartment.
Harvey was shaken, but he never suspected Marion or Weaver, just a random burglar. Marion told him to move on and focus on their arrangements. Nevertheless, once Harvey’s means and motive were realized, the detectives arrested him at one of his events. Marion sent an attorney to represent him, them made suggestion after suggestion for bail like an auction, the judge eventually placing it at three million and a requirement for an ankle bracelet to restrict to home and work, with the promise they’d go to trial in a week.
Harvey and Marion were confronted at rehearsal, where the detectives revealed Harvey gathered a bunch of low rate attendees for the show, even down to people at the senior center and Weaver’s friends in the mob. Marion was then called out for how she rushed to get Harvey out to the show for his alibi, then mentioned her lawyer didn’t press for filing bail papers to secure his case, revealing she’d be done with him. Predictably, they both rolled on each other with their statements, Marion saying Harvey wanted to leave James to die, and Harvey realizing Marion made him come to the Radio City show. They were both arrested during their complete and utter denial and fear of being caught, detectives remarking they’ll get the attention they want from their trials. (CI: “Unrequited”)