James Sutton, 61, lived alone in a small shack between the woods of Lincoln Park and the shore of the Pawtuxet River. Sutton was a real estate broker known for being a loner. He saved his riches by opting for rags and liked to approach strangers and flaunt the money he had accumulated. His uniqueness was whispered about in town. He only wore khaki clothes. He hitched rides rather than pay streetcar fare. He survived on bread, crackers and milk, and whatever vegetables he was cultivating in the small garden outside his shack.

One June 1, 1923, Sutton shared with one of his few friends that he had received a letter from his brother Walter in Boston, announcing that Walter’s wife was very sick and asking him to come to Boston. James stated that he would probably set out for Massachusetts the following day. Several days passed and the friend became aware that a postcard from Walter had reached the post office in Warwick, explaining that his wife’s condition was growing worse and again asking James to please come to Boston.

The friend became concerned. As far as he knew, James had left for Boston days earlier. He went to the shack. As the door was locked, he broke into the small dwelling through a window. There on the floor next to the sofa he found James covered with a blanket. Upon further investigation, he determined that James had been fatally shot in the head.

Police responded to the scene where they dug a .55 caliber slug out of the floor and noticed a bullet mark on a nearby wall. They also found a bloodstained hammer lying not far from the body. James’s pockets had been turned inside out. A roll of small bills which totaled $500 and which he’d had in his pocket on June 1, was gone along with the diamond ring valued at $600 that he usually wore on his finger. Police believed James had probably been murdered by someone having issues with him regarding a mortgage. But there was other talk going on among the real estate brokers.

Harold Arthur White was a notary public for local brokers. The 26-year-old was appealing to the ladies and already divorced from his first wife. The woman he was presently courting lived in Woonsocket. Rose McCooey had formerly been employed as a waitress at Dickford’s Restaurant on Main Street in East Greenwich. Rose admitted to police that White had asked her to marry him. He had also flashed a diamond ring and a roll of bills, and then seemingly disappeared. 

  Pearl Briggs of East Greenwich, another female friend of White’s, told police that she believed he had boarded the oil tanker Swiftstar which sailed from Providence on June 8. The vessel was headed for San Pedro, Cal. Police learned that, on the evening of June 3, White had packed up all of his belongings from where he was staying at Central Hotel in East Greenwich. He sought out a friend he owed $5 to, paid him back, and left town. Although the police weren’t saying much in terms of their investigation, they recouped the diamond which had been stolen from the dead man’s finger. It had been placed in a new setting.   

Police sent a description of White to the captain of the Swiftstar. It was requested that, if he was found aboard, that he be shackled. As the vessel passed through the Panama Canal, White was recognized and placed in irons. He was arrested when the tanker docked.

After being returned to Rhode Island, White was arraigned on a charge of murder. He pleaded not guilty and was secured in Providence County Jail. During his November 1923 trial, he agreed to plead guilty to a charge of manslaughter. He was then immediately sentenced to serve 20 years in the state prison. After serving his sentence, he moved into the Old Ladies Home in Providence where he had gained employment as a janitor. He later married again and is interred at New Fernwood Cemetery in South Kingstown.