15 Minutes of Infamy

Frank Henwood Think carefully before you appeal your criminal conviction, because you just might end up with a harsher sentence than the one had already been given. The story of Frank Henwood illustrates why it's often better to quit while you're ahead. One of the most well-known murders in the history of Denver, Colorado, didn't involve a wily gold prospector, a Wild West bandit, or a rugged cattle rancher. It grew out of a good, old-fashioned love triangle. But this triangle didn't involve a wife, a husband, and another woman; it involved a wife and two men who were not her husband. The wife in question was Isabel Patterson Springer, the attractive and vivacious second bride of a wealthy banker and industrialist named John W. Springer. The men were Sylvester Louis Von Phul (known to his friends as Tony), and Harold Frank Henwood. Tony Von Phul was a 32-year-old wine merchant and hot air balloonist from St. Louis, while Frank Henwood was a 31-year-old promoter, with a...