After sitting continuously for many hours the jury at Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania returned a verdict of guilty against Robert A Edwards a 21-year-old mine surveyor who was accused of murdering his former sweetheart Freda McKechnie so that he could woo another girl - the case was a parallel to the novel American Tragedy - photo shows Robert A Edwards ( second from right ) leaving court at Wilkes-Barre after a session of the hearing October 10th 1934