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Haskell, Daisy Harris

Widow of John Haskell,[1] resident of Laramie, Wyoming Territory,[2] in 1876.[1] (December 26, 1850 – who-knows-when)[2]

Born in Philadelphia as Daisy Harris, she married wealthy entrepreneur John Haskell in August of 1870.[2] Living in Philadelphia in the early years of their marriage, the Haskells employed a groom, Snopes, to look after their stable of horses.[1] Snopes proved to be a man of questionable character and was discharged in 1873. In November of that year, Haskell's business interests led him into the post-war cattle boom in the West and the couple moved to Laramie, Wyoming Territory.[2]

In April of 1876,[2] the Haskells traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory[1] to discuss cattle breeding and acquisition with Henrique Fillipe.[2] Bored in her marriage, Daisy began a clandestine romance with Fillipe. When Haskell discovered the affair, he confronted Fillipe at gunpoint and the incident led to Fillipe shooting and killing him. To cover the killing, Fillipe threw Haskell's body into an abandoned mine shaft on his property. Shocked by the event, Daisy and Haskell plotted to further cover Haskell's death in an elaborate scheme to lure a stranger, posing as Haskell, far from Santa Fe and make it appear he was killed by an unknown assailant so the record would show that John Haskell was killed and buried elsewhere, allowing Daisy and Fillipe to build a new future together, free from any suspicion of murder.[1]

While in Santa Fe, Daisy met Bart Maverick, whom she recruited to pose as her late husband and ostensibly escort her back to Laramie.

In Cimarron,[2] Daisy and Bart took rooms[1] at the St. James Hotel[2] where Snopes, a former groom of the Haskells in Philadelphia, saw them register as Mr. and Mrs. John Haskell, but recognized that Bart was not daisy's real husband. After Bart left the hotel to find a poker game in town, Snopes attempted to blackmail Daisy to keep her secret. Daisy pulled her jeweled derringer on Snopes and, when he attempted to retreat and draw his own gun, Daisy shot and killed him. When the sheriff investigated the incident, she told him Snopes had attempted to steal her jewelry.[1]

In May, while traveling by stage[1] along the Santa Fe Trail,[2] Daisy and Bart took a suite at the La Mesa Hotel where Daisy shot Bart twice with her jeweled derringer and set the room to make it appear a burglar had entered the room through the window and killed her "husband" while robbing her of her jewelry. However, Bart had surmised part of her plan and loaded Daisy's gun with blanks so he would not be killed. Bart conspired with the La Mesa sheriff and undertaker to fake his death and hold a mock funeral for "John Haskell" to convince Daisy and Fillipe that he was dead and buried. After the funeral, Bart hid in the shadows of Daisy's room while she and Fillipe discussed how they had fulfilled their plan. Bart stepped out of the shadows, frightening Daisy, who fainted. Fillipe attacked Bart, but Bart knocked him out with a single punch. The sheriff took Daisy and Fillipe into custody and returned them to Santa Fe to be tried for the murder of John Haskell and the attempted murder of Bart Maverick.[1]

The jury found Daisy guilty of attempted murder and she was sentenced to five years in prison, after which she returned to Philadelphia where she could leave the dark episode behind her.[2]

See: The Jeweled Gun