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.Oakes built himself several large homes, the British Colonial Hotel,and a beachfront golf course and also launched an upscale country club Millionaire Murder: The Case of Sir Harry Oakes (1943) 167and his own airline.The construction boom that he created made himpowerful because it generated jobs and resulted in higher wages locally.Oakes also built a new wing for the Nassau children s hospital, gavefree transportation to his employees for their work commute, and pro-vided milk to their children.His generosity landed him a knighthoodfrom King George VI in 1939.Shortly after Oakes s eldest daughter Nancy turned 18, she secretlymarried 33-year-old Count Marie Alfred Fouquereaux de Marigny onMay 19, 1942.She had met the twice-divorced native of Mauritius at adance in Nassau where they both lived.de Marigny, who preferred thenickname Freddie, was known for his playboy lifestyle; he owned aracing yacht called Concubine.Oakes and his wife were not pleased about their new son-in-law, butthey did their best to accept him.de Marigny s lifestyle, however, wouldbecome a source of conflict with Oakes and lead to a public spat.Tensionran high, and this drove a wedge between Nancy and her parents.Shewrote a letter to her mother on May 26, 1943, insisting that her husbandbe accepted as a member of the family.If she had to choose between herhusband and her mother, she would choose her husband, she said.Less than two months later, July 7, 1943, dawned a hot and humid day.Lady Oakes was at the family home in Bar Harbor, Maine, to escape thestifling heat.Their children were traveling, de Marigny was busy at hisnew chicken farm, and Sir Harry planted trees on his estate near theBahamas Country Club in Nassau that afternoon.Then he made a datewith Harold Christie and newspaper editor Etienne Dupuch to see his1,500 newly arrived sheep.He also confirmed plans to play golf withthe Duke of Windsor the following day.Oakes intended to join his wifein Bar Harbor on July 9.Oakes played tennis with Christie at 5 PM before they went back to hishome (called Westbourne) for cocktails and dinner.Retired Woolworth sexecutive Charles Hubbard and Englishwoman Dulcibelle Henneagejoined them.Christie s niece Sally Sawyer and her friend came forcocktails but left before dinner.The rest of the guests stayed and playedChinese checkers after supper.Hubbard drove Henneage home atabout 11 PM.Christie and Oakes stayed up and chatted for another half hour.Themultimillionaire miner was reading a newspaper in his bedroom whenChristie went to the guestroom that separated Sir Harry s by anotherbedroom and a bathroom.Christie climbed into bed and read a copyof Time magazine for another half hour before he turned out the light 168 Cold Cases: Famous Unsolved Mysteries, Crimes, and Disappearances in Americaand went to sleep.He was wakened only by the sound of buzzing mos-quitoes and a fierce rainstorm with high winds and blowing rain thatpassed through Nassau in the early hours of July 8.Christie later saidthat he didn t hear anything unusual during the night.MURDER IN THE BAHAMASAt 7 AM Christie woke up and noticed that Oakes was not on thebalcony where he normally ate his breakfast.He went to the door ofSir Harry s bedroom. Hi Harry, he said, but there was no response.Christie opened the door and stepped inside.Oakes was lying on hisback, sprawled diagonally across his bed.His skull had been fracturedby an object that left four triangular indentations around his left ear.Blood had dripped across his face.His mosquito net, bedding, and paja-mas were charred, and feathers from a pillow clung to his partly burnedbody.An electric fan sat on the floor beside the bed.In the predawn hours of July 8, 1943, Sir Harry had been brutallymurdered in his bedroom.He had been lying facedown when he wasstruck, but either rolled over or someone turned him onto his back.The killer had doused the body, bed, mosquito netting, rugs, and cur-tains with gasoline, hoping to destroy evidence of the crime, but therainstorm had blown through the room s screens and doused the fire,which hadn t spread much beyond the bed.A partly burned ornate, lac-quered Chinese screen near the bed had fingerprints and was splatteredwith blood.There was a single bloody handprint on the wall beside SirHarry s bed about four feet from the floor.In addition, mud, sand, andfootprints were found on the stairs leading up to the bedroom
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