97: Motive and Murder in Newport, RI

Common Mystics

On this episode of Common Mystics, Jen and Jill explore the mysterious murder of Benjamin J. Burton, once Rhode Island’s most affluent Black businessman. A self-made man, Burton began his career loading cargo at the docks of Newport, RI, eventually founding an express company and establishing the city’s first mass transit system. Admired and respected, his tragic death from gunshot wounds on October 6, 1885, sent shockwaves through Newport society. Initially ruled a suicide by the coroner, community outcry prompted a reexamination, leading to the uncovering of a sinister truth.