The Professor & the Coed: Scandal & Murder at the Ohio State University

by Mark Gribben, Brian P. Craig (Narrator)

The true story of James Howard Snook, Theora Hix, and one of the most shocking crimes of the 1920s.

In the sweltering summer of 1929, the people of Columbus, Ohio, were enthralled by the story of Dr. James Howard Snook—an Ohio State University veterinary professor and Olympic gold medal-winning pistol shooter who was put on trial for the murder of his twenty-four-year-old lover, a medical student.

This riveting account reveals how Snook was captured and interrogated, including his gory confession of Theora Hix's death. During the trial, the details of the illicit love affair were so salacious that newspapers could only hint about what really led to the coed's murder and the professor's ultimate punishment. This is the first full account of this astonishing story, from scandalous beginning to tragic end.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery

Audible Audio

First published June 18, 2010

Reviews

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short historical true crime read is in the summer of 1929, at Ohio State University involving the brutal murder of a young girl and a prime suspect being a professor at the University who also is an Olympics shooter. Very quick and fast-paced, with interesting historical content and plenty of research that helped the book come together nicely. Available to read on Kindle Unlimited!

[Jmlanier1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the true story of veterinarian and Olympic gold medalist James Snook’s murder of OSU student Theora Hix. The book covers the investigation and prosecution of Dr. Snook. After the prosecutor assisted in conducting an exhaustive investigation, Dr. Snook was interrogated and confessed to the murder. Despite the confession, Dr. Snook went to trial and testified in his own defense. His version of events and justification for his actions was beyond outrageous for 1929. The trial began July 24, 1929 and Dr. Snook was convicted three weeks later after only a 28 minute deliberation. His appeal was denied in November, 1929 and he was executed in late February, 1930…less than 9 months after the murder. This is a fascinating true crime story from the Ohio State University almost 100 years ago. Justice was done properly and swiftly. It is frustrating to think, less than 100 years later, this same set of facts with a confession from the defendant would take years and years and years to crawl through the criminal justice system.

[Claire Scoggin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is brief and succinct. It reads more like a court report than a book. Taking that into account, it is a quick read of a horrible crime.

[Jeff Nielsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Bill reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The professor here is James Snook, a fifty-year-old man who taught at the Ohio State University in the 1920s when he met twenty-four-year-old medical student Theora Hix. They entered into a three year affair that ended quite badly for the adventurous young woman.
Discovered in a field in Ohio with severe head wounds and severed neck arteries, the police at first believed that the murder was the work of a psychopath. A former boyfriend was, as usual, the best suspect. It turned out that he was part of a love triangle which included Dr. Snook, a bald, nerdy looking individual.
The newspapers had a field day with the scandalous trial which included testimony by the accused. The public was shocked by the disclosure of "unnatural" acts, as Theora had performed oral sex on the mild mannered professor.
The jury found Snook guilty in under thirty minutes and within nine months he was extinguished in the electric chair. The book is a quick and average read.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

My dad kind of forced me to read this one after he received it as a gift and read it. He got a graduate degree from OSU and my husband and I both got our undergraduate degrees at OSU. That aspect was really intriguing; to know the streets where these crimes took place and to visualize where the apartment was and the field in which she was killed and left.

Other than that, it was a pretty basic account of exactly what happened between the two in question. I think it would make the basis of a really excellent fiction crime story, but that was clearly not the author's intent, especially if you look at his writing background.

I wish there were more information involved and it was a little more dramatic, but for the type of book it was, it was written and researched very well.

[Cathy Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Electrifying

I like books about crime but they’re even better when it’s true crime and in this particular case I’m actually staying in the exact location where part of the work up to the crime actually occurred! It does not get any better than that!

This crime must have been the biggest news around. Of course, even now, a crime that includes lots of sex and “dirty” details is all that much better. There’s plenty of that to go round in this book.

This is as good as it gets for those who love the real deal in crime stories. No fake plot where somehow a clue gets overlooked along the way or it leaves you wondering if they really were the ones who done it? This guy really did.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A peek into early forensics techniques

This was a concise retelling with a lot of emotional exposition by the author. Not bad, but a little slap-dash when it came to the trial and proceeding events. Definitely sensationalized the investigation while not really exploring the true facts of what was presented at the trial, considering that everything was transcribed. I just wish there were more instances of using the direct transcription of the opposing pathology reports and the alienists' observations.

[Bettye McKee]

Excellent true crime

This true crime saga presented by an obviously seasoned writer is easy to read and appears to cover all the bases. The vicious murder of Theora Hix by Ohio State University professor Dr. James Howard Snook in 1929 is reported in detail, from the discovery of the body by a couple of boys, through the investigation and trial.

There are several pertinent photos (always a plus factor) and a final chapter dealing with the last meal and execution.

5

[Christiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I don't like True Crime as a genre, I had to read a True Crime novel for a contest. This fit the bill. Bonus, it's only 128 pages and a story I had never heard about at The Ohio State University.

[Angela Stillson · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was boring and seemed to cut and paste from news articles about the case. Did not feel sympathy for the professor or the co-ed. I did feel bad for the 2 year old daughter of the professor who most certainly grew up with this stigma of being a murderer's daughter.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sad, strange story.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book recounts the murder and trialof a student and her professor. The book held my attention. I had to make myself put the book down.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

Nicely laid out, easy to follow & seems quite complete. I would recommend the book to anyone. Easy to read.

[Ione DeOllos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was interesting but not my favorite. It was more of a listing of facts than a story of the event.

[Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well written

I have been reading more true crime from the early 20TH Century and this one is definitely recommend for anyone interested in the true crime of that era.

[Ashlie Swicker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing deeply engrossing but since I've been loving true crime podcasts, I wanted to read about a historical case. This was a kindle unlimited read and I would definitely read others by this author.

[Deborah J Cahrier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great weekend read!

This book.was captivating from beginning to end! Well told, not too wordy. I found it quite interesting as I am from the same area in Ohio.

[Lexi Sølvhammer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book began as a true page turner. However it sadly turned into a dull read.

The book isn’t bad but just not down my alley

*this review is placed on multiple platforms

[Kecia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. I had no idea this happened at Ohio State.

[Sue Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for my OSU Reading Bingo Challenge. Quick read which was what I was looking for. True crime and takes place in 1929. Wow, has the legal system changed.

[Mayda Moncrief · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, even as screwed up as our justice system is we have come a long way!!

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read about a gruesome murder in the 1920s. Interesting to compare the judicial system of then to the current system.

[Anne Gorman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great exercise in writing, but a really strange case taken from the annals of the local newspaper, about a murder of a coed from a Professor at Ohio State University.

[Marley]

This is a much better written book on the Snook-Hix case than the previous book. (I'm on my way to work now and don't' have the title handy, but I reviewed it here).

I've heard about this case for 35 years. A woman in my old writers group, whose grandfather was a court stenographer during the trial, had a complete transcript and intended to write a book, but never did. One of my co-workers at OSU did an art installation on the case. But I've never been satisfied with anything I read about it. Facts are facts, of course, but there was much more going on here. Doing some pop pscy , I'd say that Theora had some serious sexual conflict within herself and found a perfect partner in Dr. Snook to screw and threaten and degrade. And why did Dr. Snook refer to himself as Janet in their letters? What about his self-"vascectomy." This is more than just a love affair gone wrong--since it was always about sex and never love or even affection. Some very dark currents were playing in this game. I really wish someone would delve into the really dark side of this (and place it within a cultural context.)

I'd like to see a legal perspective on the case, too. I doubt today Snook would have gotten the death penalty.

Still I recommend the book. I was going to give it a 3, but raised it to a 4 simply because it is so much better than the other book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks for the recommendation Amy E! Great, quick read. Nice to have a nonfiction book to break away from my typical book selections. Since it happened right here, there are a lot of locations in the story that we can all relate to. The fact that I can hear the police practicing at the firing range where the murder occurred from my porch is creepily cool.

[Pam Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder in the 20's

A prosecutor takes over a police investigation, beats the suspect, refuses access to lawyers, and gives reporters free reign. If these things occurred today, trial never would have taken place. Yes, the defendant was guilty, but it was not a fair trial. The trial had a court reporter who published court transcripts in a pamphlet during the trial.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book that happened so close to my hometown, Columbus, OH, and with a very popular school (Ohio State University). It is amazing that such a great quick read can be so close to home. I enjoyed reading it and even was provoked to kinda find out more information!

[Larissa Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The case itself is really interesting, and the author tells it in a very straightforward way, but I wish he had asked more questions--Was the confession really coerced? What was the victim really like? I feel like the author could have gotten more out of it.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lurid.