Frankie Baker

Frankie Baker was the inspiration for the song Frankie and Johnny after she stabbed and killed her boyfriend Allen Britt in St. Louis, Missouri in October 1899, for which she was acquitted. The killing inspired several songs and films. Baker went on to file unsuccessful lawsuits regarding incorrect depictions of herself in film.

Life
Francine Baker was a wealthy boarding house owner and prostitute in St. Louis. She met Allen Britt, a local piano player at the Orange Blossom ball, they became lovers and Britt lived with Baker.

Death of Allen Britt
On October 14, 1899, at 212 Targee Street in St. Louis (at the current site of the Enterprise Center hockey arena), Baker, then 22, laid in his bed and when he came home to find her there, he brandished a knife and attempted to attack her. She had a gun under the pillow and shot him. Some accounts say she stabbed him. He died a few days later on October 18, 1988.

Aftermath
Baker was detained at the Four Courts jail.

Acquittal
The killing was judged to be a justifiable homicide.

Lawsuits
In 1935, Baker sued Mae West for $100,000 for incidents in the film She Done Him Wrong for $100,000.