Talk:Murder of Roseann Quinn

Question re: "Closing Time"
I just finished reading the book mentioned above. I am curious why you label it as "fictionalized." My impression, after reading the preface and the entire book is that only portions were fictionalized. That is, portions that remain a mystery were created by the author since she--or anyone else for that matter--had no other information. For example, the author states that no one will ever know what Roseann (called "Theresa" in the book) and her murderer spoke about during their time together in both Tweeds and the other bar they supposedly went to. As such, she creates a dialog that, she believes, could have taken place, based on her research. Additionally, the author informs the reader that she changed names and certain "identifying characteristics." She believes those individuals deserved privacy.

Overall, I appreciate your article. It is very interesting and has been helpful in my new-found curiosity in this particular crime. However, I do not fully agree that "Closing Time" by Lacey Fosburgh could be considered, in its entirety, fictionalized.

Thank you for your time. Cna34 09:08, 26 December 2006 (UTC)


 * I call the book "fictionalized" because it is in my opinion more fiction than it is fact -- actually, in many ways it's just as fictional as "Looking for Mr. Goodbar." But you can't tell that from just reading the book and taking it at face value -- you have to compare the book with the newspaper accounts of the time to see just how many details Ms. Fosburgh changed (from the name of the town Quinn grew up in to the disease she suffered from as a child to the apartment number of the studio apartment she died in).


 * This is not to impugn Lacey Fosburgh in any way. She was writing not long after the murder.  The Quinn family and many of Quinn's friends would not talk to her on the record.  She had a limited amount of information to work with.  Under the circumstances she did the best she could.  But as a factual account of the case it leaves a lot to be desired (and critics at the time said as much).  And there's no denying that it's fictionalized, and the more I investigate the case the more fictionalized I see that it is.  Feuillade 03:56, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Author of this page?
i was just wondering who wrote this entry and where they received all their information. thanksSeq17 (talk) 18:32, 8 February 2008 (UTC)seq17

Death penalty in 1973
". . . as Guest knew this would carry the death penalty he did not want to be responsible for Wilson's death."

The death penalty in the United States was effectively suspended from mid-1972 until 1976. The author may be speculating that Mr. Guest (mistakenly) feared the possibilty of a death penalty for Mr. Wilson. 216.14.230.7 (talk) 20:47, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

j.s.mcdowell@att.net


 * Since this was a somewhat new change in the law, Geary Guest was unaware of it as were the rest of us as to the death penalty in New York. Ggreenwood4 (talk) 21:26, 5 June 2009 (UTC)Gary Greenwood


 * Was Fred Ebb really tangentally involved in this case? Wow.  Thanks for the update, this is actually a pretty good article.  64.132.218.4 (talk) 22:10, 4 June 2012 (UTC)

Guest/Murray
The article first refers to the accountant as "Geary Guest," then subsequently refers to the accountant as "Danny Murray." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.61.107.237 (talk) 14:28, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

I edited a great deal of this wiki as was there and knew some of the parties involved, and those that got me involved. Geary Guest was his "Real Name", I'm not sure who or why someone originally referred to Geary Guest as "Danny Murry", I subsequently edited it and changed to the "Geary Guest" as this is the "Real Name" of the person he is mentioning in this wiki. Someone then re-edited out "Geary Guest" and changed the name back to some "fictional person" named "Danny Murry"! --Gary Greenwood User:Ggreenwood4 (talk) 21:26, 5 June 2009 (UTC) -After nearly finishing the article I have no idea who Guest is -- he randomly appears in the narrative as a patron of the bar, then is giving the murderer money for some reason after the fact. Why? Who is he to these people? -75.57.7.223 (talk) 18:31, 2 October 2010 (UTC)

- I am finding this difference to be incredibly frustrating, and I was about to change all uses of "Geary Guest" to "Danny Murray," because the other articles I've seen, here: http://www.thefullwiki.org/Roseann_Quinn and here: http://crime.about.com/od/murder/a/The-Murder-Of-Roseann-Quinn.htm use the name "Danny Murray." Now I read that Geary Guest is his real name. Why is there this discrepancy and why isn't the real name available? Is this Guest/Murray person altering the info to protect his name from a past he wants to forget? Which one is the acquaintance of John Wayne Wilson, Guest or Murray? --Rush Rhees User:RushRhees (talk) 19:32, 1 March 2014 (UTC)

- Okay, I just read Ggreenwood4's comments here http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/discussionpost/Stock_broker_named_Danny_Murray_52484 and I trust them, so tonight I will be changing all references of Danny Murray to Geary Guest. Speak now or forever hold your peace, as they say, if you have any objections. I'll make this change later tonight and I will google the name and change all references of "Danny Murray" to "Geary Guest." How annoying is it that most are written as "Danny Murray?" Who is Danny Murray? --Rush Rhees User:RushRhees (talk) 19:45, 1 March 2014 (UTC)

Neutrality? Too long?
A tag at the top of this article says, "The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page." What discussion? What is the neutrality issue? Another tag says, "This article may be too long to comfortably read and navigate." At 15kb? Since when is that too long? The tags should be either explained or removed. Scolaire (talk) 06:49, 26 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Six days. No explanation. Removed.  Scolaire (talk) 16:55, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Investigation and aftermath
In the referenced section, it read, "Guest's lawyer contacted the police and secured his immunity in exchange for revealing Wilson's location." I was confused as to the antecedent of "his". Are we talking about Wilson's immunity or Guest's? I convinced myself that it was Wilson's immunity from the death penalty, but I'm not sure. Anyone know? Was Guest wanting immunity for himself? Thanks. Art Smart Chart/ Heart 20:24, 21 January 2022 (UTC)