Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the body in the well | Modern Law Library

S1E263 - Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the body in the well | Modern Law Library

Published: July 27, 2026

Duration: 56:49

In January 1800, Elma Sands's dead body was found in a New York City well. The case has captivated people ever since, not least because in the resulting trial, defendant Levi Weeks was represented by Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and a future Supreme Court justice.

The Girl from Greenwich Street: A Novel of Hamilton, Burr and America's First Murder Trial is a historical fiction novel by Lauren Willig. On this episode of the Modern Law Library, she explains how four years before their fatal duel, Hamilton and Burr came to be co-counsels on a murder case.

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