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Did you know that the only woman to ever be executed in Alberta's history was executed in Fort Saskatchewan?
The city has a winding history that often turns a bit morbid due to the existence of the old gaol that carried out 29 executions between 1914 and 1950.
The story of the first and only woman to be hanged in Alberta starts with a man named Emilio Picariello.
"Emilio Picariello was a very prominent bootlegger in the Crowsnest Pass, kind of near Frank, Alberta, in the 1920s," said Alex King with the Fort Heritage Precinct. "In 1922, he and one of his associate's wives, Florence Lassandro, were involved in the murder of Alberta Provincial Police constable Steven Lawson."
The incident was the result of a botched bootlegging operation that was intercepted by Lawson. Between 1917 and 1923 alcohol was strictly prohibited in Alberta, causing people like Picariello and Lassandro to get into the business of bootlegging.
After intercepting the bootlegging, Lawson opened fire on people fleeing the scene, including at Picariello's son.
Due to the only witness to the crime being Lawson's nine-year-old daughter, there wasn't much evidence about who exactly pulled the trigger and killed the constable.
As such, they were tried together and found guilty. They were sentenced to both be executed by hanging, which they were in Fort Saskatchewan in 1923.
"It was kind of a big deal that they convicted both of them because it was clear that only one of them could have committed the murder," said King.
The story only gets muddier as Lassandro held a strong conviction right up to her death that could have changed everything in the story.
"Florence presented herself while she was on death row and said that there was actually shooting happening over her shoulder and she ducked out of the way of gunfire from a mysterious third shooter," said King.
The Fort Heritage Precinct put on a bit of a speakeasy event that covered this story a few weeks ago.
During the event, a poll was taken by the audience that found that a majority of them thought that Lassandro was innocent.
The researchers around the precinct also share that belief.
"We all seem to think that Florence, in our minds, was fairly innocent and just got kind of stuck at the wrong place at the wrong time," said King.
Those who are wanting a better look at this story can head to the Fort Heritage Precinct where they have a replica of the car involved during the murder that people can take a look at.
To read more stories about Fort Saskatchewan's wild history be sure to check out this one on Robert Raymond Cook as well as this story on some of the city's creepiest urban legends.