John M. Wright, a sailor, was charged with the killing of Bernard Ferron, a river speculator on March 16, 1878.

Ferron, a Red Hook resident, made his living buying and selling scrap iron from ships. When his body was found weighed down with iron, detectives were able to deduce that the last ship he visited carried lumber as some of the pieces were timber dogs.  This and other clues led the police to Wright, who confessed to the killing but said it was an accident following a scuffle over coffee.