The Capeman Files

This season's most controversial Broadway production will surely be "The Capeman," musician Paul Simon's $11 million musical about the life of Salvador Agron, one of New York's most notorious killers. In August 1959, Agron, 16, was charged with the murder of two teenage boys in a Hell's Kitchen playground. A member of The Vampires street gang, Agron was remorseless over the slaying of Robert Young and Anthony Krzesinski. "I don't care if I burn," he declared. "My mother could watch me."

With "West Side Story" playing on Broadway, the Agron case became a tabloid sensation. The teenager was dubbed the Capeman because he wore a black cape with a red lining when he stabbed Young and Krzesinski. An Agron cohort, Luis Hernandez, became Umbrella Man because he allegedly brandished an umbrella during the nighttime attack.

Convicted of the double murder, Agron was sentenced to die in the electric chair. But before Agron could be executed, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller commuted the killer's sentence to life in prison. Agron, though, was eventually freed in November 1979. He died of pneumonia in April 1986 at the age of 43. Simon has said that the musical, which began previews December 1st, "does not glorify or expiate Agron. The moral theme is about remorse and redemption."

The Smoking Gun has gathered a variety of documents from the Agron case--confessions, chilling crime scene photos, child welfare reports--that help round out the picture of the Capeman and his cronies. This collection includes:

District Attorney's Original Case Report (2 pages)

Police Evidence Receipt (1 page)

Crime Scene Photo: Robert Young (1 page)

Crime Scene Photo: Anthony Krzesinski (1 page)

Salvador Agron Confession (3 pages)

Luis Hernandez Confession (2 pages)

Problem Child: Agron's Early Days (4 pages)