On March 23, 1961, Mays and two accomplices, 34-year-old David Johnson and 30-year-old Jose Sanchez-Fernandez, held up the Friendly Tavern, at 1403 Fifth Avenue in East Harlem.

After opening her purse and finding it empty, Mays put a .38 caliber revolver to her forehead and pulled the trigger, killing her at the scene.

[3] In a 1988 interview with Manuel Guerriero, who defended Mays, he and other defense lawyers had convinced the prosecution to make an arrangement lowering his charge to second degree murder, which would have spared his life.

[4][5] At Mays's subsequent trial, the court heard that he had been part of a gang which had committed 52 robberies in six weeks.

They deliberated another 20 minutes before refusing to recommend mercy, resulting in Mays receiving a mandatory death sentence.

[3] Mays entered the execution room at 10:01 p.m. on August 15, 1963, accompanied by a Protestant chaplain, and was strapped into the electric chair.

In 1965, the state of New York repealed capital punishment, except for cases involving the murder of a police officer.