On the morning of 2 July 1951, the postman wanted to deliver a letter to Mary Reese, an old woman who lived alone on the seventh floor of an apartment block. When the postman received no answer, a friend of Mrs Reeser, living in the same block offered to take the letter to her. After knocking on the door several times, she tried the door handle. It was so hot that she cried out in pain. Fearing what might have happened, she called two workmen who were working on the same floor and asked them to break into the apartment.