Dominic Tringalli would not stop proposing. The 29-year-old crab fisherman was obsessed with marrying Nellie DiMaggio, the oldest daughter of fellow San Francisco fisherman Joseph. He’d proposed over and over, but Nellie kept turning him down. This, he decided, wouldn’t do.

The morning of June 19, 1917, Nellie was walking to work with a friend. At the corner of Mason and Filbert, a car came squealing up alongside them. Two men jumped out and grabbed her and her friend, Edna King. Tringalli picked up Nellie, who fought back. As he tried to stifle her yells, she bit his hand as hard as she could.