The Trouble with Murder

A rich woman pays a painter to create a nude picture of her. She gets worried when he begins behaving strangely. Her fears turn out to be right because the artist has a terrible habit of harming his models after he no longer needs them.

Brooklyn police are baffled by the murder of four women whose headless torsos they have found in the river. Each of the victims was found nude, unmolested, but wearing rings of considerable value. The newspapers have named the murderer “The Brooklyn Headhunter,” and the public is clamoring for his arrest. Even though the police don’t realize it, the “Headhunter” tries to turn himself in, unsuccessfully—they consider him some kind of nut.

A wealthy lady hires an artist to paint a nude portrait of her. She becomes disturbed when he starts acting peculiarly. Her worries are well-founded as the painter has a nasty habit of mutilating his subjects once they have outlived their usefulness.