Carey was placed in an orphanage when she was two and half years old by her mother a few days after her Estelle’s father died unexpectedly. Estelle’s mother remarried a few years later in 1916 and removed Estelle from the orphanage  Cary, a onetime clothes model,  eventually became gangster Nick Circella’s girlfriend after the hood found her waiting tables in 1932 and was stunned by her beauty.

At some point, she turned to prostitution and dice hustling during World War while waitressing at Circella’s casino-night spot, The Yacht Club on Rush Street. She later ran the dice game at Circella’s Colony Club Casino. (Located at 744 Rush Street)  At some point, the Outfit bosses became convinced that Estelle was holding back money from them and that she had been talking to federal investigators about the Bioff scandal.

There was also some worry that Circella, who was missing, might cooperate with the government. So the outfit sent a killer to deal with Carey.   On February 2, 1943, Carey, was found murdered here in her third-floor, five-bedroom apartment at 512 W. Addison by firemen who came to put out a fire.(She shared the apartment with Maxine Buturff , the owner of a ladies clothing store)

She was naked except for a red housecoat that had been soaked with lighter fluid and set on fire on the dining room floor. Evidence showed that she had been tortured with an ice pick, a knife, a roller pin, an iron, a ten inch blackjack and brass knuckles. Her nose was broken, several of her teeth had been knocked out, and she had a cut across her throat that had been made with a razor. Her eyeball was cut, her lips were smashed open. There were bloodstains  in the sink and on the kitchen cabinets. A blood stained kitchen knife and pie rolling pin were found next to the body and a ten inch blackjack was found on the kitchen floor.

Police established that at about 1PM Cary had been on the phone talking to her cousin Phoebe Zyrkowski. Cary said “The door bell is ringing. I have to go I’ll call back in one hour”  She allowed her killer in to the apartment and started t prepare two cups of coco. From there, the investigating detective Bill Drury determined, she was beaten and then dragged into the living room and eventually killed. (The actual cause of death was burns not the beating.

During the police investigation, dresses, cameras, golf clubs and other items disappeared from Cary’s apartment shortly after it was declared a crime scene. Most of the items were returned in secret after Cary’s lawyers threatened) An invalid neighbor spotted a man leaving the apartment with two fur coats under his arm. Police hauled in Circella’s wife Ernestine for two hours of questioning. When police asked if she knew about her husband and Estelle, Mrs. Circella replied “Yes, I knew Nick was cheating and I knew about her. Show people are always cheating on each other, but I would not allow it to break up my home”

Otherwise, Captain Drury made several arrest of possible suspects in the case, eventually releasing them all. One of those locked up was John Borcia, Circella’s long time partner as well as Ralph Pierce (Murray Humphreys understudy) Les Kruse, Marshal Caifano and Sam Battaglia.