 The case involved the double-murder of a man and his lover which occurred on September 14, 1922, mere weeks before Fitzgerald and his wife arrived in Great Neck.Scholars have speculated that Fitzgerald based certain aspects of the ending of "The Great Gatsby" as well as various characterizations on this factual incident.By mid-1923, Fitzgerald had written 18,000 words for his novel, but discarded most of his new story as a false start.