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this episode is brought to you by TN t--'s new limited series the Alienist when a series of gruesome murders groups
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New York in 1896 dr. lászló Chrysler and his team must investigate analyze and capture the killer inspired by the
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Alienist in this episode we'll dive into the mysterious lady in the barrel murder
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case from 1878 in Staten Island New York [Music] our episode's deal with serious and
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often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support please contact your local crisis center for
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suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our
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website this episode briefly mentions incidents of death mutilation and abortions nothing is covered extensively
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but please listen at your discretion one seaside grave by Christina Rossetti unmindful of the roses unmindful of the
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thorn a Reaper toy proposes among his gathered corn semi dire to the moon cold as the cold December's past as the days
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that set all only one remembers and all the rest forget but one remembers yet [Music]
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September 15th 1878 was a cooler than average day for Staten Island New York a cold northwesterly breeze blew as three
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young teenage boys tended cattle in the woods near Silver Lake just after midday
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a cow strayed and one of the boys crossed the ravine after the ground muddy and soggy under his feet before he
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reached the cow his foot sank deep into the mud and as he looked down he noticed the
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soil had been freshly moved on closer inspection he saw a large rock and the round unmistakable features of a wooden
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barrel sticking out from the earth washed away enough by rain and weather the barrel was now visible through the
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mud the boy called his two friends over and they all stood around excited assuming they had found great treasure
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digging madly at the barrel with sticks the three boys pried the mud from around
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the barrel poking and poking until a stick hit an object that was not gold or treasure as they had hoped the barrel
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had been newly sawn in half and nailed across as opening and tied with a length of rope was a torn piece of brussels
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carpet which the boys pried easily from the barrel as they pulled it more of the carpet
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that was shoved in sod something fell out a human arm front the boys ran almost a mile to New
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Brighton where they tracked down constables William Sheen and John Hulk coroner Daniel Dempsey was also informed
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as the coroner arrived at the scene all of the earth surrounding the barrel was removed as was the fifty pound stone
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which had been placed on top to conceal it by this time a crowd had congregated and
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the officers did what they could to hold them back dr. William wells er a physician from New Brighton arrived and
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together he the coroner and the police pulled the carpet out from the barrel entirely inside they found the naked and
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partially decomposed body of a woman wrapped in a torn linen sheet and nightgown and an empty soul Park had
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been used as padding to keep her body in place her arms were folded across a chest and flattened against the
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shoulders she was doubled up in an overextended fetal position her head bent forward between her knees the flesh
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on her face was gone as were her eyeballs leaving a harrowing image in the minds of all who stood there dr.
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William Wales er did an examination and his observation were as follows female between 25 and 30 years of age
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luxurious brown hair neatly brushed back in a long braids no obvious marks of violence floppy abdomen as if she had
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died soon after childbirth from a state of decomposition it was believed she had
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been buried for several weeks coroner Dempsey impaneled a jury on the spot presumably from the crowd that was
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standing around watching he then ordered the woman's body be taken to West Brighton mortuary for an autopsy as the
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autopsy started whispers circled Staten Island of the beautiful woman found squeezed into a barrel with her face
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almost completely decomposed her age was estimated from her bone sites and other
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features she wore no jewelry and no clothing apart from the nightgown shoved inside the barrel her hair was in
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immaculate condition likely brushed every day and planted into a braid almost two feet long this alone was
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enough for them to believe she was not a poor unkempt woman the only other identifiable feature was the two rows of
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perfect white teeth if the woman lived or worked on the streets they would have expected to say teeth much less cared
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for the nightgown and cloth found around her naked body was saturated with chloride
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of line also known as chloroform it was believed he'll been placed with the body to keep
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the woman unconscious in case she was not dead and woke up inside the barrel it was possible that the chloroform
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could have soaked into her hair which would make her hair appear darker so they had to consider the possibility
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that the woman may have had lighter colored brown hair too what they saw in death another mixture
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quicklime had been lathered on her face to burn away her features and render her
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unrecognizable whoever buried her was determined to conceal her identity and speed up the process of decomposition
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the one thing they kept going back to was the flabby skin on the woman's stomach they had assumed she had given
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birth surely before her death but upon further examination they discovered the truth she was pregnant but hadn't given
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birth yet there was a fetus approximately eight months old there had been a number of suspicious
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deaths in the area in recent times Judah botched unqualified abortions being carried out dr. wells are concurrent at
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Dempsey believed the woman in the barrel had followed the same path possibly dying from internal hemorrhaging after
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an unsuccessful attempt at ending her pregnancy a slight fracture of the temporal bone on the right side of the
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woman's head was discovered after further examination however both dr. William wells ER and his son dr. William
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rouser jr. concluded that the head injury was inflicted after death their final conclusion was that she was at the
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stage of prematurely delivering the baby and died from severe hemorrhaging but the question remained who was she there
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was no record of a missing woman in the area that matched her description so steps were taken to identify her the
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best way they knew how in 1878 they let people into the morgue to view her body to see if they knew her
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unfortunately a lot of people went just out of sheer curiosity not because they thought that would recognize her droves
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of people visited the Mork but no identification was made coroner dempsey concluded that the woman couldn't have
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been a resident of Staten Island for any length of time if she even was a resident of Staten Island at all she
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could have been from anywhere and made her way to Staten Island for the abortion of her almost full-term baby a
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practice which the coroner and the physicians knew was risky at best coroner Dempsey started to wonder if
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they would ever identify the woman in the 19th century Staten Island Silver Lake Park was a bustling recreational
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area the lake at the time was a large fresh pond created from a natural underground spring which had formed
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during the Ice Age advertised as the most desirable place for picnics on the island it was famous for fishing and
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boating in the milder months and ice skating in the winter there was a casino and saloon bar on the lake shore along
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with a restaurant in a hotel servicing holidaymakers and local visitors who found the parks of Brooklyn and
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Manhattan too far to travel to ice was harvested during the winter and stored in a cool place until the summer when it
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would be sold back into the local community this practice continued for a further 30 years past the summer of 1878
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the surrounding land was fertile and the farms were never short of water word spread quickly of the woman in the
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barrel from quiet whispers in the saloon bar on the shore of Silver Lake to the stores and street corners of West
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Brighton to the west and Stapleton to the east people would speak of nothing else
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word had broken out that the woman was of great physical beauty which added fuel to the already burning gossip fire
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newspapers rent stories of the discovery in gruesome detail from the New York Times to publications in Nashville
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Tennessee almost a thousand miles away the mystery of the woman in the barrel intrigue like a few other mysteries of
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the time as news spread coroner Dempsey was contacted by numerous people believing they knew who the mysterious
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woman was what began was an open door to the dark corners of New York State where
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young women seemed to have gone missing under so many unusual circumstances that
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the authorities were unable to keep up it started when mr. Lewis read from Clifton arrived at Coronas mortuary and
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asked to see the body the coroner obliged in 1878 if a person walked off the street and was willing to look at a
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body and there was hope it could help solve the case or lead to a formal identification that was allowed with
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minimum questions asked Lewis rege explained to coroner Dempsey with much guilt that the year prior he
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had been intimate with a young woman named Ellen Murphy he had planned to marry her but had to leave Cliffton in
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search of work in New York City [Music] Lewis was able to briefly returned to Clifton a month earlier and he saw Ellen
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she told him she was seven months pregnant on September 6 just nine days before the discovery of the woman in the
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barrel Lewis attended the house where Ellen was working as a servant to find she had disappeared apparently because
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her pregnancy had progressed too far to work Louis searched everywhere for her he
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managed to find her clothes trunk and some other personal items but not her when he heard of the woman found in the
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barrel his heart felt it had to be her he was worried that being pregnant out of wedlock and with no income Ellen may
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have sought a doctor to enter pregnancy quiet about it before and been turned away but maybe she had found a
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willing doctor and died during the procedure Louis said Ellen had long light brown
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hair that she often wore in a long plat and he confirmed she had perfect teeth coroner Dempsey escorted Louis to the
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poor house cemetery Louis stood to the side of the unmarked grave as a gravedigger put a spade into the earth
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over and over until the box was brought up the woman's decomposing remains were laid out on the grass in broad daylight
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the only thing to identify her was the two feet plat of hair and a perfect set of white teeth that's her Louis cried he
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could tell by her teeth Louis broke down in a fit of tears inconsolable Carnot Dempsey wasn't so sure
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according to Louis's description Ellen had much lighter hair than the woman in the barrel
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Dempsey knew there was the chance that the chloroform had seeped into the victims hair and darkened it but he
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wasn't convinced the remains of the woman in the barrel were reburied and the Louis Reid was ordered to testify at
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the inquest before the coroner's jury after hearing Lewis's story the jury then heard from Ellen Murphy's landlady
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who testified that Ellen quit her job and left with her clothes trunk on the 30th of August saying she was going back
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to Ireland for 2 or 3 months but Louis had found her clothes trunk so where was Owen Murphy was it her in the barrel
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still not convinced coroner Dempsey continued his investigation more and more people came forward each with their
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own twisted and sometimes scandalous stories of missing daughters loved ones and Friends all requested to view what
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was left of the mysterious woman's corpse most of them were unable to positively identify the woman in the
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barrel that some did George Hummel of Saugerties New York visited the poor house cemetery with his wife they were
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convinced the woman in the barrel was their daughter Annie Hummel after hearing the Hummel story Coroner Dempsey
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ordered the woman's body to be exhumed once again it was starting to become a common occurrence
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George Hummel explained that the year prior 1877 at the age of 13 his daughter Annie went to work in the home of a
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wealthy couple in Saugerties the wife fell ill and was moved to New York City for treatment with his wife out of the
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house the husband made advances on Annie and by the end of that year had got her
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pregnant without the knowledge of Annie's parents the husband said Annie was suffering with dropsy and sent her
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to New York City for treatment - Annie was never seen again and when Annie's parents heard about the
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mysterious woman in the barrel they were convinced that was her dr. wells er had
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initially determined the woman was aged 25 to 30 but that determination was far from an exact science in 1878 coroner
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Dempsey was open to the possibility that the body could be 13-year old Annie Hummel once again the little that
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remained the woman's body was dug up from the earth upon his first glimpse of the braids of hair George hamil
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exclaimed it was Annie contained his wife broke down the coroner considered it might have
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been Annie Hummel but there was really no way to know for sure as there had now been two completely different positive
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identifications so who was right or were they both wrong shortly after coroner Dempsey received a
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letter from Annie Hubble's childhood physician the letter stated that Annie had suffered a fracture to the wrist of
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her right arm at seven years of age if the right arm bone of the corpse was able to show evidence of the fracture
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there would be no doubt it was Annie and a mystery would be solved coroner Dempsey agreed to assume the
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body again George hamil his attorney and an his childhood physician were in attendance it took the gravediggers
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about half an hour to bring the coffin to the surface they roughly removed it from the deep pit and loosened to the
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top with a hatchet there was only one way to check if there was a fracture in 1878 under coroner Dempsey's
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instructions the doctors cut off both arms the arms were taken to an outbuilding attached to the cemetery
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that was built for the purpose of removing flesh from bones a cemetery worker commenced the process of boiling
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the arms to remove the flesh when he was done he handed the arms over to the doctors there was no sign of a fracture
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the anatomy of both arms was perfect Annie Hummel was not the woman in the barrel
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we hope you're enjoying the episode here's a sneak peek into the alienist premiering January 22nd
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you think I'm crazy a monster unleashed by God a man obsessed is watching a city
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in fear my days on TNT the hunt for pure evil begins calm planet-killers walk upon us based on the best-selling novel
00:18:07
daniel bruhl Luke Evans and Dakota Fanning compels a man to do even the Alienist new limited series Mondays at
00:18:17
9:00 8:00 central on TNT [Music] with no modern means of forensic identification ascertaining who the
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woman in the barrel was seemed nearly impossible Dempsey knew he would have to shift to
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the other end of the investigation and work backwards he needed to find a witness someone who saw something 11
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days after the woman in the barrel was found the New York Times printed an article about the investigation that had
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hit a dead end quote although coroner Dempsey of Staten Island has failed thus far to solve the mystery of failing the
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identity of the woman whose dead body was found in a barrel at Silver Lake he has in the course of his investigation
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at least succeeded in revealing greening skeletons in the closets of several our
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souls in addition to the stories of Ellen Murphy and Danny Hummel the coroner has
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now in his possession nearly a dozen letters from friends of young women who have left their homes under similar
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circumstances and have not been heard from again a local journalist touched on the sad
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state that had unfolded quote it is a terrible commentary upon life in and around the metropolis that it would
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almost fill a volume to tell of the missing girls high and low beautiful and plain educated and uneducated involved
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in ruin sought by anxious friends and parents cases of awful mystery some of that sad interest the terrible romance
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of crime at the end of September two weeks after the woman in the barrel was found a local man named August keema
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came forward he told police that he saw a man in the woods near Silver Lake Staten Island on July 20th 1878 the man
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he saw was pushing a wheelbarrow with a barrel in it the man that August saw was
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Edward Reinhardt Auguste pointed Reinhardt out to police after he heard about the woman in the barrel but they
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didn't follow it up Reinhardt have lived on Broome Street lower Manhattan with his new wife
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Pauline ditmar they'd been married since July after getting nothing from the police
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August kima approached the coroner Dempsey and told him what he saw coroner Dempsey was hopeful that he had
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finally found a witness on October 3rd 1878 Dempsey and August visited Reinhart's house so August could make a
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formal identification that Reinhardt was the man he saw with a barrel that Silver
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Lake Staten Island Reinhardt let them inside and acknowledged that he had lived on Staten Island until July he had
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run a candy store on ghor Street near Broad Street in Stapleton but he moved to lower Manhattan when he married his
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wife Pauline in July coroner Dempsey was direct and to asked Reinhard whether he
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had buried a barrel at Silver Lake Reinhardt emphatically denied it he said the only barrel he moved around that
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time was the day he moved out of the candy store July 20th he moved a barrel full of
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crockery in a wheelbarrow to his sister's house after further questioning coroner Dempsey learned that Reinhardt
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was in a relationship with a woman named Marion Keegan before he met his wife Pauline Reinhardt said he was still in
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touch with Marion and he gave the coroner addresses for where she might be but when the coroner went to find her
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there was no trace of anyone by that name the coroner returned an arrested Reinhardt on suspicion of complicity
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Reinhardt was told he would be appearing at the inquest next jury sitting and it
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was transported back to Staten Island Reinhardt's wife Pauline did ma was shocked by her husband's arrest and
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wondered what was going on Pauline had met Reinhard at his mother's house earlier that year in Newark New Jersey
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living nearby Pauline had got to know his mother quite well she enjoyed Reinhart's company and accepted he's
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offered to take her to a ball Brian heart didn't speak of previous relationships and Pauline didn't ask
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when he asked her to marry him Pauline didn't hesitate they married on July 13 1878 and moved straight into
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Broome Street lower Manhattan the week after their marriage Reinhardt old Pauline he needed to go and settle some
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things back on Staten Island Pauline went to visit him on Staten Island later that week but she couldn't
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locate him a few days after Rinehart's arrest Pauline was visited by coroner Dempsey
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and two police officers another family had come forward to coroner Dempsey and claimed that the woman in the barrel was
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their daughter Marianne Degnan Marianne Degnan had been missing since July what caught Dempsey's attention immediately
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was the name Maryann Degnan Brian had told Dempsey that before his marriage to the poor Lane he was saying a woman
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named Mary Ann Kagan Dempsey senses were on high alert Dempsey listen does Mary and Eggman's
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parents gave a description of her that bore a chilling resemblance to the mysterious woman in the barrel
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they told Dempsey Mary Ann was from Newark New Jersey and she was married married to a man who ran a candy store
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in Stapleton Staten Island they had tried to locate Mary Ann's husband to see if he knew anything about her
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disappearance but he had packed up and moved they couldn't find him anywhere his name Edward Reinhardt
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Mary Ann Degnan became Mary Ann Reinhardt at st. Paul's Church in Newark on November 24 1877 they lived with
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landlords as tenants in a house Mary Ann's parents had not seen or heard from her since early July only a week before
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Reinhardt married Pauline when coroner Dempsey broke this news the Pauline she allowed him to bring Mary Ann's mother
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to her house for a meeting Pauline was alarmed at the allegation and she realized there was little she really
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knew about her husband she was willing to help Mary Ann smother any way she could Pauline heard the story of Edward
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Reinhardt and Mary Ann Reinhardt firsthand after Pauline heard the story she retrieved her own marriage
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certificate and there was little denying that Edward Reinhardt had married her while already married to Mary Ann
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Pauline then produced some of the belongings that Reinhardt had transported from Staten Island including
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a folded oil cloth table cover when mrs. Degnan saw the item she described the pattern that would be found on it when
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they opened it she knew this because it was her daughter's tablecloth the same thing happened when corlane brought out
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an actual and other items but it wasn't until the officers prompted Pauline with
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their own questions that the true horror of the situation became apparent when asked if Edward Reinhart had ever
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given Pauline any jury Pauline produced a small gold ring with two love hearts something he had given
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her after they Wed mrs. Dignan gasped that's my Mary Ann's wedding ring on October 9 1878 the coroner's jury
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said again excited whispers and rumors of pleasure had swept like wildfire and word was out that there could be an
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outcome that day an almost deathlike stillness pervaded the crowded corridors of Liberty Hall in New Brighton Staten
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Island as coroner Dempsey took EC the coroner had chased stories all over New York State and that day his face was
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more downcast than before almost as if the weight of each exhalation of the body sat heavily on his moment when
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Edward Reinhardt was brought in and seated near the jury the crowd surged angrily in his direction and some people
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had to be escorted out before order could be restored after his arrest police had uncovered information that
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Edward Reinhardt had spent a year and a half in the New Jersey state prison for stealing $2,000 worth of furs from his
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former employer and soon after being released he was imprisoned again on another stealing charge the coroner's
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jury heard that around the third week of September 1878 a week after the body in
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the borough was found Edward Reinhardt paid a visit to his mother-in-law Marianne's mother mrs.
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Degnan and asked the borough money Reinhard told mrs. Degnan that her daughter Marianne was expecting a child
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and they needed some cash to help them along mrs. Degnan asked him how Marianne was and he said she was tip-top the
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first person to be called to the stand was mrs. Pauline Reinhart she was dressed in all black as if in morning
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she cast a reproachful look in her husband's direction before moving her eyes down and appearing visibly upset
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she confirmed the way in which she met her husband in the strange week that followed their wedding she explained how
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she had traveled to Staten Island to seem that week but he was nowhere to be found
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Pauline described to the court how laughter coroner Dempsey's first visit just before her husband's arrest she saw
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her husband roll up a piece of Brussels carpet that they had lying on the floor he put the piece of carpet into a basket
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and walked out the door when he returned he didn't have the carpet with him and she never saw it again
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Brussels carpet is what was found in the barrel with the body when asked if she knew any woman by the
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name of Marianne Teigen whom Reinhardt said he was with prior to marrying her Pauline said she'd never heard of nor
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met anyone of that name she also told the court that the first she heard of her husband's stay in prison for
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stealing was that day there was much she didn't know about him Edward and Marianne Reinhardt Staten Island
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landlords mr. and mrs. her born then took the stand they said Edward and Marianne were a volatile couple the
00:29:17
landlord's often overheard arguments where Marianne would say Reinhart had ruined her and he would respond in
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vicious outbursts and tell her he was tired of her and she was nothing but a burden on more than one occasion
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Marianne had confided in her landlords that she feared her husband the evening of July 19 was the last time the
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landlord saw or heard from Marianne the following morning they heard Reinhardt calling out to his wife that she needed
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to get up and get going to her mother's but they didn't hear her respond later that day Reinhardt began moving property
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from the house he told the landlord's that Marianne had already left for her mother's place
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the landlord saw Reinhart willing out a barrel that was covered with a piece of carpet others also saw Reinhart pushing
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a barrel in a wheelbarrow and when it broke under the weight he borrowed another and continued his journey this
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was the same day that the first witness who came forward August tima said he saw
00:30:17
Reinhardt with the barrel in the woods by Silverlake upon Reinhart's returned to the house the landlords thought he
00:30:25
seemed noticeably calm relaxed and happy [Music] when he was asked to speak Edward Reinhardt insisted that he was
00:30:34
unmarried while living on Staten Island he still claimed that he had lived with a girl by the name of Mary Ann Keegan
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Brian Hart claimed that Marianne Keegan was also pregnant and was very much alive living in Manhattan and he could
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get her to come before the coroner's jury whenever he wished Brian had explained she left him and moved to the
00:30:56
city on July 20 because of his refusal to marry her but there were many witnesses who could prove Reinhardt was
00:31:03
lying and if they weren't enough his marriage certificate was the marriage certificate was produced for all to see
00:31:12
Edward Reinhardt married Mary Ann Degnan who became Mary Ann Reinhardt there was
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no such person as Mary Ann Keegan Reinhardt was caught in a hopeless lie to try and explain away the barrel and
00:31:28
Wilbur O Brien heart said he often pushed wheelbarrows for the candy store and he was pushing one to Silverlake
00:31:33
that day to collect firewood the physician dr. William Wales our took the stand and confirmed the manner in
00:31:42
which he found the body as well as his autopsy findings what coroner Dempsey wanted to know was if Maryanne Reinhardt
00:31:49
died in the act of childbirth as was the initial conclusion whether Bourdon at the hands of abortionists or natural
00:31:56
premature labour how did the landlord's not hear one sound no screams of agony nothing the doctor shocked the courtroom
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by explaining that yes he still believed that death occurred during childbirth but he no longer accepted the theory
00:32:15
that her skull fracture had occurred after death nor did he accept that she died of hemorrhaging as he originally
00:32:21
determined dr. wells er quote the compression of the nerves at the base of the skull undoubtedly caused death
00:32:30
within fifteen minutes and prevented the woman from making any outcry or struggle
00:32:35
it was the only cause of death the defense loudly objected stating the doctor must have examined a completely
00:32:45
different skull to the one found in the barrel at Silver Lake dr. wells are applied I assumed it myself that's here
00:32:53
at my feet a satchel sat on the floor leaning against his chair at that moment the entire court went down at the back
00:33:03
knowing that inside was the skull of the mysterious woman in the barrel who everyone now believed was Maryanne
00:33:10
Reinhard that day in front of the court what remained of Marianne Reinhardt once
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again it seemed was presented for the final time to a family wishing to claim her for their own mrs. Degnan staring at
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a braid of hair and a few tattered pieces of Nike on confirmed for the court that they belonged to her daughter
00:33:34
and with that coroner Dempsey was satisfied that the mystery was solved a man tired of one wife killed her and
00:33:43
their unborn child and attempted to slide silently into a new life the following day Edouard Reinhard was put
00:33:55
before the judge where he pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder his criminal trial initially set for that
00:34:01
December was postponed until May 1879 at the request of the district attorney Reinhard was refused bail and kept in
00:34:10
jail that day while Reinhardt was facing the judge the jail keeper entity salt to
00:34:17
conduct an inspection and he instantly knew something was amiss the night before Reinhardt had removed the spike
00:34:24
shaped piece of iron that held the foot of the bunk to the wall he had also taken out the nails that
00:34:29
hold it in place this allowed the bunk to be moved away from the wall it became evident very
00:34:35
quickly that Reinhardt was planning to pick a hole through the wall into the adjoining sole which was not only empty
00:34:42
but the door was wide open it was also discovered that Pauline Reinhardt had been climbing up on a barrel outside
00:34:50
Eduard Reinhardt salt window and they were able to engage in whispered conversations without detection
00:34:57
Reinhardt was put on extra watch in May 1879 the case was presented to a grand jury
00:35:06
Edward Reinhard was represented by defense lawyer William Howe who had defended other accused murderers in many
00:35:12
a sensational trial at the time the jury were advised by the judge to decide whether Marianne's death was of natural
00:35:21
causes during childbirth or issuer's killed at the hands of her husband Edward Reinhart changed his story at the
00:35:29
criminal trial he claimed that on July 18 he had put Maryanne Reinhard on a morning ferry to Manhattan to visit an
00:35:35
unnamed doctor to obtain medicine in order to abort her baby Maryanne returned that evening the
00:35:43
following day Edward Reinhardt said maryann fell ill with terrible stomach pains after taking the medicine he said
00:35:50
she died between 11:00 p.m. and midnight that night Reinhardt claimed that he panicked and thought he would be held
00:35:57
responsible for her death and possibly charged with criminal malpractice so he tried to hide her by burying her in the
00:36:03
woods at Silver Lake he said the fracture on her skull occurred when he was taking her to Silver Lake according
00:36:10
to him she fell from the barrel and her head struck a rock when all that the evidence was heard the
00:36:17
judge proposed the following questions to the jury had Reinhardt bestowed his affections on another woman did he have
00:36:26
to while some machines and was their motive to rid himself of the first with his predicament motive for the crime was
00:36:32
a desireable on his part to get rid of his first wife you'd the jury shall decide the jury retired at 9:30 a.m. and
00:36:45
took just 40 minutes to reach a verdict Ryan Hart was brought back into the court and passed the line of jurors who
00:36:53
are all standing in a single line facing the bar and the judge the chairs they had sat on just 40 minutes prior were
00:37:00
now occupied by another jury panel ready to sit on another case the county clerk
00:37:05
called a roll call of the jurors and a chance at individually to their name Edward Reinhardt was asked to rise
00:37:12
before the jury he was asked to look upon them and they upon him many jurors struggled and kept their eyes facing
00:37:20
dinner the clerk said how say you gentlemen is the prisoner at the bar guilty or not
00:37:28
guilty of the crime of murder charged in the indictment there was a painful pause
00:37:33
has no jury member knew who had been elected Foreman they all looked the one another uncomfortably before someone
00:37:40
finally spoke up we find him guilty of murder in the first degree the verdict was unanimous
00:37:52
the district attorney called for immediate sentencing the judge directed Reinhardt who had fallen in his chair to
00:37:59
stand before him he asked him if he had any reason why sentencing should not be passed that day Brian Hart stood holding
00:38:08
his chair three times he went to speak but nothing came out when he finally was able to speak he continued a long
00:38:18
monologue of his innocence the judge let him speak with no interruption the entire court was completely silent
00:38:26
except for the monotone words of Edward Reinhardt at the conclusion of his speech the judge didn't hesitate for a
00:38:37
single second before delivering his sentence you will be hanged on July 11 this year 1879 between 9 and 2 o'clock
00:38:47
when Reinhardt was taken down to the jail Seoul he called for his wife Pauline but she refused to go to him a
00:38:58
year and a half after her body was found at Silver Lake and buried in an unmarked
00:39:03
grave Mary Ann's family were able to finally lay her to rest in peace at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn
00:39:10
in the meantime Edward Reinhardt got lucky when the judge granted a writ of error and a stay of proceedings the case
00:39:17
would go to the Court of Appeals the stage dragged on until December 1880 when Reinhardt faced his last appeal the
00:39:27
Court of Appeals sustained his conviction and he was again sentenced to death by hanging
00:39:32
his execution was ordered to take place on January 14 1881 as Richmond County waited with anticipation for Reinhardt's
00:39:42
execution the prison prepared the gallows the gallows were the wooden scaffolding or frame used for execution
00:39:50
by hanging these gallows were erected in a purpose-built 30 square foot enclosure
00:39:54
on the eastern side of the jail yard the hanging was closed to the general public only ticket holders were granted
00:40:02
access to view it On January 14 1891 26 year-old Edward Reinhardt faced his final day the day became a source of
00:40:13
huge celebration across Staten Island taverns all over celebrated from the early hours people fought for tickets to
00:40:21
see the hanging the Mary Ann's family made no effort to attend the night before Reinhardt had stayed up until
00:40:31
5:00 a.m. conversing with prison guards and reporters he seemed too cheery and joked with them as if the day was not to
00:40:38
be his last rain fell hard that morning deterring many of the maddening crowd from attending as time drew nearer
00:40:47
Reinhardt although born Catholic refused to visit from a Catholic priest instead
00:40:52
accepting a Baptist clergyman to remain with him until his moment of death the clergyman stood at the gallows and
00:41:00
prayed in hushed slow tones as the heavy and bitterly cold rain fell hard on to all those in the yard as Edward
00:41:08
Reinhardt was brought out with the black cap on his head the rain drenched him as
00:41:12
he looked upon the crowd with barely an expression he didn't say a word as the prayers of the clergyman came to an end
00:41:18
and the cloth was drawn down over his face the officers beside him shook his hand
00:41:25
and from beneath the cap he could be heard to say goodbye immediately the trap was sprung and
00:41:32
Reinhardt dropped down about four feet he swayed a few moments as if lifeless then tried to raise his hands he pressed
00:41:42
these nails into his palms struggled a little and died the story you just heard was
00:42:06
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