Casefile True Crime - Case 73: The Lady in the Barrel

Episode Date: January 17, 2018

On September 15 1878, three teenage boys were tending to cattle in the woods near Silver Lake in Staten Island when they discovered a wooden barrel sticking out of the mud. Excited about the potential treasure that lay within, they frantically dug at the barrel with sticks. ---  Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Researched and written by Anna Priestland This episode's sponsor: The Alienist – New TV mystery drama based on a novel by Caleb Carr For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-73-lady-barrel

A splash of fresh water will reach the depths of your heart. Those mighty blue waves can propel you forward or they can calm and soothe. Coast to Michigan coast. Simply feel the flow in the moment. And let those vast lakes, rivers and streams create everlasting memories. Jump right in and let fresh wash over you in Pure Michigan. Keep it fresh at Michigan.org This episode is brought to you by TNT's new limited series, The Alienist.

When a series of gruesome murders groups New York in 1896, Dr. Laszlo Kreisler and his team must investigate, analyze and capture the killer. Inspired by The Alienist, in this episode we'll dive into the mysterious Lady in the Barrel Murder Case from 1878 in Staten Island, New York. Music Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support,

please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. This episode briefly mentions incidents of death, mutilation and abortions. Nothing is covered extensively, but please listen at your discretion. One Seaside Grave by Christina Rosetti Unmindful of the roses, unmindful of the thorn, a reaper tired reposes among his gathered corn. So might I, till the morn. Cold as the cold December's, past as the days that set,

while only one remembers, and all the rest forget. But one remembers yet. Music September 15th, 1878 was a cooler than ever each day for Staten Island, New York. A cold north-westerly breeze blew as three young teenage boys tended cattle in the woods near Silver Lake. Just after midday, a cow strayed, and one of the boys crossed the ravine after it, the ground muddy and soggy under his feet. Before he reached the cow, his foot sank deep into the mud,

and as he looked down, he noticed the soil had been freshly moved. On closer inspection, he saw a large rock, and the round, unmistakable features of a wooden barrel sticking out from the earth. Washed away enough by rain and weather, the barrel was now visible through the mud. The boy called his two friends over, and they all stood around excited, assuming they had found great treasure. Digging madly at the barrel with sticks, the three boys pried the mud from around the barrel, poking and poking, until a stick hit an object that was not gold or treasure as they had hoped.

The barrel had been newly sawn in half, and nailed across its opening and tied with a length of rope, was a torn piece of Brussels carpet, which the boys pried easily from the barrel. As they pulled at more of the carpet that was shoved inside, something fell out. A human arm. Frightened, the boys ran almost a mile to New Brighton, where they tracked down Constable's William Sheehan and John Holt. Coroner Daniel Dempsey was also informed. As the coroner arrived at the scene, all of the earth surrounding the barrel was removed,

as was the 50-pound stone which had been placed on top to conceal it. By this time, a crowd had congregated, and the officers did what they could to hold them back. Dr. William Louser, a physician from New Brighton, arrived, and together he, the coroner, and the police pulled the carpet out from the barrel entirely. Inside, they found the naked and partially decomposed body of a woman wrapped in a torn linen sheet. A nightgown and an empty salt bag had been used as padding to keep her body in place. Her arms were folded across her chest and flattened against her shoulders. She was doubled up in an overextended fetal position, her head bent forward between her knees.

The flesh on her face was gone, as were her eyeballs, leaving a harrowing image in the minds of all who stood there. Dr. William Louser didn't examination, and his observation were as follows. Female, between 25 and 30 years of age, luxurious brown hair neatly brushed back in a long braid. No obvious marks of violence, floppy abdomen as if she had died soon after childbirth. From a state of decomposition, it was believed she had been buried for several weeks. Coroner Dempsey impaneled a jury on the spot, presumably from the crowd that was standing around watching. He then ordered the woman's body be taken to West Brighton Mortuary for an autopsy. As the autopsy started, whispers circled Staten Island of the beautiful woman found squeezed into a barrel.

With her face almost completely decomposed, her age was estimated from her bone size and other features. She wore no jewellery and no clothing, apart from the nightgown shoved inside the barrel. Her hair was in immaculate condition, likely brushed every day, and platted into a braid almost two feet long. This alone was enough for them to believe she was not a poor, unkempt woman. The only other identifiable feature was the two rows of perfect white teeth. If the woman lived or worked on the streets, they would have expected to see teeth much less cared for. The nightgown and cloth found around her naked body was saturated with chloride of lime, also known as chloroform. It was believed she had been placed with the body to keep the woman unconscious in case she was not dead and woke up inside the barrel.

It was possible that the chloroform could have soaked into her hair, which would make her hair appear darker, so they had to consider the possibility that the woman may have had lighter coloured brown hair to what they saw in death. Another mixture, quick lime, had been lathered on her face to burn away her features and render her unrecognisable. Whoever buried her was determined to conceal her identity and speed up the process of decomposition. The one thing they kept going back to was the flabby skin on the woman's stomach. They had assumed she had given birth shortly before her death, but upon further examination they discovered the truth. She was pregnant, but hadn't given birth yet. There was a fetus approximately eight months old.

There had been a number of suspicious deaths in the area in recent times due to botched, unqualified abortions being carried out. Dr. Wowser and Coroner Dempsey believed the woman in the barrel had followed the same path, possibly dying from internal hemorrhaging after an unsuccessful attempt at ending her pregnancy. A slight fracture of the temporal bone on the right side of the woman's head was discovered after further examination. However, both Dr. William Wowser and his son, Dr. William Wowser Jr. concluded that the head injury was inflicted after death. Their final conclusion was that she was at the stage of prematurely delivering the baby and died from severe hemorrhaging. But the question remained, who was she? There was no record of a missing woman in the area that matched her description,

so steps were taken to identify her the best way they knew how in 1878. They let people into the morgue to view her body to see if they knew her. Unfortunately, a lot of people went just out of sheer curiosity, not because they thought they would recognize her. DROVES of people visited the morgue, but no identification was made. Coroner Dempsey concluded that the woman couldn't have been a resident of Staten Island for any length of time, if she even was a resident of Staten Island at all. She could have been from anywhere and made her way to Staten Island for the abortion of her almost full-term baby, a practice which the coroner and the physicians knew was risky at best.

Coroner Dempsey started to wonder if they would ever identify the woman. In the 19th century, Staten Island's Silver Lake Park was a bustling recreational area. The lake at the time was a large fresh pond created from a natural underground spring which had formed during the Ice Age. Advertised as the most desirable place for picnics on the island, it was famous for fishing and boating in the milder months and ice skating in the winter. There was a casino and saloon bar on the lake shore, along with a restaurant and a hotel, servicing holidaymakers and local visitors who found the parks of Brooklyn and Manhattan too far to travel to. Ice was harvested during the winter and stored in a cool place until the summer when it would be sold back into the local community. This practice continued for a further 30 years past the summer of 1878.

The surrounding land was fertile and the farms were never short of water. Word spread quickly of the woman in the barrel, from quiet whispers in the saloon bar on the shore of Silver Lake, to the stores and street corners of West Brighton to the west and Stapleton to the east. People could speak of nothing else. Word had broken out that the woman was of great physical beauty, which added fuel to the already burning gossip fire. Newspapers ran stories of the discovery in gruesome detail, from the New York Times to publications in Nashville, Tennessee almost a thousand miles away. The mystery of the woman in the barrel intrigued like few other mysteries of the time. As news spread, Coroner Dempsey was contacted by numerous people believing they knew who the mysterious woman was.

What began was an open door to the dark corners of New York State, where young women seemed to have gone missing under so many unusual circumstances, that the authorities were unable to keep up. It started when Mr. Louis Rieg from Clifton arrived at Coroner's mortuary and asked to see the body. The coroner obliged. In 1878, if a person walked off the street and was willing to look at a body, and there was hope it could help solve the case or lead to a formal identification, it was allowed, with minimum questions asked. Louis Rieg explained to Coroner Dempsey with much guilt that the year prior he had been intimate with a young woman named Ellen Murphy. He had planned to marry her, but had to leave Clifton in search of work in New York City. Louis was able to briefly return to Clifton a month earlier, and he saw Ellen.

She told him she was seven months pregnant. On September 6th, just nine days before the discovery of the woman in the barrel, Louis attended the house where Ellen was working as a servant to find she had disappeared, apparently because her pregnancy had progressed too far to work. Louis searched everywhere for her. He managed to find her clothes trunk and some other personal items, but not her. When he heard of the woman found in the barrel, his heart felt it had to be her. He was worried that being pregnant out of wedlock and with no income, Ellen may have sought a doctor to end her pregnancy. She'd inquired about it before and been turned away, but maybe she had found a willing doctor and died during the procedure.

Louis said Ellen had long light brown hair that she often wore in a long clat, and he confirmed she had perfect teeth. Coronadense escorted Louis to the poor house cemetery. Louis stood to the side of the unmarked grave as a grave digger put a spade into the earth over and over until a box was brought up. The woman's decomposing remains were laid out on the grass in broad daylight. The only thing to identify her was the two feet plait of hair and a perfect set of white teeth. That's her, Louis cried. He could tell by her teeth. Louis broke down in a fit of tears, inconsolable. Coronadense wasn't so sure. According to Louis' description, Ellen had much lighter hair than the woman in the barrel.

Dempsey knew there was the chance that the chloroform had seeped into the victim's hair and darkened it, but he wasn't convinced. The remains of the woman in the barrel were reburied, and Louis' rig was ordered to testify at the inquest before the coroner's jury. After hearing Louis' story, the jury then heard from Ellen Murphy's landlady who testified that Ellen quit her job and left with her clothes trunk on the 30th of August, saying she was going back to Ireland for two or three months. But Louis had found her clothes trunk, so where was Ellen Murphy? Was it her in the barrel? Still not convinced, Coronadense continued his investigation. More and more people came forward, each with their own twisted and sometimes scandalous stories of missing daughters, loved ones and friends. All requested to view what was left of the mysterious woman's corpse.

Most of them were unable to positively identify the woman in the barrel. That some did. George Hummel of Sogadies, New York visited the poor house cemetery with his wife. They were convinced the woman in the barrel was their daughter, Annie Hummel. After hearing the Hummel's story, Coronadense ordered the woman's body to be exhumed once again. It was starting to become a common occurrence. George Hummel explained that the year prior, 1877, at the age of 13, his daughter Annie went to work in the home of a wealthy couple in Sogadies. The wife fell ill and was moved to New York City for treatment.

With his wife out of the house, the husband made advances on Annie and by the end of that year had got her pregnant. Without the knowledge of Annie's parents, the husband said Annie was suffering with dropsy and sent her to New York City for treatment too. Annie was never seen again, and when Annie's parents heard about the mysterious woman in the barrel, they were convinced it was her. Dr. Welser had initially determined the woman was aged 25 to 30, but that determination was far from an exact science in 1878. Coronadense was open to the possibility that the body could be 13-year-old Annie Hummel. Once again, the little that remained the woman's body was dug up from the earth. Upon his first glimpse of the braid of hair, George Hummel exclaimed it was Annie, and he and his wife broke down. The coroner considered it might have been Annie Hummel, but there was really no way to know for sure, as there had now been two completely different positive identifications.

So who was right? Or were they both wrong? Shortly after, Coronadense received a letter from Annie Hummel's childhood physician. The letter stated that Annie had suffered a fracture to the wrist of her right arm at seven years of age. If the right arm bone of the corpse was able to show evidence of the fracture, there would be no doubt it was Annie, and the mystery would be solved. Coronadense agreed to exhume the body again. George Hummel, his attorney, and Annie's childhood physician were in attendance. It took the grave diggers about half an hour to bring the coffin to the surface. They roughly removed it from the deep pit and loosened to the top with a hatchet. There was only one way to check if there was a fracture in 1878.

Under Coronadense's instructions, the doctors cut off both arms. The arms were taken to an outbuilding attached to the cemetery that was built for the purpose of removing flesh from bones. A cemetery worker commenced the process of boiling 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. The anatomy of both arms was perfect. Annie Hummel was not the woman in the barrel. We hope you're enjoying the episode. Here's a sneak peek into The Alienest, premiering January 22nd. A city in fear.

Mondays on TNT, the hunt for pure evil begins. Call-blooded killers walk among us. Based on the best-selling novel, Daniel Brule, Lou Gevins, and Dakota Fanning. Who compels a man to do evil? The Alienest, new limited series Mondays at 9-Eight Central on TNT. With no modern means of forensic identification, ascertaining who the woman in the barrel was seemed nearly impossible. Dempsey knew he would have to shift to the other end of the investigation and work backwards.

He needed to find a witness, someone who saw something. Eleven days after the woman in the barrel was found, The New York Times printed an article about the investigation that had hit a dead end. Quote. Although Corinna Dempsey of Staten Island has failed thus far to solve the mystery veiling the identity of the woman whose dead body was found in a barrel at Silver Lake, he has in the course of his investigation at least succeeded in revealing grinning skeletons in the closets of several households. In addition to the stories of Ellen Murphy and Danny Hummel,

the Corinna has now in his possession nearly a dozen letters from friends of young women who have left their homes under similar circumstances and have not been heard from again. A local journalist touched on the sad state that had unfolded. Quote. It is a terrible commentary upon life in and around the metropolis that it would almost fill a volume to tell of the missing girls, high and low, beautiful and plain, educated and uneducated, involved in ruin, sought by anxious friends and parents, cases of awful mystery, some of that sad interest, the terrible romance of crime.

At the end of September, two weeks after the woman in the barrel was found, a local man named August Kimmer came forward. He told police that he saw a man in the woods near Silver Lake, Staten Island, on July 20th, 1878. The man he saw was pushing a wheelbarrow with a barrel in it. The man that August saw was Edward Reinhardt. August pointed Reinhardt out to police after he heard about the woman in the barrel, but they didn't follow it up. Reinhardt lived on Broom Street, Lower Manhattan, with his new wife, Pauline Dietmar.

They had been married since July. After getting nothing from the police, August Kimmer approached Coroner Dempsey and told him what he saw. Coroner Dempsey was hopeful that he had finally found a witness. On October 3rd, 1878, Dempsey and August visited Reinhardt's house, so August could make a formal identification that Reinhardt was the man he saw with a barrel at Silver Lake, Staten Island. Reinhardt let them inside and acknowledged that he had lived on Staten Island until July. He had run a candy store on Gore Street, now Broad Street, in Stapleton, but he moved to Lower Manhattan when he married his wife, Pauline, in July.

Coroner Dempsey was direct and asked Reinhardt whether he had buried a barrel at Silver Lake. Reinhardt emphatically denied it. He said the only barrel he moved around that time was the day he moved out of the candy store, July 20th. He moved a barrel full of crockery in a wheelbarrow to his sister's house. After further questioning, Coroner Dempsey learned that Reinhardt was in a relationship with a woman named Marianne Keegan before he met his wife, Pauline. Reinhardt said he was still in touch with Marianne and he gave the Coroner addresses for where she might be, but when the Coroner went to find her, there was no trace of anyone by that name.

The Coroner returned and arrested Reinhardt on suspicion of complicity. Reinhardt was told he would be appearing at the inquest's next jury sitting and was transported back to Staten Island. Reinhardt's wife, Pauline Didmar, was shocked by her husband's arrest and wondered what was going on. Pauline had met Reinhardt at his mother's house earlier that year in Newark, New Jersey. Living nearby, Pauline had got to know his mother quite well. She enjoyed Reinhardt's company and accepted his offer to take her to a ball. Reinhardt didn't speak of previous relationships and Pauline didn't ask. When he asked her to marry him, Pauline didn't hesitate.

They married on July 13, 1878 and moved straight into Broom Street, Lollerman, Manhattan. The week after their marriage, Reinhardt told Pauline he needed to go and settle some things back on Staten Island. Pauline went to visit him on Staten Island later that week, but she couldn't locate him. A few days after Reinhardt's arrest, Pauline was visited by Coroner Dempsey and two police officers. Another family had come forward to Coroner Dempsey and claimed that the woman in the barrel was their daughter, Mary Ann Degnan. Mary Ann Degnan had been missing since July. What caught Dempsey's attention immediately was the name, Mary Ann Degnan. Reinhardt had told Dempsey that before his marriage to Pauline, he was seeing a woman named Mary Ann Keegan.

Dempsey's senses were on high alert. Dempsey listened as Mary Ann Degnan's parents gave a description of her that bore a chilling resemblance to the mysterious woman in the barrel. They told Dempsey Mary Ann was from Newark, New Jersey and she was married. Married to a man who ran a candy store in Stapleton, Staten Island. They had tried to locate Mary Ann's husband to see if he knew anything about her disappearance, but he had packed up and moved. They couldn't find him anywhere. His name? Edward Reinhardt.

Mary Ann Degnan became Mary Ann Reinhardt at St Paul's Church in Newark on November 24, 1877. They lived with landlords as tenants in her house. Mary Ann's parents had not seen or heard from her since early July, only a week before Reinhardt married Pauline. When Corinna Dempsey broke this news to Pauline, she allowed him to bring Mary Ann's mother to her house for a meeting. Pauline was alarmed at the allegation and she realized there was little she really knew about her husband. She was willing to help Mary Ann's mother any way she could. Pauline heard the story of Edward Reinhardt and Mary Ann Reinhardt first hand. After Pauline heard the story, she retrieved her own marriage certificate and there was little denying that Edward Reinhardt had married her while already married to Mary Ann.

Pauline then produced some of the belongings that Reinhardt had transported from Staten Island, including a folded oil cloth table cover. When Mrs. Degnan saw the item, she described the pattern that would be found on it when they opened it. She knew this because it was her daughter's tablecloth. The same thing happened when Pauline brought out a neck shore and other items, but it wasn't until the officers prompted Pauline with their own questions that the true horror of the situation became apparent. When asked if Edward Reinhardt had ever given Pauline any jewellery, Pauline produced a small gold ring with two love hearts, something he had given her after they wed. Mrs. Degnan Gasp. That's my Mary Ann's wedding ring. On October 9, 1878, the coroner's jewellery sat again.

Excited whispers and rumours of pleasure had swept like wildfire and word was out that there could be an outcome that day. An almost death-like stillness pervaded the crowded corridors of Liberty Hall in New Brighton, Staten Island, as coroner Dempsey took his seat. The coroner had chased stories all over New York State, and that day his face was more downcast than before, almost as if the weight of each exhumation of the body sat heavily on his mind. When Edward Reinhardt was brought in and seated near the jewellery, the crowd surged angrily in his direction, and some people had to be escorted out before order could be restored. After his arrest, police had uncovered information that Edward Reinhardt had spent a year and a half in the New Jersey State prison for stealing $2,000 worth of furs from his former employer, and soon after being released, he was imprisoned again on another stealing charge. The coroner's jewellery heard that around the third week of September 1878, a week after the body in the barrel was found, Edward Reinhardt paid a visit to his mother-in-law, Mary Ann's mother, Mrs. Degnan, and asked to borrow money. Reinhardt told Mrs. Degnan that her daughter, Mary Ann, was expecting a child, and they needed some cash to help them along. Mrs. Degnan asked him how Mary Ann was, and he said she was tip-top.

The first person to be called to the stand was Mrs. Pauline Reinhardt. She was dressed in all black as if in mourning. She cast a reproachful look in her husband's direction before moving her eyes down and appearing visibly upset. She confirmed the way in which she met her husband, and the strange week that followed their wedding. She explained how she had travelled to Staten Island to see him that week, but he was nowhere to be found. Pauline described to the court how after Coroner Dempsey's first visit, just before her husband's arrest, she saw 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 and walked out the door. When he returned, he didn't have the carpet with him, and she never saw it again. Brussels carpet is what was found in the barrel with the body.

When asked if she knew any woman by the name of Mary Ann Degnan, whom Reinhardt said he was with prior to marrying her, Pauline said she had never heard of, nor met anyone of that name. She also told the court that the first she heard of her husband staying in prison for stealing was that day. There was much she didn't know about him. Edward and Mary Ann Reinhardt Staten Island landlords, Mr and Mrs Herbourne, then took the stand. They said Edward and Mary Ann were a volatile couple. The landlords often overheard arguments where Mary Ann would say Reinhardt had ruined her, and he would respond in vicious outbursts and tell her he was tired of her and she was nothing but a burden. On more than one occasion, Mary Ann had confided in her landlords that she feared her husband. The evening of July 19 was the last time the landlords saw or heard from Mary Ann.

The following morning, they heard Reinhardt calling out to his wife that she needed to get up and get going to her mother's, but they didn't hear her respond. Later that day, Reinhardt began moving property from the house. He told the landlords that Mary Ann had already left for her mother's place. The landlords saw Reinhardt wheeling out a barrel that was covered with a piece of carpet. Others also saw Reinhardt pushing a barrel and a wheelbarrow, and when it broke under the weight, he borrowed another and continued his journey. This was the same day that the first witness who came forward, August Tema, said he saw Reinhardt with the barrel and the woods by Silver Lake. Upon Reinhardt's return to the house, the landlords thought he seemed noticeably calm, relaxed, and happy. When he was asked to speak, Edward Reinhardt insisted that he was unmarried while living on Staten Island.

He still claimed that he had lived with a girl by the name of Mary Ann Keegan. Reinhardt claimed that Mary Ann Keegan was also pregnant and was very much alive, living in Manhattan, and he could get her to come before the coroner's jury whenever he wished. Reinhardt explained she left him and moved to the city on July 20 because of his refusal to marry her. But there were many witnesses who could prove Reinhardt was lying, and if they weren't enough, his marriage certificate was. The marriage certificate was produced for all to see. Edward Reinhardt married Mary Ann Degnant, who became Mary Ann Reinhardt. There was no such person as Mary Ann Keegan. Reinhardt was caught in a hopeless lie. To try and explain away the barrel and wheelbarrow, Reinhardt said he often pushed wheelbarrows for the candy store, and he was pushing one to Silver Lake that day to collect firewood.

The physician, Dr William Walser, took the stand and confirmed the manner in which he found the body as well as his autopsy findings. What coroner Dempsey wanted to know was if Mary Ann Reinhardt died in the act of childbirth, as was the initial conclusion, whether bought on at the hands of abortionists or natural premature labor. How did the landlords not hear one sound? No screams of agony. Nothing. The doctor shocked the courtroom by explaining that, yes, he still believed that death occurred during childbirth, but he no longer accepted the theory that her skull fracture had occurred after death, nor did he accept that she died of hemorrhaging as he originally determined. Dr Walser, quote, The compression of the nerves at the base of the skull undoubtedly caused death within 15 minutes and prevented the woman from making any outcry or struggle. It was the only cause of death. The defense loudly objected, stating that Dr must have examined a completely different skull to the one found in the barrel at Silver Lake. Dr Walser replied, I assumed it myself, that's here at my feet.

A satchel sat on the floor leaning against his chair. At that moment, the entire court glanced down at the back, knowing that inside was the skull of the mysterious woman in the barrel, who everyone now believed was Mary Ann Reinhardt. That day, in front of the court, what remained of Mary Ann Reinhardt, once again assumed, was presented for the final time to a family wishing to claim her for their own. Mrs Degnan, staring at a braid of hair and a few tattered pieces of nightgown, confirmed for the court that they belonged to her daughter. And with that, Coroner Dempsey was satisfied that the mystery was solved. A man tired of one wife, killed her and their unborn child, and attempted to slide silently into a new life. The following day, Edward Reinhardt was put before the judge, where he pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder. His criminal trial, initially set for that December, was postponed until May 1879, at the request of the District Attorney. Reinhardt was refused bail and kept in jail. That day, while Reinhardt was facing the judge, the jailkeeper entered his cell to conduct an inspection, and he instantly knew something was amiss. The night before, Reinhardt had removed the spike-shaped piece of iron that held the foot of the bunk to the wall. He had also taken out the nails that held it in place.

This allowed the bunk to be moved away from the wall. It became evident very quickly that Reinhardt was planning to pick a hole through the wall into their joining cell, which was not only empty, but the door was wide open. It was also discovered that Pauline Reinhardt had been climbing up on a barrel outside Edward Reinhardt's cell window, and they were able to engage in whispered conversations without detection. Reinhardt was put on extra watch. In May 1879, the case was presented to a grand jury. Edward Reinhardt was represented by defense lawyer William Howe, who had defended other accused murderers in many a sensational trial at the time. The jury were advised by the judge to decide whether Mary Ann's death was of natural causes during childbirth, or if she was killed at the hands of her husband. Edward Reinhardt changed his story at the criminal trial. He claimed that on July 18 he had put Mary Ann Reinhardt on a morning ferry to Manhattan to visit an unnamed doctor to obtain medicine in order to abort her baby. Mary Ann returned that evening. The following day, Edward Reinhardt said Mary Ann fell ill with terrible stomach pains after taking the medicine. He said she died between 11pm and midnight that night. Reinhardt claimed that he panicked and thought he would be held responsible for her death and possibly charged with criminal malpractice, so he tried to hide her by burying her in the woods at Silver Lake.

He said the fracture on her skull occurred when he was taking her to Silver Lake. According to him, she fell from the barrel and her head struck a rock. When all of the evidence was heard, the judge proposed the following questions to the jury. Had Reinhardt bestowed his affections on another woman? Did he have two wives on his hands and was their motive to rid himself of the first? Was his predicament motive for the crime? Was it desirable on his part to get rid of his first wife? You, the jury, shall decide. The jury retired at 9.30am and took just 40 minutes to reach a verdict. Reinhardt was brought back into the court and passed the line of jurors who were all standing in a single line facing the bar and the judge. The chairs they had sat on just 40 minutes prior were now occupied by another jury panel, ready to sit on another case. The county clerk called a roll call of the jurors and each answered individually to their name. Edward Reinhardt was asked to rise before the jury. He was asked to look upon them and they upon him. Many jurors struggled and kept their eyes facing down.

The clerk said, How say you gentlemen? Is the prisoner at the bar guilty or not guilty of the crime of murder charged in the indictment? There was a painful pause as no jury member knew who had been elected foreman. They all looked to one another uncomfortably before someone finally spoke up. We find him guilty of murder in the first degree. The verdict was unanimous. The district attorney called for immediate sentencing. The judge directed Reinhardt who had fallen in his chair to stand before him. He asked him if he had any reason why sentencing should not be passed that day. Reinhardt stood holding his chair. Three times he went to speak, but nothing came out. When he finally was able to speak, he continued a long monologue of his innocence. The judge let him speak with no interruption. The entire court was completely silent except for the monotone words of Edward Reinhardt.

At the conclusion of his speech, the judge didn't hesitate for a single second before delivering his sentence. You will be hanged on July 11 this year, 1879, between 9 and 2 o'clock. When Reinhardt was taken down to the jail cell, he called for his wife Pauline, but she refused to go to him. A year and a half after her body was found at Silver Lake and buried in an unmarked grave, Mary Ann's family were able to finally lay her to rest in peace at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn. In the meantime, Edward Reinhardt got lucky when the judge granted a writ of error and a stay of proceedings. The case would go to the Court of Appeals. The stays dragged on until December 1880, when Reinhardt faced his last appeal. The Court of Appeals sustained his conviction and he was again sentenced to death by hanging. His execution was ordered to take place on January 14, 1881. As Richmond County waited with anticipation for Reinhardt's execution, the prison prepared the gallows.

The gallows were the wooden scaffolding or frame used for execution by hanging. These gallows were erected in a purpose-built 30 square foot enclosure on the eastern side of the jail yard. The hanging was closed to the general public. Only ticket holders were granted access to view it. On January 14, 1881, 26-year-old Edward Reinhardt faced his final day. The day became a source of huge celebration across Staten Island, taverns all over celebrated from the early hours. People fought for tickets to see the hanging, but Mary Ann's family made no effort to attend. The night before, Reinhardt had stayed up until 5am, conversing with prison guards and reporters. He seemed cheery and joked with them, as if the day was not to be his last. Rain fell hard that morning, deterring many of the maddening crowd from attending. As time drew nearer, Reinhardt, although born Catholic, refused to visit from a Catholic priest, instead accepting a Baptist clergyman to remain with him until his moment of death.

The clergyman stood at the gallows and prayed in harsh, slow tones, as the heavy and bitterly cold rain fell hard onto all those in the yard. As Edward Reinhardt was brought out with the black cap on his head, the rain drenched him as 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, and the cloth was drawn down over his face. The officers beside him shook his hand, and from beneath the cap he could be heard to say goodbye. Immediately the trap was sprung, and Reinhardt dropped down about 4 feet. He swayed a few moments as if lifeless, then tried to raise his hands. He pressed his nails into his palms, struggled a little, and died. The story you just heard was inspired by The Alienist, TNT's new limited series starring Daniel Brull, Luke Evans and Dakota Fanning.

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