The Unsolved Murder of Lena Whitmore: The Body in the Black Water

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On December 26, 1907, a teenage boatman walking along the Passaic River spotted two pale feet jutting from the black water of a swamp outside Harrison, New Jersey. Dragged from the muck, the woman had no clothes, no identification, and only a torn red coat and a homemade fur muff nearby to hint at who she’d been. Within days, the tabloids were calling it the Lampblack Swamp mystery—and when the victim was finally named as 35‑year‑old Brooklyn housewife Lena Whitmore, the spotlight swung to her jealous, violent husband, Theodore.​

In this episode, we reconstruct Lena’s last days: fleeing abuse to her sister’s Bronx apartment, returning home after promises of change, and then vanishing on Christmas night. You’ll hear how anonymous letters, a suspicious “don’t expect me tonight” telegram, and prior assault charges painted Theodore as a likely killer, even as his defense insisted the state could not prove how—or even where—Lena died. We walk through the autopsy that proved she was alive when she hit the water, the circumstantial case that went to trial, and the hung jury that left her murder officially unsolved.​

*This episode of Hitched to Homicide podcast discusses the subject domestic/intimate partner violence. Viewer and listener discretion is advised.
If you are experiencing domestic or dating violence — call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text START to 88788. You can also chat online at TheHotline.org. 24/7.  All Calls are free and confidential.

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