Strangled In A Strange City

The Curious Murder of Mary Ekhart 

Jump to the AD-FREE Safe House Edition

Episode 35 goes deep on a case mentioned in my book “The First Celebrity Serial Killer,” as one of the murders Alfred Knapp confessed to.  Mary Ekhart, a young woman from Dayton, Ohio, separated from her husband and went to live in Cincinnati, where she had a lead on a job in a candy factory. A few days later, her body was found dead in a rooming house, and police tracked down every lead trying to find the mysterious stranger seen lurking in front of the house on the morning of the day of her murder.

Listen to more episodes about UNSOLVED cases!!!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

You can pay more if you want to, but rent at the Safe House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.

We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:

If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!

For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular literature, give your ears a treat with PULP MAGAZINES with two new stories every week.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ha ye there. The present mystery was first brought to
the notice of the police about six point thirty last night,
when E. L. Kraut, an old man with a straggling
gray beard, walked slowly into Central Police Station and for
a moment stood by the desk at which Sergeant Sam
Corbin was busy riding. Well, what is it, said the sergeant,

(00:24):
looking up.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
A woman has been found dead in a house on
Walnut Street. And I thought you'd be the one to.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Tell, said mister Kraut. On Walnut Street, repeated the sergeant.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yes, on Walnut near Seventh. It is on the east
side of the street, number two ninety two, just next
to the saloon and nearly opposite the YMCA building. The
house is a brook and sits back in from the street.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
All right, said the sergeant. I'll notify the coroner and
the Hammond Street district. It is not in this police district.
And he stepped to the telephone. While he was calling
up the Hammond Street place, mister Kraft left corner.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Louis A.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
Kerner was at home, and at once went to the
house on Walnut Street. His knock at the door was
answered by mister Kraft and then a woman with a
towel wrapped about her head appeared and opened the door
to a room on the south side of the house
fronting upon Walnut Street. It was just a couple of
steps from the front door to the door of the room.
When that door was thrown open, corner Curner saw outstretched

(01:27):
upon the floor a woman. Her head was toward the
door of the room, and her feet near the corner
of a bureau. She was lying upon her back, and
her staring eyes were glassy. Her wrapper and nightgown had
been ripped from the throat. Down about her throat was
found an old towel. It was tied very tightly. The

(01:50):
woman's tongue was partly protruding from her mouth, and her
teeth were set upon it, as though in her terrible
struggle she had bitten her tongue. The towel was on tide,
and there on the right side of the throat was
a stab wound not quite half an inch wide. The
wound was such as could have been made by the
blade of an ordinary pocket knife, or what is less probable,

(02:12):
a stiletto. Without looking any further, the evidence was plain
that the woman had been murdered a true crime historian
presents Unsolved, an exploration of some of history's greatest mysteries.

(02:35):
In this episode, we look at newspaper accounts of the
murder of Mary Eckert, a young woman from Dayton, Ohio,
who separated from her husband and went to live in Cincinnati,
where she had a lead on a job in a
candy factory. A few days later, her body was found
dead in a rooming house, and police tracked down every
lead trying to find the mysterious stranger seen lurking in

(02:59):
front of the house on the morning of the day
of the murder. I'm true crime historian Richard O. Jones,
and I give you Strangled in a Strange City, The

(03:20):
Curious Murder of Mary Eckert, Cincinnati, Ohio, July twenty fifth,

(03:40):
eighteen ninety four. The body that lay before the coroner
appeared to be that of a woman about twenty four
years old. The upturned face could not be termed beautiful,
for though the features were regular, the beauty of the
skin had been marred by marks of smallpox. In form
the woman could have been termed beautiful. Corner Kerner stood

(04:02):
for a moment, puzzled the condition of the body indicated
that she had been dead eight or ten hours. The
woman was dead, she had been murdered, but by whom
or when was a mystery. The glance about the room
did not give a clue. There was no particular disorder.
The bed had evidently been slept in or lain upon,

(04:25):
but wind was not apparent. Upon the dresser was a
pail of partly curdled milk, and a glass had some
milk in it. There was no blood upon the floor,
or on the washbowl, or anywhere except upon the woman's
wrapper and the towel found about her neck. The lower
sash of a window by the washstand was raised. In

(04:46):
a drawer of the workstand was wine, bread, and crackers.
A thorough search of the room failed in giving a
clue to the murderer or the instrument with which the
deed was done. All that the coroner knew was that
a woman had been found murdered in the front room
of a house, the other rooms of which were occupied
by different men and women. The house was on a

(05:08):
prominent street, and yet none had heard a cry or
could give a clue as to the identity of the murderer.
The story of Missus Crouth, who was the first question,

(05:30):
gave a clue to the mystery. The girl was brought
to the house last Friday, she said, by Robert Newcombe.
He left a card stating that he lived at number
five Guy Street and that he belonged to the firm
of the Clifton Heights Broom Company. He said that the
woman was a cousin of his, and that she had
come up to the city from Dayton to try to

(05:51):
find work. He said that she was a cigar maker.
I told him I did not have any room, and
he begged me to find someplace for the war, and
I said I would. He paid me two dollars for
a week's room rent and left. He called Thursday night,
and I have not seen him since. The girl told
me that her folks lived in Illinois. She said her

(06:14):
father beat her and that she had to leave home.
She said work was slack and Dayton, and so she
came here. I took kindly to her because she appeared
to be in trouble. Monday, a boy called to seer.
She seemed to know him, and called him into the
room and talked with him quite a while. He was

(06:35):
a small boy, and I thought some relative. Tuesday, she
got a letter from Dayton, and in the afternoon a
boy who was not a messenger boy brought her a note,
which I put under her door. She went out Tuesday
evening dressed in white. She returned about eleven o'clock. A
young man was walking with her. He left her at
the gate. I was sitting on the steps. She passed

(06:59):
by me and went in her room and locked the door.
That's the last time I saw her alive. About five
point thirty tonight, a man called and said, is there
a young woman named Mary Eckert living here? I told
him there was, and asked him why he wanted to
see her and if he was a relative. He said,
in a hesitating way, I'm not a relative, but she

(07:20):
visits us and I want to see her. I saw
that he was nervous. I tried the door. It was locked.
I rapped, and then, turning to him, I said, is
it particular? Yes, he said, it is very particular. I
unlocked the door and saw the woman lying on the floor.
Wait a moment, I said, the lady appears to be sick.

(07:42):
I stooped down and touched her hand and saw that
she was dead. My god, she is dead, I cried,
and as I said that, the man ran out of
the house. He was heavy set, not very tall, and
wore a soft hat. He disappeared so quickly I did
not see which way he went. Mister Krauth then went

(08:03):
to the fifth and Walnut and found a policeman and
told him to find the officer on the beat. My
husband finally decided to go to Central Police Station. Coroner

(08:24):
Kerner found three letters among the woman's effects. One was
addressed to Jacob Eckert, seven to one eight North Webster Street, Dayton, Ohio.
It was sealed ready to be mailed. It read as follows, Cincinnati, Ohio,
July twenty second, eighteen ninety four. Dear husband, I will

(08:46):
endeavor to write you a few lines to let you
know that I reached Cincinnati's safe. But I haven't got
any work yet. But I think I will get work
tomorrow if nothing happens. I was at Newport this afternoon,
and I had a real nice time in the museum
last night. If I don't get work tomorrow or the
day after, I'm going to go to Denver, Colorado. Perhaps

(09:08):
I can get work there. I don't have to work
if I don't want to. What would I have done
to come here with one dollar? What can a person
do with that? It's a good thing that a person
has got a friend. I will tell you one thing, Jake,
A friend in need is a friend. Indeed, when I
got in Cincinnati, I was about to cry, to think
that I did not have a friend in this wide world.

(09:31):
But then I thought again, Jake, if you don't think anything,
why should I think anything? But always remember me as
your true loving wife, and I will do the same
by you. But Jake, not changing the subject, if you
had the least bit of love for me, you would
not let me go away from you, to go to
a place like this by myself. Jake ain't got a
heart at all. If you thought anything of me, you

(09:53):
would give up your home for me. But Jake, I
see into it. All your folks run me down to
the lowest. Your father is got to know that I
disgraced his family. Just come down to Court and Vine streets.
People there know what he is. I suppose he wants
you to be by me as he is by your mother.
When they were in Cincinnati, they were in sporting houses

(10:13):
and every kind of places of that kind of amusements.
I was eating my supper Saturday night when a broommaker
came in the restaurant and he sat down at the
same table than I was, And he said to me,
ain't you a stranger here? And I said, yes, sir.
He say, where did you come from? I said from Dayton,
And he say he knew some broommakers there. Then I
asked him who did he know. He said he knowed
your father. I told him I lived near your shop.

(10:36):
This fellow is a fine looking man, and he said,
your father was a ladies man. And that's the way
he blows in so much money. He said, he wants
to be so refined in Dayton. But let him come
down to the corner of Court and Vine Streets and Cincinnati,
where he generally rooms went in the city. He said,
I knew him by seeing him, but wasn't personally acquainted
with him. If that is true, he has got no

(10:56):
room to talk. He had better keep his tongue off me.
And for you, Jake thought anything of me, you would
never let your folks run me down. But Jake, I
think we will never meet again. Think of me what
you may, but for God's sake, don't think I will
go to my destruction because I think too much of
myself for that. Jake, and you are the same principle
as your father, And if you had any money, there's

(11:16):
where it would go. Jake, I'm your wife. Do you
treat me as one? No, you don't. I'm innocent, like
your poor mother is poor soul. If she only knew this,
it would break her poor heart. She often said to
me that if I thought Adam would do anything like that,
she would choke the woman, that is, if he ever
caught her. The second letter was received from the woman's

(11:38):
husband and read Dayton, Ohio, July twenty third. Dear wife,
I received your kind and loving letter and was glad
to hear from you. Pet. Don't go away with that man.
You don't know what he may do to you when
he gets you out there. I will tell you what
to do if you want to stay there and work,
or if you want to come back and work till
I get out of the old man's debt, and then

(11:59):
we will go how keeping again. But whatever you do,
don't go away with that man. I promise you today
that we will go to housekeeping again. Don't think I'm
fooling I got down to hard work Monday and made
two dollars. I think I can pay the old man
what I owe him. You do what I tell you,
and you won't lose anything by it. Well, Pet, if
you think I do not care for you just because
I do not go to the depot with you, you

(12:20):
are wrong. He gave me hell for staying out all night.
He didn't know where I was. So Pet, do your
best down there or come back to Dayton and I
will do what I say. But whatever you do, don't
go away with him. I think I will have steady
work now and I think we get along all right. Pet.
Don't think hard of me because I didn't take you
to the depot. Pet, You're always in my mind. I

(12:41):
think of no one but you all day. I don't
know where to go since my pet has gone from
your darling husband. Goodbye, Pet, one sweet kiss, answer it once. Pet,
Please don't go with him. Goodbye, Darling. While Lieutenant Joe

(13:13):
Thornton and Officer Ryan were at the morgue, a man
called and said he wanted to see the dead woman,
as he thought he could identify her. He was taken
into the dead room in the face of the woman uncovered.
He gave one glance and said, yes, that is Mary Eckert.
Her husband is Jacob Eckert, a broommaker in Dayton. You
are just the man we want, said Lieutenant Thornton, and

(13:35):
he took the newcomer to police headquarters. At first he
acted contrary, but when examined by Coroner Kerner talked all right.
He said that the woman came to his house Friday
and told him that she had left her husband and
had come to the city to get work. He said
that to help her he got her a room and
gave her some money. He admitted telling Missus Crowth that

(13:57):
she was his cousin. He said he worked for her
father and that is the way she knew him. He
said that he had not been to the house since Thursday,
but was to have called last night. He was locked
up to be held until the case can be investigated.
Missus Krouth said that when Newcombe called at the house

(14:18):
last night, he said he could tell who murdered Missus Eckert.
He first called at the house and then went to
the morgue. Mary pettibone of twenty two Taylor Alley, a
girl who worked in the house, was taken to police headquarters.
She said that Newcombe was not the man who called.
Just before the woman was found dead, she was released.

(14:39):
Sergeant Messerschmidt took a look at Newcomb and recognized him
as having been in considerable trouble in the past. In
the Coryville police district. Three years ago, Newcombe cut a
man almost to pieces and then fled to Saint Louis.
The man lay at the hospital for many months but
finally recovered. Newcombe came back and was arrested, but the
victim could not be found, and Newcombe was dismissed. He

(15:02):
and his brother so Messrsmith States, held up an employee
of the sown brewery and almost beat him to death
in some manner. They escaped and arrest Newcombe denied all
that the sergeant claimed and said that it was a
case of mistaken identity. Detective Myers with two officers searched
the room in which he lived, but failed to find anything,

(15:25):
and then locked it up and took the key to
Central station. Robert Newcomb came by the nickname the terre
Hote Mystery in a peculiar way. A couple of years ago,
he mysteriously disappeared while on his way to work on
Pearl Street. Friends got the police interested, and the rivers
were dragged. Sewers searched, and the country scoured for some

(15:47):
trace of him.

Speaker 2 (15:48):
In the midst of.

Speaker 1 (15:49):
This search, there was a mysterious murder at Terre Hope.
A stranger was held up and murdered on a public street.
His picture was in the Inquirer. A brother of Newcomb
saw it and visited Terre hot He positively identified the
murdered man as his brother, and the body was interred
at Terre Hate, supposing it was all that remained of

(16:10):
Bob Newcombe. Months later he turned up in this city
very much alive. Missus Catherine Allen, who lives on the
third floor of the crowd residence, last night, gave the
police some information that may prove very valuable. She said
that about six forty five Wednesday morning, she went downstairs

(16:32):
to get some milk. While in the hall, she saw
a milkman standing in Missus Eckert's doorway and heard her say, yes,
I am a little late getting up this morning. The
milkman had the top of his can in his hand
and evidently sold Missus Eckert some milk. Missus Allen passed
out onto the street and saw one of Moore's milk

(16:53):
wagons before the door. She waited some time for the milkman,
and then he came out, a rather heavy set man
wearing a black shirt and answering the description of the
man who called at the house just before the body
was found. Stopped and talked to the milkman and then
went into the house. She did not see him come out.
The supposition is that he asked the milkman something about

(17:15):
Missus Eckert. The question the police are trying to find
out is who this man is. Missus Eckert had on
a nightgown and over it was a morning wrapper. It
is plausible that someone came to see her yesterday morning.
She slipped on the wrapper and shortly after was killed.
As the room fronts on the hall near the front door,

(17:35):
the murderer could easily escape. A room back of that
occupied by Missus Eckert was rented Tuesday by mister and
missus John Stapleton. They were not in their room yesterday
or last night. No one in the house heard any screams.

Speaker 3 (18:03):
To avoid future commercial interruption, join us at the safehouse Www.
Dot patreon dot com slash true Crimehistorian. Rent is just
a buck a week so you can enjoy ad free
editions of over four hundred episodes, exclusive content, access to
the boss, and whatever personal services you require. Www dot
Patreon dot com slash true Crimehistorian. The past is present.

Speaker 1 (18:28):
When Jacob Eckert, the husband of the murdered woman, was
awakened from sleep and apprized of the fate of his wife.
His surprise and grief were genuine and satisfied the witnesses
that he is guiltless of any participation in the crime.
Eckert is twenty two years old and his murdered wife nineteen.
She was a miss Mary Wallace. The two were married

(18:51):
in December last Their married life was not a happy one.
Eckert dearly loved the woman, though and his friends insist
did all he good to make life's journey a pleasant one.
It is stated that the woman was inclined to run
to saloon dances and court the acquaintance of other men.
This led to the separation of the two about six

(19:12):
weeks ago. Eckert gave he says, all the household goods
to his wife and then returned to the home of
his parents, mister and missus Adam Eckert, on North Webster Street.
The father runs a saloon and a broom factory. His
son works in the latter. There seems no doubt but
that he was at work during the day in the

(19:33):
broom factory when the officers Corbett and Hindershot and the
Cincinnati Inquirer correspondent called at the house and awoke Eckert
and told him of the death of his wife. He
cried like a child and acted like a madman. He
said that he saw his wife last Thursday, when she
was arranging to go to Cincinnati in expectation of getting
employment in a candy kitchen there. He said that he

(19:56):
had written daily to her since her departure and intended
to meet her in Cincinnati Sunday. He said also that
he intended again to live with her, and his father
had promised to assist them. This was the story told
by the husband in the intervals of his wild manifestations
of grief. He said that in his letters he had
advised his wife to have nothing to do with the

(20:18):
former suitor for her hand, a cook who was employed
in a hotel near her last winter. Eckert said that
he did not know the man, simply that he was
called this. The husband, in company with his visitors, went
to the home of his wife's parents, where another sad
scene was enacted when the aged couple were told of
the tragic death of their daughter. July twenty sixth, eighteen

(20:48):
ninety four. The first important clue obtained was from William Waffel,
one ninety Court Street, the milkman, who was the last
one to see Mary Eckert along and who saw the
man enter the room who it is believed killed her.
His testimony is corroborated by missus Catherine Allen, who saw

(21:09):
the mysterious stranger in supposed murderer in front of the
house and saw him enter. Mister Waffle was seen at
his boarding house and told a very interesting story. I
had been selling the woman milk for several mornings, said
mister Waffle. When she first got milk, she asked me
if I could not get her something to do. She

(21:29):
said she was out of work and willing to do
anything to earn a living. She told me that she
was a cigar maker by trade, but had failed to
find work and was willing to do housework or anything else.
I saw that the woman was in trouble, and my
heart kind of went out toward her. I told her
that certainly I would let her know if anyone wanted
a girl, and I would look around and see if

(21:50):
I could not find some work for her. I called
at the house about seven o'clock Wednesday morning. I first
went round to the side of the house and delivered
some milk to one of my customers in the When
I came back, I noticed that the blind on the
side window of the woman's room was open, and I
peeped in. I saw her lying curled up in bed.
I then went around in front. The front door was

(22:11):
unlocked and opened. It has always open mornings. I went
into the hallway, rapped on the door and said milk.
I rapped again, and then she said, wait a minute.
In a few minutes she came to the door. She
had on a blue wrapper. It came open at the
neck and I saw that she had it slipped over
her nightgown. I am a little late getting up. I'm

(22:32):
not feeling well today. She said, do you want some milk?
I asked yes. She said, but I haven't any money.
Well that's all right, I said, if you haven't any money.
You can pay me when you have, or you don't
have to pay me at all. It's all right. And
she said she would take five cents worth of milk,
and I gave it to her in a pail. As
I stood at the door, I saw a man standing

(22:52):
near the iron fence in front of the house, looking
at the front of the house, first at the windows,
then at me. There was something terrible in his countenance.
He looked ugly, and his teeth seemed to be set
as he stood glaring at the house. I said to myself,
there's something the matter with that man. There is trouble
in his eye. He had an ugly face, and he

(23:14):
looked ugly, as if he was meditating some crime. He
looked at me so fixedly that I spoke to the
lady and said, do you know that man? She looked
out and, drawing back, said why why no? Why do
you ask?

Speaker 2 (23:29):
Well?

Speaker 1 (23:29):
He stared at me so funny. I didn't know, but
maybe he had some business here, you know. I thought
he might be her husband, and was mad because I
was talking to the woman. She asked me if I
had found her any work, and I told her I
had not, but would see what I could do. She
asked me to try and find her something, as she
was willing to scrub or do anything honest. There was

(23:51):
no doubt in my mind but that she was an
honest woman. The fellow kept staring at me, and I
got nervous and went down the steps just as he
stepped inside the gate. He walked up the steps, and
as I got into my wagon, I saw him enter
the front door. The door of missus Eckert's room was
still ajar. The man was heavy set and broad shouldered.

(24:12):
He had a mustache and I think a slouch hat.
His face was an ugly one. He wore dark clothes
and a black shirt. I'm positive he wore a black shirt.
I thought, when I read the paper today that maybe
he was Newcombe. So I went to police headquarters and
saw nukeomb. He was a large man like Nucomb, but
it was not he. I could identify him if I

(24:34):
saw him again. The husband of Mary Eckert had not
appeared at the coroner's office as he had promised. That
made him look suspicious, so word was sent to Dayton

(24:56):
to arrest him. Later, a message was received from Dayton
saying that he had already started for this city. About
six o'clock, a smooth faced lad walked into Central Station
and asked Lieutenant Hill where Chief Diach was. He was
told that he was upstairs. He then remarked that he
was the husband of Mary Eckert, who had been murdered

(25:18):
on Walnut Street. He was taken upstairs to Chief Diach's office.
Eckert was asked to tell what he knew about the murder.
Eckert is about twenty two years old, small for his age,
and looks more like a schoolboy than anything else. He
appears to be an easy going fellow and does not
put much force to anything he says. While telling his story,

(25:41):
he cried at times and seemed to be all broken
up over the death of his wife. He was about
to begin his story when a message was received from
Detective Corbett of Dayton. He said he had thoroughly investigated
the doings of young Eckert and was satisfied that he
was innocent of his wife's death. He has been at
home at all times and was not away from home

(26:03):
at any time. The detective Corbett added that he was
of the opinion that the man who killed the woman
was the cook known as Ves. He was sure of this,
as the description of the man seen at the door
of the woman's room was that of Ves. He was
trying to get his last name and a good picture
of him. At the Beckel house, where he was a cook,

(26:24):
he was known only as Ves. The officer said that
Vess had threatened to kill Missus Eckert time and time again.
Corbett said Ves was about thirty years old, weighed about
one hundred and eighty pounds, was heavy set, and wore
a dark, heavy mustach. This was the description of the
man who called at two ninety two Walnut Street and

(26:45):
ran away when told that the woman was dead. The
police are now scouring the city for him, and Chief
Diach hopes to get him. Eckert then told his story.
He said that his wife's maiden name was Mary Wallace,
and that when his father's broom factory was in operation,
most of the men employed boarded at Missus Wiler's boarding house.

(27:07):
It was at this boarding house that he met her.
Bob Newcombe was working at Eckert's when he and Eckert
met Mary Wallace. She was boarding there also, as she
was working in a cigar factory and her parents lived
someplace in Illinois. Mary and Jake were finally married and
went to housekeeping. His father objected to the marriage on

(27:27):
account of the age of both. She was eighteen and
he was a little over twenty one. They got along
very well until his father's shop closed. He was thrown
out of work and could not support his wife. Then
they decided to live apart for a time. She went
to work in a cigar factory and boarded at Missus
Hogeman's boarding house, and he went to live with his parents.

(27:50):
He did not see her but once or twice a week,
sometimes not that often. He saw her last Thursday, and
she told him that she was coming to Cincinnati. She
said that she had met a man who was going
to give her a position in a candy kitchen on
Walnut Street. He did not want to go, but she insisted,
so she came to this city on Friday. He thinks,

(28:10):
as he did not go to the depot with her,
he was getting ready to come down here on Sunday
to go see her. While at police headquarters, Jacob Eckert
showed a letter, which was the only one he said

(28:32):
he had received from his wife. The letter repeated many
things in the letter found in the room by coroner Kerner.
Several sheets of paper were found in the room upon
which letters to her husband had been started. She was
evidently very downhearted and was undecided whether to write or not.
She started several letters, but tore them up. She finally

(28:54):
wrote a letter. It was harsh in tone, and after
having sealed it up, she thought of what she had
written and find me. Tore the letter open and wrote
another one, copying in the last letter some of the
things from the one which he finally sent. Cincinnati, July
twenty second, eighteen ninety four, mister Eckert Dayton, Ohio, Dear husband,

(29:15):
I will write you a few lines that I reached
Cincinnati safe mercy. I had the blues going down. I
thought to myself, if I could get work, what shall
I do?

Speaker 2 (29:24):
Not a friend?

Speaker 1 (29:25):
When I got off the train, here I went and
got my bundle checked, and then I thought where should
I go? Just in front of the depot I saw this. Say,
for God's sake, what brought you down here? He said
to me, where are you going to? I says, to
look for work? And he says, have you got any money?
I told him how much I had. He gave me money,

(29:47):
so I got me a room and I took my
meals at a restaurant till I get work. If I
can't get work till Wednesday, we're going to Denver, Colorado.
Perhaps I can get work there. I don't have to
work if I don't want to. I was in New
Yeoport this afternoon and had a nice time. Last night.
I was in the museum on Vine Street. Down here.
They don't pay much for making cigars fifteen and seventeen

(30:09):
and a half cents, and what can a person make
at that price. I suppose I will get that money
about next week. I won't spend any of that to
go away to Denver. If he is fool enough to
pay my way, I will go. He can't fool me.
I would like to see the place he is coming
back to Chicago. He got a pass. I don't know
whether he can get two or not. I would like
to see a little of the country. If I wanted to,

(30:31):
we would go to Galveston, Texas. Jake, I don't think
we will ever meet again. I might in two or
three years from now. I see, Jake, you don't care
for me anymore, So what's the use of me bothering
my head about you, Jake, you will never make a
living for me. You listen to other people too much, So, Jake,
if you like your father and your mother better than
you do me, my advice to you is stick to them.

(30:51):
A blind person can see that you don't care for me, Jake.
I think I can get along all right. What hurt me, Jake,
was that you didn't go to the depot with me
if you was afraid that your father would kick That's
all right, Jake. A friend in need is a friend. Indeed,
you is the best friend to me, and once that
I will stick to Pet. I always want you to
remember me as your true and loving wife, and I
always think the same of you. Do not forget me,

(31:14):
Be a good boy, and take care of yourself, and
don't mind me. My address is two ninety two Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. Goodbye, Pet,
from your loving wife, missus Mary Eckert. He answered this letter,
a copy of which was published yesterday. It was in
that letter that he cautioned her not to have anything
to do with this. He wrote her another letter that

(31:35):
he never heard anything more from her until he was
told that she had been murdered.

Speaker 3 (31:47):
Enjoy ad free Listening at the safe House dubbadubbadubba dot
Patreon dot com, slash true crime historian.

Speaker 1 (32:00):
Some important points were brought out in the report of
the post mortem, which was submitted to Coroner Kerner. Death
was stated to be due from strangulation. There was a
contusion near the right eye, which was probably caused by
a blow from a fist. On the neck were found
several scratches as from fingernails. They may have been and

(32:21):
probably were made by the woman during her death struggle
and clutching at her throat to tear off the towel.
There was a scratch along the abdomen, probably made when
the wrapper and the nightgown were torn open. In front.
There was a brush wound on the left side of
the throat that may have been caused by the towel
or when she was choked by the murderer. The report

(32:43):
said that the wound on the right side of the
throat would not have caused death. An important discovery was
made that missus Eckert had been Enciente for two months
and that motherhood was promised her. This point, it was thought,
might have considerable bearing upon the case. After leaving police headquarters,

(33:05):
Jacob Eckert visited the morgue. He was ushered to the
dead room by the night morgue keeper, who slowly threw
back the sheet and disclosed the face of Mary Eckert
under the ghastly glare of the flickering gaslight. The husband
at first did not turn his head, seeming to lack
courage to turn and look at the face of his
murdered wife. Then he turned his head slowly and looked

(33:28):
at the face of the dead woman. Yes, it's Mary,
my wife, my pet, he said, as he burst into
a sob. It is Mary. I may have wronged her,
but God knows I loved her. Yes, it is Mary.
And to think that she came to Cincinnati, and here
alone in a strange city, was murdered, murdered, and the

(33:52):
heartbroken man shuddered, his whole frame quivering with the awfulness
of the truth that dawned upon him. So forcibly he
looked again at the face lying in cold death, and said,
and only next Sunday. I had planned to come to
Cincinnati and get her. We had some trouble, but I
regretted that she left and had made some arrangements to
come and get her to go into housekeeping again. She

(34:14):
wrote me about this man Bess, and I at once
became alarmed. He used to keep company with her, but
she rejected him. Mary has told me that when she
went out walking, Bess had stopped her and tried to
get her to leave me. She was continually running into him.
He offered her money and anything she wanted if she
would go with him. He wanted to take her to Denver.

(34:36):
He did not think his wife was intimate with Bess,
though everything points that way, judging from her letter. Mister
Eckert said he did not know much about Bess, but
he would run him down if it took him his lifetime.
He said he had his wife's life insurance for one
hundred and ninety six dollars in a dime a week company.
As mister Eckert turned to leave the dead room, he

(34:57):
looked again at the face of his dead wife and
said and said, I'm going to take the first train
to Dayton and run this man vest down. I would
find out all about him and have him arrested. If
he is in Dayton, the murder of Mary shall be avenged.
The police last night learned that Vess's last name was Jennings.
Detectives searched the city but failed to find him. July

(35:30):
twenty eighth, eighteen ninety four, five men who know Sylvester
Jennings well said that he was not the mysterious man
seen entering the crowd residence Wednesday morning and who ran
away just after he left. The men are all cooks
at the Gibson House, where Jennings worked. They said that

(35:51):
the description of the stranger was not that of Vess.
All of the men said that Jennings was a dressy man.
He always wore good clothes. They said that he was
not of a quarrelsome disposition. He worked at the Gibson House.
About two years ago. He was employed as a helper
at the Saint James Hotel and later attended the cooking

(36:12):
furnaces at the Saint Nicholas. He was last in the
city last Thanksgiving. He worked at the Rossmoin Hotel in
Chicago during the World's Fair, and then went to the
Beccall House, Dayton. From the latter place, he went to
the National Hotel at East Saint Louis. He has also
worked in Nashville and Chattanooga. Missus Jennings of Felicity, Ohio,

(36:37):
mother of Wes Jennings, yesterday received a letter from him,
dated July twenty fifth, the day of the murder of
Mary Eckert. He is at the National Hotel, East Saint Louis.
He requested that they write him, as usual at each
Saint Louis. There is no doubt of the genuineness of
the letter. Ves is well known at this place, and

(37:00):
it has not thought that he could have done the deed.
His mother is a widow, and he has been a
hotel cook for the past eight years. His friends here
would never suspect him of doing such a deed. He
was of a rather retired disposition, not quarrelsome and cross,
and was never in any serious trouble. July twenty ninth,

(37:28):
eighteen ninety four. Was it a woman who murdered Mary Eckert?
After exhausting all other clues, it was such a startling
proposition that yesterday forcibly presented itself to those working upon
the mysterious case, and facts have been brought to light
that go far to substantiate this theory. In order to

(37:51):
present a clear understanding of the case, it is necessary
to first briefly review some of the facts brought to
light since the fire of the body in the Krout
boarding house last Wednesday evening. The story of the murder
has been like a kaleidoscope of changing views. Wednesday night,
the police arrested Robert Newcombe. Thursday, they were looking for

(38:13):
Jacob Eckert, the murdered woman's husband. Friday Vess was the
mysterious man sought for.

Speaker 2 (38:21):
First.

Speaker 1 (38:21):
Jacob Eckert was eliminated from the case by proof that
he was in Dayton the night of the murder. So
Vester Jennings was in Saint Louis and could not have
figured in the case. Yesterday afternoon, proof was presented that
Robert Newcombe was at his home number five Guy Street
Wednesday all day and he was released by Chief Ditch
and Coroner Kerner. That brought the case down to the

(38:44):
finding of the body again, with all clues exhausted. After
the finding of the body by Missus Krout, the first
clue was a mysterious stranger who called and asked for
Missus Eckert five point thirty, which resulted in the body
being found ran away and he was at once set
down as the murderer, then mister Waffle the milkman, and

(39:06):
Missus Allen told of seeing a man enter the house
about seven o'clock, just after Missus Eckert had been left
alive by mister Waffle. About these two strangers were woven
many fairy tales. They were said to have been the same,
and in the course served as Jacob Eckert an injured husband,
Vess Jennings, a discarded suitor, and then as Robert Newcombe

(39:28):
a lover. Then came Joseph Jessup in the guise of
a mystery. The mysterious man who ran away was a
heavy set man, and immediately every heavy set man who
acted out of the ordinary was under suspicion. Frank Bradley,
a cigar maker, and his wife, visited Burnet Woods and
fell under suspicion until he visited Chief Deech and proved

(39:49):
that he had no connection with the case. A man
and woman had a quarrel on the road to Fort Thomas.
They had no connection to the case. Jacobs, Jennings and
Newcombe were proved guilty, and there facts gave way to theory.
Mary Eckert left her husband in Dayton because of stories
he had heard that she was unfaithful, and in this

(40:10):
city she met different men. She met Joseph Jessup as
an acquaintance, the result of a flirtation, and it is
reasonable to suppose that the stranger who called Wednesday afternoon
was some man who had made an appointment with her.
He may have been a married man, or for other reasons.
When he learned that the woman was dead, ran away
because he did not want to be mixed up in

(40:31):
the affair. Who the stranger was who called in the
morning may possibly be explained by the fact that there
lived in the house a woman who has a lover
who answers the description of the man seen. He watched
the milkman because he did not want to be seen
entering the house. With the names of all men known
who had anything to do with Mary Eckert eliminated. The

(40:53):
motive for the deed was lacking, and it was then
the proposition that the murder was committed by a woman
a round and the clue is being followed by the
police and coroner. The wound in the neck of the
murdered woman was first considered. It was a sharp cut
penetrating wound over two inches deep. It appeared too small
and deep to have been done by a pocket knife,

(41:15):
and suggests one of those little daggers such as can
be seen in almost any pawnshop window, and such as
many women carry. Daggers are carried by one third of
the demimonde, and the history of crime shows that it
is a woman's favorite weapon. Mary Eckert was not feeling
well Wednesday morning and was in no condition to struggle

(41:36):
for her life. It would have been easy for a
woman to have slipped into the room and stabbed her.
After the deed was done, the sight of blood may
have scared the murderous, and she then to stop the
blood or cover up the wound, tied the towel about
the throat and then drew it tight. It is reasonable
to suppose that Mary Eckert fainted. When she partially regained consciousness,

(42:00):
she clutched at her throat to tear off the towel,
and herself made the scratches found upon her neck. It
has been said that a woman would not stop to
fuss and quarrel, but such has not been the history
of crimes in many ways similar to the present one.
Many of the most mysterious murders have been committed by
women who came and went silently. As to the motive

(42:22):
that a woman could have had, the possibility is presented
that some of the persons who have been mixed up
with the murdered woman may have had a jealous female friend.
In fact, this view of the affair has many believers,
and there may be developments in support of it. Robert

(42:44):
Newcombe was given his liberty yesterday. He went directly home,
walked into the gate, brushed past his father, and simply
looked at his brother Hermann. Upon the steps entering the
broom shop, he pulled off his coat and started to
assorting broomcorn. He was nervous and excited, but would not talk.

(43:04):
His relatives looked at him in wonderment. To questions, he
simply said he was worried. As far as Newcomb's relations
with Mary Eckert are concerned, they appear to have been
honest and honorable. It has been proved that she inquired
the way to his house Thursday. He met her, showed
her through the broom shop, and then had a short

(43:24):
talk with her and told her that he would meet
her in Burnett Woods. All his neighbors testified that he
is very kind hearted in cite instances of where he
has helped persons in distress. Missus Crouth stated that each
time he called at the house, the door of Mary
Eckert's room was open. Each time he stayed but a
few minutes, and his conversation was simply about money matters

(43:48):
and how he could help the girl in her trouble.
Newcombe is an eccentric fellow. He appears to court notoriety,
and that fact may clear up many points. Those who
are working on upon the woman theory say that the
clue to the mystery may be found in the Walnut
Street house, about the occupants of which there's a good
deal of mystery. Chief Diech was yesterday working upon the

(44:12):
theory that the man who came home with Mary Eckert
Tuesday night was Robert Newcombe, and that the man who
was with her at Joseph Jesseph's place was Nucombe. The
latter denied that he left home Tuesday night, and before
his release yesterday his two brothers and one other man
substantiated his statement. Missus Crout said distinctly Wednesday night that

(44:33):
the man who came home with Mary Eckert Monday night
was not Robert Newcombe. The statement was made while Newcombe
was at the house with the police. Yesterday. Missus Crout
said that she did not think the man was Newcombe,
but she was not sure that he looked like Nucombe.

(44:55):
The funeral services over the remains of Missus Mary Eckert
were held at the home of the parents this morning.
A large assemblage of friends attended the services and followed
the corpse to the grave. The mystery that infests the
tragedy grows deeper in view of the reputed evidence, which
on its face clears ves Jennings of any knowledge of

(45:16):
the crime. It had developed that Vess and Mary were
engaged prior to the acquaintance, courtship, and marriage of Eckert
and his wife. Eckert says that his wife told him
this before their marriage. Eckert first met Mary Wallace, who
subsequently became his wife, at Missus Wyler's boarding house, which
is in the vicinity of his father's brooms factory. This

(45:40):
meeting occurred at a party given at the house sometime
in March or April of eighteen ninety three. This was
their first acquaintance and when the love matchup began. It
was about this time that Robert Newcombe began work at
the Eckert Broom factory and boarded at missus Wyler's. During
her stay at the boarding house, Wiler, son of the landlady,

(46:02):
kept company with the girl, and it is stated, was
engaged to her. However, the introduction of Eckert into the
family circle broke the engagement. It does not appear that
this breakage of love vows left any wounds. Miss Wallace
remained at Wyler's until the following August, when she left
on a visit to an aunt and her grandparents at

(46:23):
Rosten Station, Illinois, where she remained about two months. Eckert
pawned his watch, he says, with which to secure money
to bring her home. On return from the Illinois trip,
she again went to Missus Wyler. Shortly afterward, she mentioned
to her husband that Ves was following her, and then
told the story of her prior engagement to him. This

(46:46):
was the first time Eckert had heard or knew anything
about Ves. He says that after their marriage, his wife
would report to him on her return from a downtown
shopping trip that she had seen Ves. This story was
repeated on return from each trip. When it was suggested
that his wife merely made this statement and her continual
reference to Ves simply to excite his jealousy, he answered

(47:09):
that he believed she was sincere. He also accepted the
statement in her letter that she had seen Vess on
her arrival in Cincinnati is true so far as Robert
Newcombe is concerned. Eckert says that his wife never made
allusion to Newcomb, and that nothing ever occurred between the
two that attracted his attention or aroused his suspicion. Missus

(47:32):
Wyler says that Newcomb boarded at her house about two
weeks and that during his stay there was nothing in
his conduct or that of the girl to excite attention.
While the police here are honest in their efforts to untangle,
if possible, the mysteries associated with the crime, yet their
accomplishments thus far have been commonplace. They have advanced no

(47:55):
theories and followed no line of investigation. Denver, Colorado, November thirteenth,

(48:15):
eighteen ninety four. Strangler's Row was the scene of another murder.
Early today, about one fifteen am, Number nineteen seventy five
Market Street was visited by the fiend whose strange hobby
is to choke women to death, and when he left
the place, Kiku Oyama, a Japanese girl who was in

(48:38):
the place, was the corpse with the marks of the
strangler's work upon her throat. This morning's murder was committed
in the same row of houses in which Lena Tapper
and Marie Contosois were strangled. The mode of her death, too,
was exactly similar. After partially choking her, the job was

(48:58):
completed by eyeing a towel around her neck and tightening
the noose until life left her body. Cincinnati, Ohio, December eighth,
eighteen ninety four. Last July, there appeared in this city

(49:23):
a well dressed man about forty years old. He had
a sandy mustache, and everyone he talked to he told
that he was a surgeon from London, that his abilities
were not appreciated abroad, but that the United States government
had engaged him to do work for it. The mysterious
doctor visited Grand Central Depot every day. He appeared to

(49:46):
be looking for someone, but it was always young girls
that he approached. About the same time, Mary Eckert had
left her home in Dayton and came to the city.
She visited the depot every day to watch for date
and friends. She met the Mysterious Stranger and had several
talks with him. In one of these talks, he invited

(50:08):
her to go with him to Denver. Mary thought it
was a great joke, for she told several that the
man was a very funny man, as he wanted her
to go to Denver with him. When asked what she
was to do, she said that he simply wanted her
to travel with him. On the night of the last
day Mary talked to him, she was strangled to death.
The Mysterious Stranger has never been seen in this city since.

(50:33):
Letters found after her death showed that the Denver story
was true, as she told her husband in a letter
that she had a chance to go to Denver. It
is possible that the fellow was a crank and had
killed Mary Eckert and then gone to Denver and killed
the other women. There are many who think he did.

Speaker 2 (51:11):
This.

Speaker 1 (51:11):
Has been strangled in a strange city the curious murder
of Mary Eckert. Although there were many suspects in the case,
no one was ever arrested for the three murders attributed
to the so called Denver strangler. The case of Mary
Eckert was reopened in nineteen oh three when Alfred Napp
confessed that she was one of five women that he

(51:33):
had strangled in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Hamilton, Ohio. You can
read more about this investigation in my book The First
Celebrity serial Killer, Confessions of the Strangler Alfred Napp, and
judge for yourself if you think he was guilty of
the murder of Mary Eckert, even though he was never
formally charged with the crime. I have my own ideas.

(51:54):
I'd like to know what you think. The First Celebrity
Serial Killer is available at your favorite an online bookstore.
Musical direction by Chuck Wiggins. This is true crime historian
Richard O. Jones signing off for now.