Treasure turns to horror in the woods of Staten Island | Forensic Files

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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 episode's deal with serious and
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but please listen at your discretion one seaside grave by Christina Rossetti unmindful of the roses unmindful of the
thorn a Reaper toy proposes among his gathered corn semi dire to the moon cold as the cold December's past as the days
that set all only one remembers and all the rest forget but one remembers yet [Music]
September 15th 1878 was a cooler than average day for Staten Island New York a cold northwesterly 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 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 as 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 it more of the carpet
that was shoved in sod something fell out a human arm front the boys ran almost a mile to New
Brighton where they tracked down constables William Sheen and John Hulk 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 fifty 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 wells er 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 and nightgown and an empty soul Park had
been used as padding to keep her body in place her arms were folded across a chest and flattened against the
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 Wales er did an examination and his observation were as follows female between 25 and 30 years of age
luxurious brown hair neatly brushed back in a long braids 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 sites and other
features she wore no jewelry and no clothing apart from the nightgown shoved inside the barrel her hair was in
immaculate condition likely brushed every day and planted 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 say teeth much less cared
for the nightgown and cloth found around her naked body was saturated with chloride
of line also known as chloroform it was believed he'll 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 colored brown hair too what they saw in death another mixture
quicklime had been lathered on her face to burn away her features and render her
unrecognizable 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 surely 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 Judah botched unqualified abortions being carried out dr. wells are concurrent at
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 wells ER and his son dr. William
rouser 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 that would recognize her droves
of people visited the Mork 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 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 in 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 would 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 rent 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 intrigue like a 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. Lewis read from Clifton arrived at Coronas 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 that was allowed with
minimum questions asked Lewis rege 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 Cliffton in
search of work in New York City [Music] Lewis was able to briefly returned to Clifton a month earlier and he saw Ellen
she told him she was seven months pregnant on September 6 just nine days before the discovery of the woman in the
barrel Lewis 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 enter pregnancy quiet 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 plat and he confirmed she had perfect teeth coroner Dempsey escorted Louis to the
poor house cemetery Louis stood to the side of the unmarked grave as a gravedigger put a spade into the earth
over and over until the 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 plat 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 Carnot Dempsey wasn't so sure
according to Louis's 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 victims hair and darkened it but he
wasn't convinced the remains of the woman in the barrel were reburied and the Louis Reid was ordered to testify at
the inquest before the coroner's jury after hearing Lewis's 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 2 or 3 months but Louis had found her clothes trunk so where was Owen Murphy was it her in the barrel
still not convinced coroner Dempsey 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 Saugerties 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 story Coroner Dempsey
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 Saugerties 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 - Annie was never seen again and when Annie's parents heard about the
mysterious woman in the barrel they were convinced that was her dr. wells er had
initially determined the woman was aged 25 to 30 but that determination was far from an exact science in 1878 coroner
Dempsey 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 braids of hair George hamil
exclaimed it was Annie contained 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 coroner Dempsey received a
letter from Annie Hubble'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 a mystery would be solved coroner Dempsey agreed to assume the
body again George hamil his attorney and an his childhood physician were in attendance it took the gravediggers
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 coroner Dempsey'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
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9:00 8:00 central on TNT [Music] 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 11
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 coroner Dempsey of Staten Island has failed thus far to solve the mystery of failing 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 greening skeletons in the closets of several our
souls in addition to the stories of Ellen Murphy and Danny Hummel the coroner 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 keema
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 Auguste pointed Reinhardt out to police after he heard about the woman in the barrel but they
didn't follow it up Reinhardt have lived on Broome Street lower Manhattan with his new wife
Pauline ditmar they'd been married since July after getting nothing from the police
August kima approached the 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 Reinhart's house so August could make a
formal identification that Reinhardt was the man he saw with a barrel that 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 ghor Street near Broad Street in Stapleton but he moved to lower Manhattan when he married his
wife Pauline in July coroner Dempsey was direct and to asked Reinhard 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 Marion Keegan before he met his wife Pauline Reinhardt said he was still in
touch with Marion 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 an arrested Reinhardt on suspicion of complicity
Reinhardt was told he would be appearing at the inquest next jury sitting and it
was transported back to Staten Island Reinhardt's wife Pauline did ma was shocked by her husband's arrest and
wondered what was going on Pauline had met Reinhard 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 Reinhart's company and accepted he's
offered to take her to a ball Brian heart 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
Broome Street lower Manhattan the week after their marriage Reinhardt old 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 Rinehart'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 Marianne Degnan Marianne Degnan had been missing since July what caught Dempsey's attention immediately
was the name Maryann Degnan Brian had told Dempsey that before his marriage to the poor Lane he was saying a woman
named Mary Ann Kagan Dempsey senses were on high alert Dempsey listen does Mary and Eggman'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 a house Mary Ann's parents had not seen or heard from her since early July only a week before
Reinhardt married Pauline when coroner Dempsey broke this news the 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 smother any way she could Pauline heard the story of Edward
Reinhardt and Mary Ann Reinhardt firsthand 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 corlane brought out
an actual 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 Reinhart had ever
given Pauline any jury Pauline produced a small gold ring with two love hearts something he had given
her after they Wed mrs. Dignan gasped that's my Mary Ann's wedding ring on October 9 1878 the coroner's jury
said again excited whispers and rumors of pleasure had swept like wildfire and word was out that there could be an
outcome that day an almost deathlike stillness pervaded the crowded corridors of Liberty Hall in New Brighton Staten
Island as coroner Dempsey took EC 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 exhalation of the body sat heavily on his moment when
Edward Reinhardt was brought in and seated near the jury 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
jury heard that around the third week of September 1878 a week after the body in
the borough was found Edward Reinhardt paid a visit to his mother-in-law Marianne's mother mrs.
Degnan and asked the borough money Reinhard told mrs. Degnan that her daughter Marianne was expecting a child
and they needed some cash to help them along mrs. Degnan asked him how Marianne was and he said she was tip-top the
first person to be called to the stand was mrs. Pauline Reinhart she was dressed in all black as if in morning
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 in the strange week that followed their wedding she explained how
she had traveled to Staten Island to seem that week but he was nowhere to be found
Pauline described to the court how laughter 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 Marianne Teigen whom Reinhardt said he was with prior to marrying her Pauline said she'd never heard of nor
met anyone of that name she also told the court that the first she heard of her husband's stay in prison for
stealing was that day there was much she didn't know about him Edward and Marianne Reinhardt Staten Island
landlords mr. and mrs. her born then took the stand they said Edward and Marianne were a volatile couple the
landlord's often overheard arguments where Marianne would say Reinhart 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
Marianne had confided in her landlords that she feared her husband the evening of July 19 was the last time the
landlord saw or heard from Marianne 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 landlord's that Marianne had already left for her mother's place
the landlord saw Reinhart willing out a barrel that was covered with a piece of carpet others also saw Reinhart pushing
a barrel in 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 tima said he saw
Reinhardt with the barrel in the woods by Silverlake upon Reinhart's returned to the house the landlords thought he
seemed noticeably calm relaxed and happy [Music] 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
Brian Hart claimed that Marianne 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 Brian had 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 Degnan 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
Wilbur O Brien heart said he often pushed wheelbarrows for the candy store and he was pushing one to Silverlake
that day to collect firewood the physician dr. William Wales our 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 Maryanne Reinhardt
died in the act of childbirth as was the initial conclusion whether Bourdon at the hands of abortionists or natural
premature labour how did the landlord's 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. wells er quote the compression of the nerves at the base of the skull undoubtedly caused death
within fifteen minutes and prevented the woman from making any outcry or struggle
it was the only cause of death the defense loudly objected stating the doctor must have examined a completely
different skull to the one found in the barrel at Silver Lake dr. wells are applied 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 went down at the back
knowing that inside was the skull of the mysterious woman in the barrel who everyone now believed was Maryanne
Reinhard that day in front of the court what remained of Marianne Reinhardt once
again it seemed 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 Nike on 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 Edouard Reinhard 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 Reinhard was refused bail and kept in
jail that day while Reinhardt was facing the judge the jail keeper entity salt 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
hold 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 the adjoining sole 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
Eduard Reinhardt salt 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 Reinhard 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 Marianne's death was of natural
causes during childbirth or issuer's killed at the hands of her husband Edward Reinhart changed his story at the
criminal trial he claimed that on July 18 he had put Maryanne Reinhard on a morning ferry to Manhattan to visit an
unnamed doctor to obtain medicine in order to abort her baby Maryanne returned that evening the
following day Edward Reinhardt said maryann fell ill with terrible stomach pains after taking the medicine he said
she died between 11:00 p.m. 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 that the evidence was heard the
judge proposed the following questions to the jury had Reinhardt bestowed his affections on another woman did he have
to while some machines and was their motive to rid himself of the first with his predicament motive for the crime was
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
took just 40 minutes to reach a verdict Ryan Hart was brought back into the court and passed the line of jurors who
are 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 a chance at 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
dinner 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
has no jury member knew who had been elected Foreman they all looked the 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 Brian Hart 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 Seoul 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 stage 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 1891 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 the Mary Ann's family made no effort to attend the night before Reinhardt had stayed up until
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
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 hushed slow tones as the heavy and bitterly cold rain fell hard on to 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 four feet he swayed a few moments as if lifeless then tried to raise his hands he pressed
these nails into his palms struggled a little and died the story you just heard was
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Case 73: The Lady in the Barrel

September 15th, 1878 was a cooler than average 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...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anna Priestland Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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Brief Summary

The episode covers the 1878 murder case of the "Lady in the Barrel" in Staten Island, revealing shocking details about the victim and the suspect.

Key points

A Gruesome Discovery. Teenage boys stumble upon a barrel containing a human arm, leading to a shocking investigation.
The Mysterious Woman in the Barrel. In 1878, a woman's body was found in a barrel, sparking a dark investigation.
Identifying the Victim. Coroner Dempsey faces challenges in identifying the woman found in the barrel.
The Chilling Discovery. Dempsey uncovers a chilling resemblance between Mary Ann and a mysterious woman in a barrel.
The Shocking Verdict. After a brief deliberation, the jury finds Reinhardt guilty of murder in the first degree.
The Execution Day. On January 14, 1881, Edward Reinhardt faces his final moments as the crowd gathers.

Episode highlights

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17:49WatchNov 20, 2018

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Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.