A KEROSENE MURDER
Our first case takes place on May 29th in 1874 and you guessed it… A KEROSENE MURDER takes place in Toledo, Ohio, in the fifth ward.
Mrs. Charles Hoover made a fire this morning in a wood stove, and after the kindling blazed poured on coal oil from a large can, thinking it would hasten the burning of an obstinate fire.
This resulted in an explosion and Mrs. Charles Hoover was fatally burned, as you can imagine.
Her husband, Charles, immediately covered her over with a feather-bed, and many pails of water were used before the fire could be put out. Mrs. Hoover’s front clothing was burned entirely off, as also her person from head to foot. The flesh from her upper parts was burned off to the naked bone. She did not live to see the morning, leaving behind four children and a nursing baby. Mr. Hoover, in his endeavors to save his wife, was also badly burned.
CHOKED TO DEATH
Our second case is one that we unfortunately hear far too often in the Toledo, Ohio area.
We are going back to September 2, 1895 in Monroe, Michigan with the case of “Choked to Death” .
We find Mrs. Jane Merrill, a wealthy colored woman of Monroe, Michigan missing. She had been missing since July 5th, 1895.
By September 7th, 1895, the mystery of her disappearance was cleared up by the discovery of the badly decomposed body of Mrs. Merrill in a brush heap on the farm.
John Larkins was immediately arrested for MURDER.
September 14, 1895 found new evidence against Enos Larkins who was suspected of forging and murdering Mrs. Jane Merrill was received by John O. Zabel, lawyer in regards to a letter purporting to have been written by Mrs. Jane Morrill, Larkins’ alleged victim, of Perrysburg, Ohio on September 3rd. The letter stated that Mrs. Merrill had married John Adams and she did not care for her pension any longer and would turn over the balance to Enos Larkins. She also turned over to Larkins a note against a Petersburg man. It is known that Enos was in Petersburg on September 2nd, making him a prime suspect.
On September 22, 1895 Mrs. Enos Larkins confesses that she killed Mrs. Jane Merrill, her husband’s benefactor, whose bones were found in a funeral pyre built to hide the evidences of the crime.
Mrs. Larkins says that Mrs. Merrill came to her house in the evening to collect rent, and abused both Mr. and Mrs. Larkins.
Mrs. Larkins started a quarrel with Mrs. Jane Merrill and threw a stick of wood, striking Mrs. Merrill on the side of the head, killing her instantly.
Then, Enos dragged the body to the woods where a grave was dug that very night. The body was finally buried in the woods a few days after the incident occurred.
Mrs. Merrill’s household goods were moved out of the Merrill house to make people think she had moved away. Mrs. Larkins admits to impersonating the murdered woman, writing the lease mortgage to John A. Zabel, signing Mrs. Merrill’s name, asking him to turn over all her papers in his possession to Enos Larkins.
read more:
www.thegenealogyinvestigator.com/blog/choking
DISCLAIMER: This episode is subject to graphic content due to the nature of the true crime stories as told by newspaper articles in this era and reiterated by Kelley Amstutz, Crime Travel host. View discretion is advised for younger listeners.
A KEROSENE MURDER
Our first case takes place on May 29th in 1874 and you guessed it… A KEROSENE MURDER takes place in Toledo, Ohio, in the fifth ward.
Mrs. Charles Hoover made a fire this morning in a wood stove, and after the kindling blazed poured on coal oil from a large can, thinking it would hasten the burning of an obstinate fire.
This resulted in an explosion and Mrs. Charles Hoover was fatally burned, as you can imagine.
Her husband, Charles, immediately covered her over with a feather-bed, and many pails of water were used before the fire could be put out. Mrs. Hoover’s front clothing was burned entirely off, as also her person from head to foot. The flesh from her upper parts was burned off to the naked bone. She did not live to see the morning, leaving behind four children and a nursing baby. Mr. Hoover, in his endeavors to save his wife, was also badly burned.
CHOKED TO DEATH
Our second case is one that we unfortunately hear far too often in the Toledo, Ohio area.
We are going back to September 2, 1895 in Monroe, Michigan with the case of “Choked to Death” .
We find Mrs. Jane Merrill, a wealthy colored woman of Monroe, Michigan missing. She had been missing since July 5th, 1895.
By September 7th, 1895, the mystery of her disappearance was cleared up by the discovery of the badly decomposed body of Mrs. Merrill in a brush heap on the farm.
John Larkins was immediately arrested for MURDER.
September 14, 1895 found new evidence against Enos Larkins who was suspected of forging and murdering Mrs. Jane Merrill was received by John O. Zabel, lawyer in regards to a letter purporting to have been written by Mrs. Jane Morrill, Larkins’ alleged victim, of Perrysburg, Ohio on September 3rd. The letter stated that Mrs. Merrill had married John Adams and she did not care for her pension any longer and would turn over the balance to Enos Larkins. She also turned over to Larkins a note against a Petersburg man. It is known that Enos was in Petersburg on September 2nd, making him a prime suspect.
On September 22, 1895 Mrs. Enos Larkins confesses that she killed Mrs. Jane Merrill, her husband’s benefactor, whose bones were found in a funeral pyre built to hide the evidences of the crime.
Mrs. Larkins says that Mrs. Merrill came to her house in the evening to collect rent, and abused both Mr. and Mrs. Larkins.
Mrs. Larkins started a quarrel with Mrs. Jane Merrill and threw a stick of wood, striking Mrs. Merrill on the side of the head, killing her instantly.
Then, Enos dragged the body to the woods where a grave was dug that very night. The body was finally buried in the woods a few days after the incident occurred.
Mrs. Merrill’s household goods were moved out of the Merrill house to make people think she had moved away. Mrs. Larkins admits to impersonating the murdered woman, writing the lease mortgage to John A. Zabel, signing Mrs. Merrill’s name, asking him to turn over all her papers in his possession to Enos Larkins.
read more:
www.thegenealogyinvestigator.com/blog/choking
DISCLAIMER: This episode is subject to graphic content due to the nature of the true crime stories as told by newspaper articles in this era and reiterated by Kelley Amstutz, Crime Travel host. View discretion is advised for younger listeners.