18 1926 newspapers HALL MILLS MURDER TRIAL + EDERLEswim

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SEE PHOTO----- COMPLETE lot of 18 consecutively dated issues of a newspaper, the Bennington Daily Banner (VERMONT) dated from Aug 2-21, 1926. These were at one time bound together in a library bound volume of newspapers. The run is complete with all newspapers present between the dates listed above. Sunday issues were never bound into the volume.

Contents include:

Prominent front page headings with day-by-day coverage of the investigation into the famous HALL MILLS MURDER CASE that was committed in New Jersey in 1922 and the indictments handed down in the case.

Prominent front page heading with coverage of GERTRUDE EDERLE, the first woman to swim across the English Channel (from France to England).

This is a real TIME MACHINE that takes the reader back 83 years !! Great gift for a crime colector or someone born in 1926.

The Hall-Mills murder case involved the death of an Episcopal priest and a member of his choir on September 14, 1922, while they were having an affair. The suspected murderers were the priest's wife and her brothers, but they were never convicted.

On September 16, 1922, 15-year-old Pearl Bahmer (1907-?) was walking with 23-year-old Raymond Schneider (1899-1972) along a secluded lovers' lane called De Russey's Lane (now Franklin Boulevard) in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey when they came across the dead bodies of a man and a woman. They went to the home of Edward Stryker and telephoned the police.

Police arrive

Officer James Curran and Patrolman Edward Garrigan were dispatched. The two bodies were on their backs and both were shot in the head with a .32-calibre pistol, the man once and the woman three times. The bullet entered the man's head over his right ear and exited through the back of his neck. The woman was shot under the right eye, over the right temple and over the right ear. Garrigan noticed that the woman's throat had been severed and maggots were already in the wound, indicating the death occurred at least 24 hours earlier. The bodies appeared to have been positioned side by side after death. Both of the bodies had their feet pointing toward a crab apple tree. The man had a hat covering his face and his calling card was placed at his feet. Torn up love letters were placed between the bodies. Initial confusion was created because the crime scene was near the Middlesex County and Somerset County border. New Brunswick, New Jersey (Middlesex County) police arrived first, but the crime scene was in Somerset County. Curiosity-seekers trampled the scene and took souvenirs as the jurisdictional issue was being settled. Evidence was severely compromised, including Hall's calling card being passed among the crowd.

The woman's body

The woman was identified as Eleanor Reinhardt (born 1888), the wife of James E Mills (1878-1965). She was wearing a blue dress with red polka dots, black silk stockings, and brown shoes. She had worn a blue velvet hat that was on the ground near her body, and her brown silk scarf was wrapped around her throat. Her arm had a bruise and there was a tiny cut on her lip. Her left hand had been positioned, after death, to touch the man's right thigh. An autopsy four years later showed that her tongue had been cut out.

Eleanor Reinhardt (1888-1922) wife of James Mills, and murder victim

The man's body

The man was identified as Edward Wheeler Hall (born 1881), a New Brunswick Episcopal priest. He was found with his right arm positioned, after death, to touch the woman's neck. His hat covered his face, which concealed the gun wound to his head. He wore a pair of glasses. There was a small bruise on the tip of his ear and abrasions were found on his left little-finger and right index-finger. A wound was found five inches (127 mm) below his kneecap on the calf of his right leg. His watch was missing and there were coins in his pocket.

Investigation

The suspects were Hall's wife Frances Noel Stevens (1874-1942) and her two brothers, Henry Hewgill Stevens (1869-1939); and William "Willie" Carpender Stevens (1872-1942). The original 1922 investigation by Joseph E. Stricker (?-1926) led to no indictments. Continued speculation in the New York Daily Mirror, fuelled by comments made by a man associated with one of Mrs Hall's housekeepers, led the then New Jersey governor A. Harry Moore to order a second investigation and a trial in 1926. This time, Henry de la Bruyere Carpender, a cousin of the brothers, was also named as a suspect but was cleared before the main trial of the original suspects.

Trial

The trial began on November 3, 1926 in the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville, New Jersey with Charles W. Parker presiding as judge, and it lasted about 30 days. It garnered huge national attention in the newspapers and on radio, largely because of the social status of the wealthy Stevens and Carpender families. The prosecuting attorney was Alexander Simpson, and the attorney for the defense was Robert H. McCarter, a former New Jersey Attorney General. Raymond C. Stryker (1883-1955) was the foreman of the jury, and Joseph A Faurot (1874-1942) was the testifying fingerprint expert.

The prosecution's key witness, Jane Gibson, was unreliable and changed details of the story each time she told it. Her account varied when told to the police, the newspapers, and at her trial testimony which came from a hospital bed rolled into the court room. Frances Stevens Hall and her two brothers had the motive and the means for the murder, but there was not enough evidence to convict them.

Gertrude Caroline Ederle (October 23, 1905 – November 30, 2003) was an American competitive swimmer. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

Gertrude Ederle, 1930

Her famous cross-channel swim began at Cap Gris-Nez in France at 07:05 on the morning of August 6, 1926. Fourteen hours and 30 minutes later, she came ashore at Kingsdown, Kent, England. Her record stood until Florence Chadwick swam the channel in 1950 in 13 hours and 20 minutes.

Very Good condition. This listing includes the complete run of newspapers between the 2 dates described above. These are bound together but lack hard covers. STEPHEN A. GOLDMAN HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is an original newspaper printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description. U.S. buyers pay priority mail postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect your purchase from damage in the mail. This is a heavy lot of newspapers and postage will have to be figured out when we know to where the volume is to be shipped. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package. Please note that insurance is optional but is highly recommended as once package is in the mail buyer accepts all responsibility for any loss or damage while in transit. We accept payment by PAYPAL as well as by CREDIT CARD (Visa and Master Card) through secure on-line PROPAY. We list hundreds of rare newspapers with dates from 1570 through 2004 on Ebay each week and we ship packages twice a week. This is truly SIX CENTURIES OF HISTORY that YOU CAN OWN!

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Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers has been in the business of buying and selling historical newspapers for over 40 years. The 2 principals in this business are Dr. Stephen A. Goldman and Mr. Eric C. Caren. Dr. Goldman is a consultant to the Freedom Forum Newseum and a member of the American Antiquarian Society. Mr. Caren ( the Caren Archive, Inc.) is a consultant to the Freedom Forum Newseum, a member of the American Antiquarian Society, and a former board member of the Ephemera Society. You can buy with confidence from us, knowing that we stand behind all of our historical items with a 100% money back guarantee. Let our 40 + years of experience work for YOU ! We have hundreds of thousands of historical newspapers (and their very early precursers) for sale.

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