Postmortem Family Photos: The Keller Family

 

 

This photo is owned by Thanatos.net as you can clearly see on this, and every other copy of this photo in existence.

In the Victorian era, postmortem photography, also known as ‘mourning portraiture’ was a common practice. Often, these photographs would be sent to family across the country with the expectation that they would be proudly displayed as a way to remember the deceased. Due to the extremely high cost of film in the nineteenth century, death was often one of the few occasions deemed important enough to photograph a relative or friend and violent death resulting in disfigurement was not cause to forgo the photo op. These photos ranged from a portrait of only the deceased subject, to an entire family posing with one, sometimes more than one member who had recently passed. If an entire family was killed in a tragic event, the outcome was a rare, postmortem family photo.
At 8:30pm on January 25,1895 Adolph Hickstein, a piano maker, was playing games with his family in the living room of their home located at 10 1/2 Burt Avenue in Auburn, New York. At 8:30pm the entire family heard a gun shot followed by a cry for help in the residence of their neighbors, the Kellers, who lived at 10 Burt Ave. Immediately, Adolph and his wife rushed next door to investigate. The Hicksteins found the kitchen door open and lying there in the doorway, the body of 30-year-old Emil Keller. As soon as the Hicksteins made the grisly discovery, a second gunshot was heard. Adolph entered the bedroom where he discovered Mary Keller, 29,  with her lower body in the bed and her head leaned over the crib of the couple’s nine month old daughter, Anna. There was a large amount of blood coming from Mrs. Keller’s forehead and a 22 caliber revolver clutched in her right hand.

  An article published the following day in The Auburn Bulletin described the grisly discovery in horrific detail, “Going into the bedroom Mr. Hickstein was horrified to see Mrs. Keller, her lower extremities in the bed and her head in the crib of her infant by her bedside, the blood issuing from her forehead. The clothes of the child were in flames which Mr. Hickstein quickly extinguished. Neither he nor his wife, even at that time, entirely comprehended the horrible spectacle presented.” After the fire which was burning nine-month-old Anna’s clothing had been put out, Adolph ran to the residence of Ferdinand Sibus at 24 Elizabeth Street and informed the Sibus family, who had been close with the Kellers, of the grim discovery. Accompanied by Mr. Sibus and a small group of neighbors, Adolph Hickstein returned to the Kellers’ home, the police arriving soon after. A group of men raised Emil Keller’s dead body from the floor and found he had a bullet hole in his left side. They then moved the upper-half of Mary Keller’s body into the bed and found she was still breathing despite a self-inflicted gunshot wound located just above her right temple. Doctors Sheldon Voorhees and J.M. Jenkins who tended to the Keller Family knew there was no chance of recovery for Mrs. Keller. Mrs. Sibus found Anna Keller in the crib next to her mother, crying; She wrapped the baby up and took her back to the Sibus’ residence but shortly after arriving, Mrs. Sibus discovered the baby had been shot on the right side of her stomach and hastily returned to the crime scene where doctors were present. A large crowd of curious and concerned neighbors began to gather outside the Keller home, offering to assist in any way they could. Police asked the crowd to disperse and an ambulance was called to transport Mary Keller to the  hospital while Dr. Voorhees drove baby Anna Keller to the same hospital in his own car. When Mary Keller arrived at the hospital, no time was wasted in calling Coroner Tripp to take Mrs. Keller to Gross’ undertaking rooms. Mrs. Keller was still alive when she arrived at the funeral home, clinging to life until midnight. Anna Keller was made as comfortable as possible at the hospital, but she was not expected to survive the bullet which had penetrated her right lung and exited the left side of her body. She died the day following the incident at 6:00pm.
Emil and Mary Keller had left their native Zurich, Switzerland five years before the fatal tragedy. First living in Philadelphia, then Washington D.C., Emil was a talented gardener whose work attracted a lot of attention. He moved with his wife to Auburn, New York two years before his murder to work for Mrs. D. M. Osborne, mainly tending to trees in the greenhouse at her residence. When Emil left for work every evening at 8:30 pm, Mrs. Keller would already be in bed asleep. Every evening before he left his home for the Osborne residence, he would go into the bedroom and kiss Mary goodbye. Investigators believe on the night of the murder/suicide, Mary shot Emil as he kissed her. Emil cried for help as he stumbled 35 feet (10 meters) to the kitchen door, on his way to find assistance before collapsing on the floor. This was the gunshot and cry for help The Hickstein Family had heard from their  next door apartment. As they raced to the Keller residence, Mary leaned over her daughter’s crib and aimed the gun at Anna’s heart but slightly missed, her clothes being lit on fire by the blast. Mr. and Mrs. Hickstein entered the residence as Mary Keller turned the gun on herself. According to their friends and neighbors, Emil and Mary Keller loved each other and had a wonderful relationship. One friend of the couple described Mary as, “the perfect lady”; She was well-educated, an expert in the piano, violin and zither and well-trained in many other musical instruments; The two had shared a passion and talent for music. However, people also said Mary Keller was insane. One week to the day before the murder/suicide took place, Mary had just arrived home from a hospital where she had spent the last four weeks. Her physician, Dr. Hickey said when admitted, Mrs. Keller “did not talk rationally” and “was all run down, restless and could not sleep. She showed evidence of insanity in that particular but was not violent. Despite the fact that she was not violent and did not  make any threats, doctors “thought best to have her undergo treatment”. During Mary Keller’s stay in the hospital, her daughter, Anna Keller stayed with her. Emil Keller boarded with the Sibus’s during the month his wife was in treatment and it seems the family moved homes one week before Mary Keller’s release from the hospital. Previously, the couple had resided at No. 96 South Street and according to reports, had not entirely moved into their new home at the time of their unfortunate deaths. When Mrs. Keller returned home after four weeks of treatment, locals believed it to not be in the best judgment of Doctor Hickey. One doctor at the hospital told reporters he believed Mrs. Keller had needed, “Several months of quiet and rest to recover fully from her run-down condition.”. Emil Keller was happy his wife was back according to Mr. Sibus and said that after she returned, “she was bright and cheerful to her husband and to her friends.”.
A coroner’s inquest took place on the day after the murder/suicide in Undertaker Gross’ funeral home with jurors F. Sibus, Vol Astman, John S. Duanigan, Richard Boehme, William Doyle and James W. Pratt, H. Fliachman. The first witness called was Mrs. Emma Boehme, the wife of Juryman Boehme. She had been hired by Mrs. Keller to assist with the housework. “Mrs. Keller cried hard yesterday morning”, began Mrs. Boehme, “and said she had a stone in her stomach. She was very good and loving and threw her arms about my neck and kissed me. She was in her night dress ready to go to bed and I was talking with her husband when I left. I did the washing the day before. She took care of the baby.”. Next, Dr. J. M. Jenkins was called to provide his findings on the death of Emil Keller; Investigators discovered a hole through his clothing above his heart. The shot had penetrated his heart but Dr. Jenkins was certain he could have been alive for some time before succumbing to his injury. Officer Benjamin B. Roseboom then provided his account of the evening, “I reached the house about the time Mr. Silbus and some others entered. Found Mr. Keller on the floor dead and Mrs. Keller in the bedroom partly out of the bed with the revolver in her hand. Took it out and put it in my pocket. The smoke was fresh in the room at the time I arrived. Heard the neighbors and others say she was insane. The baby was in the crib crying when I entered the home. When Dr. Voorhees arrived he said that the woman could not live.”. Fred Meyer, a piano tuner, then testified that on the morning of the murder/suicide he had been to the Keller’s. He claimed that after he had tuned the piano, Mrs. Keller began playing the piano mechanically and “crying bitterly”. When he questioned her, she asked to change the subject then cheered up and told him she felt well. Fred Meyer that although the family was always happy and pleasant, Mary was always worried for the safety of her child, “very fearful that something might happen to it.”. The couple had a child together several years before Anna was born but the infant died after only thirteen days. This could have greatly contributed to Mary’s fear for Anna and her alleged “insanity”. John Thomas of Burt Avenue was called next to give his testimony. When the Kellers had first moved to Auburn, New York, they had lived with Mr. Thomas for a few weeks. He said, “They were always happy. She was a perfect lady.”, before revealing the reason behind Mary’s hospitalization and the family’s sudden move, “I met Mr. Keller on Christmas and wished him a Merry Christmas. He said it was a bad Christmas for him, that his wife was at the hospital. I asked what was the matter. He said that she was out of her mind, that she imagined someone was in the house and was going to kill her and the baby. He said he would get her out of that house as soon as possible. I met him yesterday and he said that his wife was feeling better but it would take some time before she would be well again.”. The inquest adjourned for 45 minutes after John Thomas’s testimony because bizarrely, Dr. Voorhees had wandered off and could not be found. Where he was found remains a mystery; A mystery which will haunt me to the day I die (I spent over an hour searching for the answer to that). With Dr. Voorhees located, Coroner Tripp turned things over to the jury who agreed, “That the deceased came to his death by means of a ball from a pistol at the hands of Mary Keller.”, but made no mention of the mental state they suspected her to be in at the time.

The Keller Family Grave, Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York

The Keller Family funeral took place two days after the murder at 8:30pm at the Universalist Church. The casket was special ordered, 4 inches (10cm) deeper and 9 inches (23cm) wider than an ordinary coffin so that Mary, Emil and Anna could be buried together. The bodies were thoughtfully placed so as to hide any wounds; Mary’s head rests on Emil’s left shoulder in order to hide the gunshot wound above her right temple and the slight discoloration of her right eye.

Below is the original article from The Auburn Bulletin reporting the incident, courtesy of FultonHistory.com

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If you enjoyed this article, you might also like Life Before Death: Overcoming the Fear of Death Through Modern Postmortem Photography, Burying the Dead is Killing the Planet, Everybody Poops: The Postmortem Edition, and Pray the Decay Away: Incorruptible Corpses and Other Forms of Natural Postmortem Preservation

 

  
  
  
  

Cause of Death: Spontaneous Human Combustion & Other Stories of SHC

The body of Robert Francis Bailey

Robert Francis Bailey

At 5:19am on September 13, 1967 emergency services were called when a concerned citizen walking to work noticed a bright light coming from inside an abandoned home at 49 Auckland Street in Lambeth, South London. When the fire department arrived at 5:24am they discovered the burning body of Robert Francis Bailey, a local homeless alcoholic. One of the responding firefighters reported, “When we entered the building he [Robert Francis Baily] was lying on the bottom of the stairs half-turned on his left side and his knees were drawn up as though he was trying to bend the pain from his stomach”. Baily had been conscious as he burned to death and there was evidence to suggest he had been convulsing in agony as the fire consumed him. He had bitten into the post on the stairs which was made of solid mahogany and his teeth were embedded so deeply into the wood that his mouth had to be pried open by the fire department in order to remove his body. The firefighter described what he had witnessed, “There was about a four inch slit in his stomach and the flame was emanating from that four inch slit like a blow torch. It was a blue flame. The flame was actually coming from the body itself. From inside the body. He was burning literally from the inside out. And it was definitely under preassure. And it was impinging on the timber flooring below the body, so much so that the heat from the flame was charred into the woodwork.”. The only fire damage in the house was on the floor, directly below where the body had been burning. Aside from the abdomen where the fire had originated, Robert Francis Bailey’s clothes were intact and unaffected by the fire. The fire department put out the flames almost immediately, originally believing Bailey may still have been alive; The job required the use of several fire extinguishers and was incredibly difficult. Robert Francis Bailey’s original cause of death was determined to be “asphyxia due to inhalation of fire fumes” but after reviewing the case further his death was deemed to have been due to “unknown causes”.

Michael Faherty

The home of Michael Faherty

Seventy-six year old MichaelFaherty was found dead in his home in Clareview Park, Ballybane, Galway, Ireland on December 22, 2010 after his neighbor, Mr.Mannion was awoken by a fire alarm and noticed smoke coming from Faherty’s house. The official cause of death for Michael Faherty was “spontaneous combustion.”. Quite frankly, of all claims of SHC I find it very odd that this is the one investigators chose to officially name as a real case of spontaneous human combustion.

The body of Michael Faherty

While no accelerants were found and the fire that consumed Mr. Faherty had only damaged the floor directly beneath and the ceiling directly above the body, he was found with his head next to an open and active fireplace. A lead official working on the case stated, “The fire was thoroughly investigated and I’m left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion for which there is no adequate explanation.”.

Dr. John Irving Bentley

From 1925-1953 John Irving Bentley had worked as a family physician in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. He had suffered a fractured hip in 1947 which affected his mobility and had caused him to be infirm in his senior years. Dr. Bentley remained in Coudersport where he was friendly with many residents which he had served as physician to before his retirement. On December 4, 1966, ninety-two year old John Irving Bentley received visitors who left at around 9pm that evening.

The home of Dr. John Irving Bentley

The following morning, Don Gosnell, meter reader with the North Penn Gas Company arrived at Dr. Bentley’s two-story home on Main Street and let himself in, as usual due to the ninety-two year old’s immobility. When he entered the house, Don Gosnell noticed a light blue smoke and a strange smell which was “somewhat sweet, like starting up a new oil-burning system.”. After going into the basement to read the meter he saw there was a pile of ash on the floor. Concerned about the strange conditions in which he found the home, he set off to search for Dr. Bentley. Don Gosnell found the upstairs bedroom filled with smoke and in the bathroom he discovered the doctor’s remains.

The body of Dr. John Irving Bentley

All that was left of John Irving Bentley was the lower half of his right leg, still wearing a slipper and his walker on top of a 2 1/2 by 4 foot hole burned into the floor. Dr. Bentley’s ashes had fallen through this hole and into the basement. Terrified, Don Gosnell ran back to the gas company screaming, “Doctor Bentley’s burned up!” and coworkers later said, “He [Don Gosnell] looked as white as a sheet.”. Aside from the hole burned into the floor, there were few signs of fire damage. The nearby tub was nearly unscathed and the rubber tips on Dr. Bentley’s walker were intact. Found inside the bathtub was Dr. Bentley’s burned robe and in the toilet were the remnants of “what was apparently a water pitcher.”. The official cause of death was recorded as “death by asphyxiation and 90 percent burning of the body”. It is theorized that Dr. Bentley had set fire to himself in his bedroom with his pipe and went into the bathroom in an attempt to extinguish the flames, becoming unconscious before he could do so. While this theory is plausible considering Dr. Bentley was an avid pipe smoker and his robe showed signs of multiple previous accidents with hot ash, his pipe was found sitting neatly in its stand by his bedside as though it had not been used anytime recently. The fire which consumed Dr. Bentley is estimated to have burned at 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, a common element of supposed cases of spontaneous human combustion.

Helen Conway
On the evening of November 7, 1964 Helen Conway was babysitting the two children of her daughter and son-in-law overnight at her home in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The following morning at 8:42am Helen Conway’s granddaughter, Stephanie delivered a book of matches to her invalid grandmother upstairs upon request. Very shortly thereafter, Helen Conway’s neighbor who was leaving for church noticed an odd glow coming from inside the upstairs window of 527 Argyll Road and came to the house to investigate. The heat was so intense she was unable to make it upstairs and called the fire department. As firefighters searched the smoke-filled room at 8:48am one of them stuck his hand “into something greasy” which tuned out to be the remains of Helen Conway.

The body of Helen Conway

All that was left of her were her legs from the knee-down. Her lower legs and feet were unburnt but blistered. Two blisters broke on her leg during examination; they were wet but did not leak fluid. This is a clear indication that the 51-year-old widow was alive as she burned. Her left arm, which had burned down to the bone still had a bracelet eerily dangling from it. The only major signs of fire damage was on the chair Helen Conway sat in as she burned to death. A telephone sitting on a nearby table had begun to melt but a pack of cigarettes on the same table were not affected. Sheets on the bed in the adjoining bedroom were spotless but the television set sitting on a dresser had melted while a highly flammable doll sitting next to the TV was nearly untouched. Helen Conway was a very heavy smoker and was a bit careless with her cigarettes. Multiple cigarette burns were found on furniture in her bedroom. One theory suggests Helen Conway lit herself on fire while smoking. As the chair she sat in became progressively charred the top broke off and fell backwards, taking the upper portion of Helen Conway’s body with it. Investigators believed “The Wick Effect” was the cause of her death. The Wick Effect is a commonly use to explain potential spontaneous human combustion. Under this theory, the human body is basically an inside out candle with clothing acting as the wick and human fat as the ignition. While it has been proven to be an explanation for some believed cases of SHC, it takes seven hours to destroy a human body. Obviously, this explanation would be highly feasible if it weren’t for one teeny tiny little detail… The fire that consumed the majority of Helen Conway’s body and burned at 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit began and ended in six minutes. No accelerants were used; Her death was originally considered to be foul play due to the rate and intensity at which the fire burned.

Mary Reeser
Around 8am on July 2, 1951 Pansy Carpenter went to deliver a telegram and a cup of coffee to her tenant Mary Reeser. After discovering the doorknob to her home was burning hot, Pansy asked for the help of two painters working nearby to assist in opening the door. When they finally entered, the three were met with a gust of hot air. The home showed some signs of fire but Mrs. Reeser was nowhere to be found. There was a bit of a bit of smoke and a small fire still burning on a beam which separated the bedroom from the kitchenette. Emergency services were called and discovered the body of Mary Reeser. All that remained of her was her left foot still wearing a black satin slipper, a charred liver fused to a fragment of vertebrae and a shrunken skull which was approximately the size of a teacup.

The remains of Mary Reeser

The 170lb. woman had been reduced to a pile of remains weighing less that 10lbs. Dr. Wilton Krogman, the leading American forensic expert on the subject of death by fire at that time was called in to study the case. In 25 years of working in his field, Dr. Krogman was baffled by the shrunken skull. In deaths by burning, the skull expands from the heat and literally explodes. While it is not uncommon for the skull to shrink in claims of SHC (one of many elements that makes these cases so intriguing), it is absolutely unheard of in any burning deaths outside of these rare phenomena. The chair Mary Reeser was sitting in at the time of her death had been burned until all that was left of it was some coils from its interior but a nearby pile of newspapers was untouched by the fire. A mirror on the wall had cracked due to the intense heat and many appliances in the home had melted; Otherwise, the home was generally unaffected by the fire which is estimated to have burned at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Local investigators in St. Petersburg, Florida were so stumped by the case that Police Chief J.R. Reichert sent a box of evidence to J. Edgar Hoover containing glass fragments found in the ashes, a section of carpet, the unburnt shoe from Mrs. Reeser’s remaining foot and six “small objects thought to be teeth” along with a note which read, “We request any information or theories that could explain how a human body could be so destroyed and the fire confined to such a small area and so little damage done to the structure of the building and furniture in the room not even scorched or damaged by smoke.”. The case of Mary Reeser was so astounding J. Edgar Hoover even discussed the case with President Harry S. Truman before replying to the St. Petersburg Police. On August 8, the FBI ruled Mary Reeser’s death to have been due to “The Wick Effect” saying that Mrs. Reeser had taken her regular dose of sleeping pills and fell asleep while smoking a cigarette in her armchair. They claimed the rayon nightgown, robe and bedroom slippers she was last seen alive in the previous evening by her son and a neighbor acted as a wick and her body fat kept the fire going until she had been completely consumed. Those who worked on the case up-close-and-personal strongly disagreed with the FBI’s explanation. Experts asserted there is no way a fire started by a cigarette could create a blaze of that intensity. Dr. Wilton Krogman vehemently protested the FBI’s theory and said throughout his life that the case, particularly the shrunken skull, haunted him. As previously mentioned, the Wick Effect takes seven hours to consume a body. While there is no way to know for sure when the fire that killed Mary Reeser began, we get a pretty good idea from a clock in the room which stopped at 2:26am, presumably due to the heat from the fire. Pansy Carpenter, Mrs. Reeser’s landlady said she awoke that morning to the smell of smoke at around 5:00am. She believed it to be caused by the water pump in the garage overheating again. She got up, turned it off, and returned to bed. If the fire began shortly before 2:26am and raged on until just before Pansy Carpenter entered Mrs. Reeser’s apartment, that would be approximately seven hours; However, the FBI’s theory doesn’t quite add up. If Mary Reeser took sleeping pills on a regular basis, one would assume she took them quite a bit earlier in the evening.

Mary Reeser

Remember, this was a 67-year-old woman in 1951 whose landlady delivered coffee to at 8am. Unfortunately, there are no records of what time Mrs. Reeser’s son and neighbor left her home that evening, but the details given by Pansy Carpenter imply that Mary Reeser was up and out of bed by 8am every morning. For that to be possible when using medication to sleep, Mrs. Reeser would have to take her pills by midnight each evening, no later. If she had, in fact, taken the pills at her usual time and fallen asleep while smoking it would mean the ember which supposedly fell into her clothes remained inactive for about two hours before starting a fire which grew to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Some put the time of the clock stopping between 4:00am and 4:20am (we’re going with 2:26 because that time is cited in books and I trust books more that the internet) and if that is the case, there certainly would not have been enough time for Mary Reeser’s body to be destroyed to the point it was by way of the Wick Effect. More bizarrely, why would J. Edgar Hoover consult the President on the matter, not simply inform him of it. All these little details that don’t quite make sense in addition to the fact that no one working on the case outside of the FBI agreed with the Wick Effect theory in the case of Mary Reeser makes it one of the most intriguing examples of SHC to this day. One theory considered in an attempt to “logically” explain her death was that Mary Reeser was murdered… using cremation equipment; However, that theory was let go when it left no explanation for the melted appliances.
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If you enjoyed this article, you might also like A Witness to Spontaneous Combustion and Other Stories of SHC, Evidence Suggests Spontaneous Human Combustion is a Reality, Scientists Have Answered the Question ‘If a Tree Falls in the Forest Does it Make a Sound?‘, Evidence Suggests Sixth Sense in Humans, Pray the Decay Away: Incorruptible Corpses and Other Forms of Natural Post Mortem Preservation, Everybody Poops: The Postmortem Edition, The Zombie Cat Parasite, THE WALKING DEAD: Indonesia and Is Kicking the Bucket for Catholics Only?

Survivors of Spontaneous Human Combustion

In 2013 a 9-day-old infant, “Baby Rahul”, made headlines when his mother, Rajeshwari Karnan admitted him to a local hospital in India to seek treatment for his burns which she claimed were caused by spontaneous combustion. Rahul was discovered lying in his bed, on fire, by a neighbor who heard the child’s screams. Professor R. Jayachandran, Rahul Karnan’s pediatrician believed his burns may have been caused by gasses expelling through his skin and theorized it may be a genetic condition. Twenty-five year old Rajeshwari has an older daughter, Narmatha, who has never suffered a believed instance of SHC. Since Rahul’s initial incident, Rajeshwari claims her son has spontaneously ignited on three other occasions. In January 2015 Rajeshwari Karnan admitted Rahul’s 10-day-old baby brother to Kilpauk Hospital in India after his feet supposedly caught fire while she was in the bath. The unnamed baby’s had burns covering 10% of his feet and had to spend over one month in the hospital recovering. The hospital was incredibly reluctant to release the newborn from the believing one of the parents, most likely Rajeshwari, was suffering from Munchausen by proxy syndrome and had set fire to her own children for attention. “Munchausen Moms”, mothers who harm their children to gain attention and sympathy (usually by way of slowly poisoning their children) have gained infamy in the past few decades as this mental illness which can affect either parent, but usually the mother, has seemingly become more widespread. Hospital dean Narayana Babu stated, “All tests reveal he [unnamed Baby Karnan] is completely normal. The parents went through psychiatric counselling and were found to be normal.”. The Karnans told reporters their community has ostracized them after the repeated burnings of their two children.

Frank Baker claims he has survived repeated instances of “partial spontaneous combustion” which he was diagnosed by a doctor. The doctor who supposedly diagnosed Frank with “partial spontaneous combustion” has never come forward or been mentioned by name. The first time Frank burst into flames, it was witnessed by a close friend. Frank claims he has spontaneously combusted three times since the initial incident. For several years, Frank Baker has been soliciting money for “Spontaneous Combustion Research”. I am not convinced, but here is his story in his own words.

Jack Angel is probably the most well-known survivor of SHC when in fact, he never experienced spontaneous combustion nor did he claim to. On November 12, 1974 Jack Angel was taking a shower in his mobile home in Savannah, Georgia when the water suddenly stopped flowing. When he went to check the water pressure, he was sprayed with scalding hot water. Jack Angel filed a civil-action suit in the Fulton County Superior Court over the burns which he received after being sprayed by the faulty water tank. Somehow, the accounts of this run-of-the-mill lawsuit has morphed into a wildly false story of surviving spontaneous human combustion. Today, people claim Jack Angel fell asleep on a water mattress and awoke to find a hole burnt in his stomach but his clothing intact. During the lawsuit with the water mattress company a doctor confirmed at the trial that Jack Angel had burned from the inside out.
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If you enjoyed this article, you might also like Evidence Suggests Spontaneous Human Combustion is a Reality, A Witness to Spontaneous Human Combustion and Other Stories of SHC, Cause of Death: Spontaneous Human Combustion and Other Stories of SHC and Children Who Remember Dying in Terrorist Attacks in their Past-Life

Where Are They Now? Amarjeet Sada, The World’s Youngest Serial Killer

Amarjeet Sada, World’s Youngest Serial Killer. Murdered three infants in India at the age of 8.

Amarjeet Sada (sometimes referred to as ‘Amardeep’ Sada) is the world’s youngest known serial killer, having committed three murders at the age of 8. Amarjeet was born in 1998 to an impoverished family in Begusaray, Bihar, India; His father is a laborer in the village of Musahri. In 2006 Amarjeet murdered his 6 month old cousin, the daughter of a maternal uncle. Shortly after, he murdered his own 8 month old sister. While Amarjeet’s family and some villagers were aware of the child’s involvement in these two murders, they were considered “family matters” and went unreported. In 2007 Amarjeet killed again, this time a neighbor’s 6 month old daughter named Kushboo. Kushboo’s mother, Chunchun Devi, left her daughter at the village primary school to sleep while she tended to her chores. When she returned, her daughter was gone. Villagers who knew of Amarjeet’s past murders confronted him regarding Kushboo’s disappearance. Amarjeet, seemingly proud of his actions, happily recounted the gory tale of how he killed the infant. He then led villagers to the shallow grave he had dug for Kushboo. Amarjeet told police, “Khapda de mar mar ke sura deliyay” meaning “I killed by beating her with a brick”. He told police he had laid her down in the grass before beginning to smash her face with a brick, then covered the body in grass and leaves before returning to his home. Reportedly, all three murders were conducted in this manner. It is believed he also strangled his two previous victims, which may have been the cause of death prior to beating with a brick. Unfortunately, because his first two murders went unreported and there was no official investigation into them, details remain unclear. Police say, “He [Amarjeet] said he took the children to the fields and hit them with a stone and killed them. He has been charged with the murder [of Kushboo Devi].” Amarjeet was arrested on May 30, 2007 and “spoke little but smiled a lot” when asked about the murders. While being further questioned he, “Just smiled a lot and asked for biscuits.”

 Superintendent Amit Lodha, a resident of Begusarai (90 miles/145 kilometers east of Bihari, the capital of Patna) said Amarjeet Sada appeared to be a psychiatric case. He was evaluated by professionals and found to be suffering from a conduct disorder. Panta-based psychoanalyst Shamshad Hussain found that this conduct disorder causes Amardeep to behave in a sadistic manner. Due to a severe chemical imbalance in Sada’s brain, he receives a sense of gratification from inflicting injuries on others. A psychologist working on his case explained, “such aggression may be hereditary and may be caused because of great chemical upheavals in the brain.”. According to a former psychology professor at Patna University, Sada did not have a sense of right or wrong when he committed the murders due to his conduct disorder. It is believed with medication, levels of chemicals in his brain can be balanced. Ultimately, the boy was charged with murder and tried as a juvenile. Sada’s story lost steam for most of the world after that point so there is not much information available on what became of him. Although Amarjeet’s current status is “unknown”, we can assume from his graphic and proud confession, he was eventually charged with the murder. Since the boy was tried as a juvenile, in accordance to Indian law, he could not have been imprisoned any longer than three years. Due to his mental state at the time the crimes took place, it is possible he served his sentence in a psychiatric institute in lieu of a juvenile detention center. After his sentence had been served, it is also possible that his parents chose to keep him in a mental health facility; However, considering they did not seek mental health for him after either of the first two murders, it is unlikely he received more therapy than was required. Amarjeet Sada would be approximately 17 years old now (no exact date of birth available, only birth year) and more likely than not, a free young man. There are rumors he may have changed his name to ‘Samarjit’, which is common when young children commit a horrendous crime and are later rehabilitated. Hopefully Amarjeet Sada has been, and will continue to be able to manage his conduct disorder through therapy and medication and live a new life under a new name, scrutiny-free.
UPDATE: After writing this article I was contacted by Amarjeet Sada who claims he is currently living in a children’s home in India where he will remain until he is 18 years of age. No other details at this time.
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So I Married the Oldest Axe Murderer: 100 Year Old Hacks Wife to Death in Her Sleep, Commits Suicide

In the late evening of Sunday April 5, 2015, one-hundred year old Michael Juskin of Elmwood Park, New Jersey murdered his 88-year-old wife, Rosalia, with an axe as she slept in her bed on the first floor of their home at 58 Spruce Street. Afterwards, Mr. Juskin killed himself by slitting his wrists with a knife in the first floor bathroom. The bodies of the couple were discovered the following day around 9:00 AM by one of their sons who had come to the house to check on his parents. Michael and Rosalia had three children together (two sons, one daughter) and were long time residents at 58 Spruce Street. When they moved to their neighborhood, their home was one of only a few in Elmwood Park, then called “East Paterson”. Neighbors described the two as “a nice couple” and despite the fact the Juskins mostly kept to themselves and Michael was, “not the type to converse” their neighbors would see them outside tending to their yard together often. Police say, however, the couple had a history of domestic violence and that Rosalia had called 911 on three occasions over the past three years. In March 2012, police were called to the home when Michael Juskin was displaying “erratic, dementia-type behavior” and was taken to the hospital. A family member commented after the murder/suicide, “Sometimes he [Mr. Juskin] was lucid and sometimes he wasn’t.” Again, in the fall of 2013, Rosalia called 911 after an argument between she and her husband regarding the quality of her cooking, among other things which were undisclosed. According to Mrs. Juskin, the argument between she and her husband turned into “harassment” although no signs of abuse were observed by the police. In January 2015, Rosalia made the most unusual call of all from behind a locked door in the basement of their home. Michael Juskin reportedly ignored his wife’s pleas to be let out of the basement which eventually led her to call emergency services. When they arrived, still no signs of domestic abuse were observed and she insisted it was an accident. It is unclear how Mrs. Juskin came to be locked in the basement in the first place, though it is assumed Michael locked the door behind her. After the murder/suicide one of their sons, Nick Juskin, told investigators, “He [Michael Juskin] wasn’t himself. More times than not, he didn’t know where he was. He had Alzheimer’s. He couldn’t hear worth of shit.”, which may explain why he did not respond to his wife’s pleas to be let out of the basement. Emergency workers who responded to that call commented, “He’s 100 years old and she [Mrs. Juskin] chalked it up to that. She didn’t feel it was purposeful.” but it had been the third call to police in three years. Adult protective services were contacted about the incident but did not see the need to intervene in any way. Long-time neighbors of the couple claim Michael had wanted to divorce his wife for decades and approximately one month before the murder/suicide took place, Mr. Juskin made one last attempt at it. Twenty-four year old Alejandra Gonzales who lived across the street from the couple received a visit from Michael Juskin one day. He was insistent that he needed a ride to Paterson in order to meet with a lawyer about divorcing his wife. Gonzales explained, “He was very unhappy; he thought his wife was taking his pension money… He might have thought she was cheating on him.”. Alejandra’s fiancé complied and drove Mr. Juskin to the town of Paterson where a lawyer told him he was elderly and should just “let it go” and enjoy the rest of his life. Mr. Patterson, however, felt differently. Shortly thereafter, he showed up on Gonzales’s doorstep requesting a ride again; This time, he told the lawyer he was only 93. After the second incident, Alejandra contacted one of his sons, who informed her, “He does this all the time. Just don’t do it [drive him to the lawyer’s office] anymore.”. The couple lived part-time in Gulfport, Florida where their daughter is a full-time resident. The Juskins’ daughter urged her mother to come live with her in Florida, away from Michael, asserting, “We know he’s unstable.”, but Mrs. Juskin refused her daughter’s offer. Next door neighbor, 42-year-old Dorta Biskup told reporters, “He didn’t want medicine [for his dementia], he would sometimes drink vodka.” and that Michael could often be heard, “hollering through the door”. Although it is unconfirmed due to pending investigation, it is believed Michael Juskin is the oldest known murderer in the history of the United States, possibly the world. In 2013, only 0.6% of murders were committed by someone aged 75 or older.
This tragedy could have been prevented. If you are in an abusive relationship, even if it is “just” emotionally abusive, as Rosalia Juskin’s was, there are people who can help; Please get out immediately and seek refuge at your nearest Women’s Shelter.
National Domestic Abuse Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (1-800-799-SAFE)
If you are living in another country and need assistance finding resources to escape an abusive relationship, please contact me and I will find resources in or near your own community immediately.
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Chicago Grandmother Murders Infant, Slits Throat with Power Saw Before Attempting Suicide

At approximately 9:30am on Monday, March 9th, 52 year old Manuela Rodriguez murdered her infant granddaughter (reports range 7mo-9mo old) after the baby would not stop crying. According to the autopsy, baby Rose Herrera died due to “blunt force injuries to the head with suffocation from a sock being placed in her mouth a contributing factor.” The incident took place in the Little Village district of Chicago, Illinois on the 2800 block of South Avers Avenue where Manuela lived with her two daughters and their children (one child each). After Herrera had a sock forcibly inserted into her mouth and was severely beaten in the head with a pipe wrench, her throat was slit with a power saw, postmortem. Barry Quinn, assistant to the state’s attorney described, “Visible blunt force trauma to both sides of head, sock shoved into mouth. They [investigators] also observed deep cuts to baby’s neck, throat and chest.” Following the murder, Rodriguez called her sister and admitted to having killed Rose. Rodriguez was found by a relative in her home while in the process of slitting her own throat in an attempt to commit suicide. Although Manuela Rodriguez was on anti-depressants and had recently sought further mental health care, her neighbors say she had never exhibited any bizarre behavior before. Neighbor Maria Gentil said, “She would help everybody and if you needed a glass of milk or something, she would give it to you.” and Raul Chavez stated, “I can’t believe this. I knew them. I knew them real good.”. Manuela Rodriguez has been charged with first degree murder in the death of Rose Herrera and is currently residing in a mental health facility to undergo a full evaluation.

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Infant Dies of Starvation After Mother ODs in Apartment, Bodies Found Two Weeks Later by Infant’s Uncle

On the morning of Friday March 6th, 22 year old Sara Kessler and her nine month old son, Casey, were found dead in their Millvale, Pennsylvania apartment. The bodies were discovered by Sara’s brother who was concerned after not hearing from his sister for several days. Although official cause of death is pending toxicology and histology results from the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office, it is suspected Sara Kessler died of a drug overdose. In the Pittsburg-area apartment, investigators found needles and suspect the young mother may have been a drug addict. Sara’s body was found lying across the bed and she is believed to have died one to two weeks prior to discovery. Casey Kessler’s body was found in the living room and most likely died shortly after his mother, due to starvation. Police say it appeared as though Casey had attempted to survive after his mother’s death, searching the apartment for food, but was unable to find any. Unfortunately, Sara and Casey were the only people living on the 2nd floor of the Chrismar apartment complex and only one neighbor could hear the screams and cries of Casey Kessler as he starved to death. William Gonzales told reporters, “I figured the kid was hungry or teething. I didn’t think anything of it.”. Both Mr. Gonzales, who feels guilt as the only resident who heard the cries of the dying infant, and Sara’s brother, who discovered the grizzly scene are having an incredibly difficult time coping with the untimely deaths. Sara Kessler’s mother died in the same apartment unit this past November (2014) from natural causes. According to the other tenants living in the now infamous Butler Street apartment building, Sara would go from unit to unit shortly after her mother’s death, during the Christmas Season of 2014 to tell her neighbors how depressed she had been. Having had a very close relationship with her mother, Sara struggled after her passing, according to her neighbors and family members. Kessler was described by those who knew her as a nice person and a good, protective mother with unwavering love for her son, Casey.

Longest Epitaph in America

The longest epitaph in the United States (and possibly the world) can be found at ‘Burial Place Hill’, a historical cemetery in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. Written by Simeon Martin, the epitaph contains 407 words laying out in great detail his family tree, childhood, employment history and notable accomplishments, along with some of his favorite scripture and poetry. In fact, the only thing Martin left out was any mention of how incredibly long-winded he was in life and even in death. This would usually be the time I would provide a little background into the life of Simeon Martin, but there’s nothing that I could possibly say about him that his epitaph does not. I’ll let it do the talking:

“This stone perpetuates the Memory of the Honorable Simeon Martin, Fourth son of Silvanus Martin, Esq. and Mrs. Martha, his wife; and the Fourth Generation from John Martin, who immigrated from England in 1665.
He was born in Rehoboth Oct 20, A.D. 1754 and died Sept. 30, 1819 aged 64 years, 11 months and 10 days.
When a youth he left his native place to reside in the town of Providence; was one of the first who stepped forward in his Country’s cause in the Revolutionary War; and was in the first campaign, in Col. Crane’s Artillery Company at Roxbury with Gen. Washington, in the year 1775, After this he entered the state service; was appointed Captain of a Company in Col. Christopher Lippitt’s Regiment and was in the battle of Trenton, when the enemy was defeated by the army commanded by Gen. Washington in 1776
He was also, in the expedition on Rhode-Island under Gen. Sullivan in the year 1778.
In the month of Dec., 1779, after the British evacuated Newport , he removed to that place; and was for a number of years, chosen a Representative from the town to the General Assembly.
He had sustained the offices of Adjutant General and Major General of the Militia of the State; was for several years, elected Lieutenant Governour, until he declined a re-election in 1816; and was, at his death, a member of the Corporation at Brown University ,
He was a man of excellent sense, a gentleman in his manners, benevolent and courteous to all, and highly respected by all who shared his acquaintance.
As a merchant he was honest and just in his dealings; He was a dutiful Son, a kind brother, a tender Husband
an affectionate Father, and a good Neighbour
He died in the full belief of obtaining salvation, in and the the merits of CHIST, the Son of GOD, When near closing his eyes in death, He repeated the following verse;
vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; vanity of vanities;
All is vanity                                   Ecclesiastes 1.2.

Rather in mansion is in the world of Spirits, and very soon what will be your abode.; as sure as I once was in life so sure you will pass the valley of the shadow of death,

Adieu, thou son, the stars and moon,

No longer shall I need your light;

 My God’s: My Sun; He make my noon;

 My day shall never change to night.”

To learn more about the history of Rehoboth, Massachusetts follow the link below:
http://www.oldrehoboth.com/index.htm

From the same demented mind that brought you The Post-Mortem Post: FREAK