residence: St. Joseph Catholic Church parsonage at the southwest corner of Reid Ave. and 8th St.
age: 34
siblings: Rev. Charles W. Reichlin and Casimir Reichlin, who lived with her, and brother Martin Reichlin, who lived nearby
cause of death: strangled and bludgeoned
***
One of the first graves you'll find inside Lorain's Cavalry Cemetery is that of Agatha Reichlin, victim of one of the city's most mysterious unsolved murders.
According to the Black River Historical Society and John Stark Bellamy's book, "The Killer in the Attic," the 34-year-old Reichlin was a devout Catholic housekeeper who was unmarried and lived with her two older brothers. Neighbors loved the family, especially Agatha, who had no known enemies and a saintly reputation.
The accused, the Rev. Ferdinand Walser, was a middle-aged Catholic priest who was staying in the home temporarily while Reichlin's brother, the Rev. Charles Reichlin, was preaching on Kelleys Island.
Walser told police that on May 1, 1903, he went to sleep about 10 p.m. but was awakened by the sounds of sobbing and moaning coming from Agatha's room. He walked toward the room and saw a man wearing a slouch hat and mustache carrying what appeared to be a dark lantern in his hand.
Walser frightened the man away and woke up Agatha's other brother, Casimir, before running into the woman's room. They attempted to awaken her, but it was no use. She had been strangled and bludgeoned to death.
Walser was arrested and tried, but a botched police investigation, which included several exhumations of Agatha's body, forced an acquittal.
Today, Agatha's grave is surrounded by the graves of her family, but bears no mention of her grisly fate.
taken from The Chronical-Telegram Online
age: 34
siblings: Rev. Charles W. Reichlin and Casimir Reichlin, who lived with her, and brother Martin Reichlin, who lived nearby
cause of death: strangled and bludgeoned
***
One of the first graves you'll find inside Lorain's Cavalry Cemetery is that of Agatha Reichlin, victim of one of the city's most mysterious unsolved murders.
According to the Black River Historical Society and John Stark Bellamy's book, "The Killer in the Attic," the 34-year-old Reichlin was a devout Catholic housekeeper who was unmarried and lived with her two older brothers. Neighbors loved the family, especially Agatha, who had no known enemies and a saintly reputation.
The accused, the Rev. Ferdinand Walser, was a middle-aged Catholic priest who was staying in the home temporarily while Reichlin's brother, the Rev. Charles Reichlin, was preaching on Kelleys Island.
Walser told police that on May 1, 1903, he went to sleep about 10 p.m. but was awakened by the sounds of sobbing and moaning coming from Agatha's room. He walked toward the room and saw a man wearing a slouch hat and mustache carrying what appeared to be a dark lantern in his hand.
Walser frightened the man away and woke up Agatha's other brother, Casimir, before running into the woman's room. They attempted to awaken her, but it was no use. She had been strangled and bludgeoned to death.
Walser was arrested and tried, but a botched police investigation, which included several exhumations of Agatha's body, forced an acquittal.
Today, Agatha's grave is surrounded by the graves of her family, but bears no mention of her grisly fate.
taken from The Chronical-Telegram Online
residence: St. Joseph Catholic Church parsonage at the southwest corner of Reid Ave. and 8th St.
age: 34
siblings: Rev. Charles W. Reichlin and Casimir Reichlin, who lived with her, and brother Martin Reichlin, who lived nearby
cause of death: strangled and bludgeoned
***
One of the first graves you'll find inside Lorain's Cavalry Cemetery is that of Agatha Reichlin, victim of one of the city's most mysterious unsolved murders.
According to the Black River Historical Society and John Stark Bellamy's book, "The Killer in the Attic," the 34-year-old Reichlin was a devout Catholic housekeeper who was unmarried and lived with her two older brothers. Neighbors loved the family, especially Agatha, who had no known enemies and a saintly reputation.
The accused, the Rev. Ferdinand Walser, was a middle-aged Catholic priest who was staying in the home temporarily while Reichlin's brother, the Rev. Charles Reichlin, was preaching on Kelleys Island.
Walser told police that on May 1, 1903, he went to sleep about 10 p.m. but was awakened by the sounds of sobbing and moaning coming from Agatha's room. He walked toward the room and saw a man wearing a slouch hat and mustache carrying what appeared to be a dark lantern in his hand.
Walser frightened the man away and woke up Agatha's other brother, Casimir, before running into the woman's room. They attempted to awaken her, but it was no use. She had been strangled and bludgeoned to death.
Walser was arrested and tried, but a botched police investigation, which included several exhumations of Agatha's body, forced an acquittal.
Today, Agatha's grave is surrounded by the graves of her family, but bears no mention of her grisly fate.
taken from The Chronical-Telegram Online
age: 34
siblings: Rev. Charles W. Reichlin and Casimir Reichlin, who lived with her, and brother Martin Reichlin, who lived nearby
cause of death: strangled and bludgeoned
***
One of the first graves you'll find inside Lorain's Cavalry Cemetery is that of Agatha Reichlin, victim of one of the city's most mysterious unsolved murders.
According to the Black River Historical Society and John Stark Bellamy's book, "The Killer in the Attic," the 34-year-old Reichlin was a devout Catholic housekeeper who was unmarried and lived with her two older brothers. Neighbors loved the family, especially Agatha, who had no known enemies and a saintly reputation.
The accused, the Rev. Ferdinand Walser, was a middle-aged Catholic priest who was staying in the home temporarily while Reichlin's brother, the Rev. Charles Reichlin, was preaching on Kelleys Island.
Walser told police that on May 1, 1903, he went to sleep about 10 p.m. but was awakened by the sounds of sobbing and moaning coming from Agatha's room. He walked toward the room and saw a man wearing a slouch hat and mustache carrying what appeared to be a dark lantern in his hand.
Walser frightened the man away and woke up Agatha's other brother, Casimir, before running into the woman's room. They attempted to awaken her, but it was no use. She had been strangled and bludgeoned to death.
Walser was arrested and tried, but a botched police investigation, which included several exhumations of Agatha's body, forced an acquittal.
Today, Agatha's grave is surrounded by the graves of her family, but bears no mention of her grisly fate.
taken from The Chronical-Telegram Online
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