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Susan Kathleen <I>Tinsley</I> Hadley

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Susan Kathleen Tinsley Hadley

Birth
Franklin County, Ohio, USA
Death
24 Nov 1918 (aged 48)
Richmond, Richmond City, Virginia, USA
Burial
Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
No stone was found for her at Spring Grove.

Sue Kathleen Tinsley was the daughter of a prosperous architect, William Tinsley. Orphaned at a young age, she lived with her sister, Mrs H A Evans. Sue was an accomplished musician and singer, well educated, refined and attractive. In 1913, while on a tour in Texas, she met and married within 2 weeks Dr Wilmer Amos Hadley, a divorced young Army captain and surgeon 10 years her junior. Dr Hadley was looking for a wealthy wife. After they married, he found that Sue had no money.

Because of the age difference, her relatives disapproved of the marriage and did not cultivate his acquaintance, but Sue was deeply in love with her husband. According to acquaintances, he did not return her affection. Leaving Sue behind in Texas, Dr Hadley departed for his new post at a Richmond, Virginia hospital in July 1918. He met and soon became infatuated with a young nurse, Grace Mercer. He gave her a diamond ring. She believed he was securing a divorce from his wife, and they set an April 1919 wedding date.
In November, Sue surprised her husband by arriving in Richmond. He installed her in a boarding house, told her wives were unwelcome at the hospital, and left her alone much of the time.

On the afternoon of Nov 24, 1918, Dr Hadley came to the boarding house to pick up Sue for a special outing, and they left the house together by car. He took her to the James River to go boating. Once on the rowboat, he fatally drugged her, weighed her body with an anchor and threw her overboard.

Having disposed of his wife, Dr Hadley secured his release from his Army duty a few days later, and concocted a series of tales to explain his wife's disappearance:

He told their landlady that she'd met some friends while they were out and decided suddenly to accompany them on a trip.
Dr Hadley wrote her sister Mrs Evans that Sue had contracted the flu while they were in Puerto Rico, had died Nov 23, and was buried in the American cemetery there.
Dr Hadley wrote Grace Mercer that Sue had died of the flu in California while seeking the divorce.
He told his father that she'd jumped from a boat in a delirium and drowned.

On Dec 30, 1918, the body of a woman was found in the James River. It was not until late in January that her identity was discovered: Susan Tinsley Hadley. By then Dr Hadley had gone home to Texas, to recover from his grief and reestablish his medical practice. Richmond authorities sent word to the sheriff in Texas to arrest and hold him, but he had been tipped off, and fled the house one step ahead of the law.

Dr Hadley eluded capture until he was found on a ranch in Farmington, New Mexico, August 29, 1921. He was brought to Virginia, tried, and convicted. On December 9, 1921, he died in the electric chair for the murder of Sue Kathleen Tinsley Hadley.

Sources were a number of newspaper articles of the day.
No stone was found for her at Spring Grove.

Sue Kathleen Tinsley was the daughter of a prosperous architect, William Tinsley. Orphaned at a young age, she lived with her sister, Mrs H A Evans. Sue was an accomplished musician and singer, well educated, refined and attractive. In 1913, while on a tour in Texas, she met and married within 2 weeks Dr Wilmer Amos Hadley, a divorced young Army captain and surgeon 10 years her junior. Dr Hadley was looking for a wealthy wife. After they married, he found that Sue had no money.

Because of the age difference, her relatives disapproved of the marriage and did not cultivate his acquaintance, but Sue was deeply in love with her husband. According to acquaintances, he did not return her affection. Leaving Sue behind in Texas, Dr Hadley departed for his new post at a Richmond, Virginia hospital in July 1918. He met and soon became infatuated with a young nurse, Grace Mercer. He gave her a diamond ring. She believed he was securing a divorce from his wife, and they set an April 1919 wedding date.
In November, Sue surprised her husband by arriving in Richmond. He installed her in a boarding house, told her wives were unwelcome at the hospital, and left her alone much of the time.

On the afternoon of Nov 24, 1918, Dr Hadley came to the boarding house to pick up Sue for a special outing, and they left the house together by car. He took her to the James River to go boating. Once on the rowboat, he fatally drugged her, weighed her body with an anchor and threw her overboard.

Having disposed of his wife, Dr Hadley secured his release from his Army duty a few days later, and concocted a series of tales to explain his wife's disappearance:

He told their landlady that she'd met some friends while they were out and decided suddenly to accompany them on a trip.
Dr Hadley wrote her sister Mrs Evans that Sue had contracted the flu while they were in Puerto Rico, had died Nov 23, and was buried in the American cemetery there.
Dr Hadley wrote Grace Mercer that Sue had died of the flu in California while seeking the divorce.
He told his father that she'd jumped from a boat in a delirium and drowned.

On Dec 30, 1918, the body of a woman was found in the James River. It was not until late in January that her identity was discovered: Susan Tinsley Hadley. By then Dr Hadley had gone home to Texas, to recover from his grief and reestablish his medical practice. Richmond authorities sent word to the sheriff in Texas to arrest and hold him, but he had been tipped off, and fled the house one step ahead of the law.

Dr Hadley eluded capture until he was found on a ranch in Farmington, New Mexico, August 29, 1921. He was brought to Virginia, tried, and convicted. On December 9, 1921, he died in the electric chair for the murder of Sue Kathleen Tinsley Hadley.

Sources were a number of newspaper articles of the day.


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