MONSTERS: Dearg Due

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There is a  tragic tale in Celtic folklore that ends in revenge. The woman of this tale's name is long gone, but she is now known as Dearg Due. It's a tale of "Hell Hath no fury like a woman scorned". 

In life, Dearg Due was a woman who was born and raised in Ireland. She was said to be kind and sweet. She even fell in love with a local peasant who was similar as he was kind and handsome. Her father was cruel and greedy. He was lucky his daughter was so beautiful, and that a rich man wanted her. This was a time when arranged marriages were commonplace. 

She would then be sold into marriage and separated from her love and her father got richer. Her husband was a cruel older man who would place his hands on her and verbally berate her. Her husband seemed to love doing this to her. 

Knowing that she had a lover waiting for her outside he would lock her up in a tower. She was isolated as those she used to know would never see her again after the wedding. She would wait and pray for her love to come and save her, but he never was able to. She would begin to waste away as she refused to eat and drink. This would eventually die from this.She is buried in a small churchyard, near “Strongbow’s Tree,” in the County of Waterford in Southeast Ireland

Her husband and father did not grieve her death. Everyone else grieved her, especially her lover. He would visit the grave every night crying and talking to her. Her husband was said to have remarried quickly after. Her lover was filled with regret and rage at how her life had been ruined. 

Dearg Due was also filled with rage. She craved retribution so much that she was able to crawl out of her grave. The first person she visited was in the home she grew up in. She would stand next to her father and watch as he slept. The cruel man would sleep as if his daughter did not have a cruel fate. She would place her lips on his and suck the life out of him. 

She would then go to the home she would die in. She would find her husband surrounded by women. He also did not care about what he put her through. The women were fulfilling his lustful desires and she would stand there watching. Rage would fill her and she would throw herself at her husband and draw his life. Her fury was so harsh that not only did she take his last breath but all his blood. 

She would meet her love again. Even though his love and rage brought her back to life she did not feel love anymore. She would also make the man a victim of hers. 

It said that she only hunts on the night of her death. She then kills men on that night. 

SOURCES:

Irish Central

Got Ireland

Myth and Folklore Wiki

Irish Road Trip

Murder of Hannah Rogers Harding

By 1733 62-year-old Amaziah Harding and his wife 65-year-old Hannah had been together for around  40 years (the first child was born in 1694). The relationship had been abusive especially in the last 20 years of marriage. He would see her as a "Plague" in his life. 

On July 18, 1733, Hannah would die due to Amaziah's abuse at their home in Eastham, Massachusetts. He either beat her or threw her down the stairs, or both. This would lead to her death. He would bring her to their bed and wrap her in blankets to make it seem she died in her sleep. He would summon a neighbor woman to tell her his wife died.

As per local tradition, he asked the neighbor woman to dress and get his wife ready for burial. The neighbor was suspicious as she came over. An hour earlier one of their sons had told her that Hannah was in good health. Throughout the time he spoke as if he was grateful for her death that she was a "plague" in his life. Seeing that she had blood and bruises on her throat, lips, and cheek. Knowing he was abusive she asked how she died.

Amaziah told the woman that she had drank rum and sat on the door sill, and he laid in bed. he claimed to her when he woke up that morning that she was in the bed and would not respond to him. That she had died naturally. The neighbor woman saw through his lies and refused to get the body ready until the coroner saw the body. 

The coroner would state that Hannah died from foul play. Amaziah would be charged with capital murder. He would get the death penalty and hanged on June 5, 1734. 

SOURCES:

Legal Executions in New England Pg 125

Geni Amaziah

Geni Hannah

Tree Tree Tree

Cape Cod Times

Bowman Family

Murder of Mary Rose Matthews

In late 1883 couple, Micheal and Maggie Cuddigan took in Mary Matthews. They adopted her from Denvers Catholic Orphan's Home. Mary's mother had died and her father put her in the home so she could be taken care of. The couple would take Mary from Denver, Colorado to their home in Ouray, Colorado. It was known by neighbors they did not treat the girl well.

On January 12, 1884, 10-year-old Mary was found crouched beside a haystack near the Cuddigan's home. She was underdressed for the cold and snowy weather. The Cuddigan's were notified and they brought the girl home. She would die a few hours later and with some secrecy the buried in a distant part of the ranch. They told people that she had accidentally fallen down the cellar steps and had died. 

Neighbors of the family were suspicious of them. They knew that the family treated the girl cruelly and combined with her sudden death and hurried burial suspicions grew. Neighbors would notify the coroner that they suspected that the foster parent's murdered Mary and her body was dug back up.

The autopsy showed that  Mary's body was covered in wounds. It was obvious the little girl was abused and overworked. She had cut marks all over her body from a knife, her leg was broken, her skull was fractured, her limbs seemed to have been frozen, she also had evidence of sexual abuse. It was believed the couple forced the girl to stay out in the snow as punishment.

When the Cuddigan's and Maggie's brother John Caroll was arrested. At the time of their arrest, the couple was preparing to leave the country. They were arrested along with the wife's brother John Caroll. The three of them would be kept temporarily at the Delmonico Hotel between 4th and 5th Ave.

 On Jan. 18th a lynch mob come for the trio. Michael outside city limits. Even though Maggie was pregnant she and her husband were lynched. He was hung from a tree and she from a ridgepole. They were going to hang John also but he told them he wasn't even there when the girl died and they released him. 

 People from the town were not angry about the lynching and thought the couple was deserving of it. Though Michael's brothers were said to be at the hotel and refused to stop the lynching and watched as the crowd of people took the couple away.

Their bodies were displayed in public view of the town. The bed that Mary used was also on public display which was four gunnysacks stitched together. The Cuddigan's were refused to be allowed to buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery and the local Catholic priest also refused to officiate the funerals even though he was against the lynching. No one wanted anything to do with the funeral and the coroner buried the couple on their ranch with the $240 Michael had in his pocket when he died. not one attended. Their money was left to their infant son who was taken care of by relatives.

Not only did the Cuddigan's bodies get displayed, but Mary's was also displayed in Denver. She was presented before the public to show how the young girl suffered before her death. thousands of people viewed her before her burial at the Denver cemetery.

The death date for Mary is wrong on Find a Grave. There were articles from Friday, Jan. 18th, 1884 stating the girl was dug back up and an autopsy was done on her body. It stated that she had died the Saturday before which would make it the 12th. 

Maggie was the first known woman to be lynched in Colorado. 

SOURCES

Find a Grave

Colorado  Encyclopedia

Bismarck Tribune Jan. 18, 1884

The Tennessean Jan. 22, 1884

The Linwood Leader Jan 24, 1884

Valley Falls Register Feb 1, 1884

Delta Chief Feb 6, 1884

The Alton Empire Feb. 7, 1884

Murder of Emma Bell

Sylvester Bell was from Canada but would settle with his first wife in Fairfax, Vermont. They would have several children together, but he would treat his wife cruelly. One day he locked her in a room in an attempt to kill her. Their son would break into the room and fight his father and pushed him on the bed which collapsed underneath him causing him unable to move and saving his wife from his wrath. He would be acquitted of the attempted murder. They would divorce.

 He would soon move on to his next wife and would marry Emma Locke in 1887. Just like his first wife he would treat Emma in the same awful way. This would cause Emma to return to her home and stay away from him.

On December 26, 1889, 29-year-old Emma would return to their home to gather her things with constable Hull. Sylvester would tell him "I want Emma to live with me." He would then "help" Emma get her things all while trying to act pleasant and asking her to come back to live in their home. 

Emma would walk past Sylvester and go upstairs. He would refuse to bring down her sewing machine. So constable Hull and Emma would bring it down. She would then go to a trunk and he would help her bring that down. He would then ask her to open the chest because he had something of his inside. This was when she noticed her rings missing from it. She asked him where they were and he claimed he didn't take them out. He would bring a paper out of his pocket with the rings inside and gave them to her anyway. She would put the rings on her fingers. 

Emma would go back upstairs to gather more things and he would follow her up. Constable Hull would stay downstairs but rushed upstairs when he heard a gunshot. Sylvester was standing there composed with a sixshooter and Emma was standing there with blood on her face. 

Hull would arrest Bell and take him downstairs. The doctor would be called and when he arrived Emma was lying face down on the floor still alive. She had been shot in the head. In her arms, she was tightly holding some of her son's toys. She would be unconscious, but alive for the next 28 minutes before dying. While the doctor was working on Emma Sylvester told him he shot her. He would ask if she would live. 

The doctor would find that the bullet had gone all the way through her brain. 

Sylvester would claim that he saw that Emma had found his gun and had it under her arm. He claimed he told her that she better behave. She was bent over when he went to grab for the gun and it went off when he grabbed it. He claimed he didn't mean to kill her. 

This was not believed as he had a history of domestic assault. He had also attempted to kill his first wife. So his story of an accidental shooting was not ringing right. He had also mentioned that she wanted to live alone and wanted $500 from him and he wouldn't do it because it would cause him to go to the poorhouse, but would rather be there than for her to be dead. At the trial he would claim there was no motive for the murder, The jury did not believe him and found him guilty. 

On Jan. 1, 1892, Sylvester would be set to hang. At 1:15 a crowd began to form in the neighborhood of the state prison, but only a few would see the execution. At 1:44 he would be taken from his cell and where he was having an earnest conversation with Chaplin Wassel.

At the gallows, Chaplin would give him a prayer. He stood up there pale and trembling for his fate. He would be allowed to speak for 34 minutes talking about his life and how he was innocent. He would stand bravely over the trap and say, " Gentlemen I am dying as a man; goodbye.". In 14 minutes he would be pronounced dead. 

In several articles Sylvester's name was Stephen. 

SOURCES:

Executed Today

St. Albans Daily Messenger September 13, 1890

Argos and Patriot September 17, 1890

St. Albans Daily Messenger September 18, 1890

Vermont Pheonix Jan. 1, 1892

The Burlington Free Press Jan. 2, 1892

Murder of Eliza McNulta

By 1873 34-year-old Henry McNulta and his wife 36-year-old Eliza lived in Chillicothe, Illinois. In 1871 Henry started to go to Peoria at night to get drunk. When he would return home would beat Eliza in a drunken rage. It became so frequent that neighbors only slightly acknowledged it was happening, and paid no attention.

There were several times that Henry had half-beat Eliza to death. Every time he was arrested for his cruelty towards her she would go and beg for his release at the court. He would be released and the two would return back to their home. Early September was the last time Eliza plead for Henry's release.

On the night of September 21, once again Henry would go out to Peoria to drink. He would return and neighbors would hear the last beating Eliza would get. In the morning Henry would go for a physician as his wife was dead. He would claim various stories about what had happened to Eliza. One was that when he came home that night he found that his wife had fallen out of bed and was struggling to get back in the bed. Another was that he left his wife the night before sick in bed and she was dead when he returned.

Autopsy showed that two of her ribs were broken and her spleen had bursted causing her death. There were boot marks left on her body as she had been kicked and stomped on. Henry would deny beating his wifeand claimed he did not beat her in a way that would have killed her. People were not suprised that Henry had finally beat Eliza to death.

Henry would go to trial for the murder. It would take 7 hours for the jury to find him guilty. On December 13th he would be sentenced to be hanged by the neck. They trield to obtain a new trial, but failed. It was said Henry was hopeful for a change in his sentence up until he was on the gallows.

On Feb 7, 1873 Henry would be hanged. During his last speech was bitter as he claimed innocence. He blamed everyone involved with the execution. He claimed that his cousel wanted him convicted,Dr. Morley, and Judge Puterbaugh. He claimed that the Judge had decieved him and his friends. That the Judge had stayed and got drunk in Peoria and went to Sprinfield to drink with Govoner Beveridge. The speech made people solidify their thought that he was guilty of the murder. At 1:22 p.m. was hanged and was cut down close to 2 p.m. 

SOURCES:

Peoria Historian

Legal Executions in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri page 4

The San Francisco Examiner September 25, 1872

New York Daily Herald Feburary 8, 1873

Chicago Weekly Post Feburary 13, 1873

Murder of Margaret Kottke

In 1918 6-year-old Margaret Kottke was sent to live with the Zimmermans a family who intended to adopt the young girl in Granville, North Dakota. Her father was a transient and her mother had her out of wedlock. When her mother married Mr. Kottke and they had children together Margaret was unwanted in the home. She would be passed around to relatives before going to the Zimmerman home.

A friend of Margaret's would witness the starving girl try to eat some spoiled cheese. In reaction, Mrs. Zimmerman hit the girl. They were cruel to the girl and she was starved. This resulted in her trying to survive on raw wheat.

On October 23, 1919, Zimmerman's asked others to help search for the 7-year-old girl. They claimed that they had not seen her in at least 8 hours and had searched for her in the night, but was unsuccessful. She was supposed to have driven the cattle to be milked. When Zimmerman walked past a straw stack with other's search he was quoted saying "something tells me we will find her in that straw stack." On it was Margaret's body and after they found her he stated, "I know you will blame me for this, and everybody will blame me."

When looking at the body they found her to be more decomposed than she should have been. Looking at her stomach would only find evidence of raw wheat. She also had evidence of bruises, but it was believed she had starved to death. She also had to of been placed in the straw stack sometime after her death as she had been dead for a day or two. 

Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman was then taken to trial. After the jury deliberated 30 minutes. The two were then sentenced 5 years.

SOURCES:
Grand Forks Herald Oct. 27, 1919
The Ward County Independent  Oct. 30, 1919

Grand Forks Herald Dec. 2, 1919

Grand Forks Herald December 31, 1919

The Ward County Jan 1, 1920

The Bismarck Tribune Jan. 3, 1920

Grand Forks Herald Jan. 6, 1920

The Bismarck Tribune Jan. 6, 1920

The Ward County Independent Jan 8, 1920

The Bismarck Tribune Jan. 9, 1920

Women of the Northern Plains

Murder of Nathaniel Sewell

12/13-year-old Nathaniel Sewell was sent over from England to Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1643. He was to be an apprentice to William Franklin. William Franklin was cruel to the young boy. He would beat, starve, and torture the young boy. He would be left outside wet during the winter and hanging him in the chimney.

When Nathaniel was dying William strapped him across a horse and would have him ride like that through five miles of winter weather. He would go in front of Magistrate saying the boy was a useless servant. It wouldn't state when, but Nathaniel would die in 1644.

He did not feel guilty about the boy's death and on the contrary, he felt enraged he was getting charged with it. His attitude towards the whole ordeal caused him to excommunicated from his church. He would go to trial in April of 1644. He would be convicted of wilful murder and sentenced to hang in June of 1644.


SOURCES;
Historic Ipswich 
The Daily News
Legal Execution in New England

Murder of Aurore Gagnon

On May 31, 1909 Aurore Gagnon was the second of five children farmer Télesphore Gagnon and his first wife Marie-Anne Caron. They were Roman Catholics living in Fortierville, Quebec, Canada. Marie-Anne was hospitalized in 1916 for tuberculosis. This would cause Télesphore's widowed cousin Marie-Anne Houde and her two sons to move into the home for help. On November 6, 1917, 2-year-old Joseph (the youngest) was found dead in his bed. This death was found to have been natural.

The children's mother soon followed suit on Jan. 23, 1918 and died of tuberculosis at the Beauport Asylum. In the following week, Marie-Anne Houde and Télesphore married. There was evidence of abuse against the children. At 10-years-old in September of 1919, Aurore had been hospitalized for more than a month with a severe leg infection caused by abuse.

The poor girl seemed to have been tortured by her stepmother. Her stepmother would then lie to her father and her father would also reprimand her. Her stepmother would torture the girl in various ways including being flogged, and at one point forced to eat toast with lye on it. She would also gag the girl, strip her down, tie her to a table and brand her with a hot iron poker. This would lead to the girl's death.

On Feb. 12, 1920, Andronique Lafond, a physician living in Saint-Jacques-de-Parisville (Parisville), who was called to the Gagnon home. Aurore was laying on the couch with a pillow on her head and a spread up over her neck. She was found to be in a coma state when he arrived. He noticed she was covered in wounds and she would then succumb to sepsis (blood poisoning) and exhaustion. Bloodstains were also said to have covered the room the child slept in. She had an autopsy and it was found that she had 54 wounds on her body and 50 of them from blunt instruments. 

The Couple was then put on trial. At the time Marie-Anne was also pregnant with twins There were numerous witnesses for the fatal abuse and this included Aurore's stepbrother and sister. 

Marie-Anne went to trial first on April 13 to 21. At trial, the fact that she was pregnant was used as a defense. They changed her plea to not guilty due to insanity. Claiming because her pregnancy caused her to act like this to the girl, Out of 8 physicians, only 2 agreed with the defense. Regardless she was found guilty and was sentenced to hang on October 1st. Her sentence was later changed to life in prison. In July of 1935, she was released, but on May 12 of the next year, she died from cancer in Montreal.

Télesphore Gagnon’s trial was also held at Quebec, April 23-28. He was found him guilty of involuntary homicide, or manslaughter, He was then sentenced life in prison, but after five years he was released and went back to his home village. In 1938 he would marry his third wife and die in 1961.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

The Gazzette 

The Gazzette

Dictionary of Canadian Biography