URBAN LEGEND: Romãozinho

 

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In Boa Sorte district, Pedro Afonso, Goiás, Brazil Romãozinho was born to a farmer and his wife. As the boy grew up he was said to be disobedient, cruel, and evil. He was known to get great pleasure from treating animals cruelly and killing plants.

Sometimes Romãozinho's mother would tell the boy to bring his father lunch. His father worked in a garden. One day even though Romãozinho did not want to bring the food to his father he did. On the way, he would eat the chicken and place it back into the lunch box. 

He would hand the lunchbox to Father as he was supposed to. His father was confused when he opened the box and his food was eaten. The father asked the boy what the bones meant. In response Romãozinho did not take responsibility instead he told him that his mother sent it to him that way on purpose. That the bones were the leftovers from his mother and the man who came over when his father wasn't home.  

This enraged his father and caused him to go back home immediately. Romãozinho would follow along knowing that his mother was going to be on the other end of his father's wrath. When they arrived home his father would pull out a dagger and began stabbing his wife. All while this was happening Romãozinho laughed enjoying his mother's "punishment". 

Knowing her son was the reason for all this and his pure joy from her death she would curse him with her dying breath. "You will never die! You won't know heaven or hell, or even rest until there's just one person left living on Earth!"

Romãozinho would continue to laugh especially after she died. This came true as he never grew up. It's said that he can be seen wandering the street causing mayhem. This however doesn't always mean he was entirely bad. In one story Romãozinho assists a woman in labor by scaring a local midwife chicken. This would help the midwife find the lone woman and help her give birth. 

SOURCES: 

Wikipedia

Myths and Folklore Wiki

Murder of Lena and Wilhelm Riedel

In 1888 36-year-old Charles Henry Riedel his wife 37-year-old  Lena and their son 7-year-old Wilhelm "Willie" moved to Wilmington, Delaware from Philadelphia. Charles was German and spoke broken English. Unbeknownst to those around him he was depressed due to a lack of work and prospective want. 

On the morning of September 17, 1887, both mother and child were sleeping in the same bed. Lena was sleeping on her back facing up and Wilhelm was on his side facing away from his mother. Charles would go up to both. He first shot at the wall twice, but neither woke up. He would then shoot Lena and then Wilhelm in the head.  Witnesses heard Lena moaning and saying "Willie". Even if she talked evidence showed that she did not move after being shot but could have lived up to 3 hours afterward. 

Charles tried to kill himself by shooting himself in the temple, but he failed. Later that morning he would go to his door and shout that he would shoot everyone. He would then yell at Mrs. Gottilieb Wachter to see what he had done upstairs. This scared her and she rushed to her husband who was working at the mill at the time. 

The two would return and enter the home. Upstairs they would see the bodies of the mother and child still in bed. He would then be asked what he had done by them. "Just what I said I would." When they left the house Charles locked the door behind him. This was when someone was sent to get an officer. 

Later that morning Officer Sherry and Gustave Kolock would go to the home. The front door to the house was locked so the back of the house to peer in to see Charles smoking. The officer wanted someone to distract Charles briefly as he snuck in through the back to arrest him. Gustave's brother did so as he joined the party. They did this  and Charles willingly went with the officer and only asked to get his money before leaving. It was $21.70 (Around $667) one of the $5 bills was stained with blood. He grabbed it from the mantel and left with the officers. As he was put in the carriage Charles stated "I shot my wife. I shot my child. I'll shoot everybody."

He was found guilty and on August 10, 1888, Charles would be executed. He was welcoming the execution. One reporter would ask how Charles would feel if the governor would let him live a little longer. Charles would respond with "I will kill myself. I do not want to live this way. " He was religious but refused spiritual consolation. 

SOURCES:

Legal Executions in Deleware, The District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Page 9

The Morning News September 19, 1887

Daily Republican September 21, 1887

Daily Republican May 16, 1888

The Morning News August 10, 1888

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 Mrs. Owens

 In 1894 William Owens and his wife Mrs. Owens would fight. William would leave the neighborhood and come back on May 30th. He would then search for his wife and found her around 3p.m. working in a field with around 30 other African Americans in Nobel Lake, Arkansas. 

 William asked his wife to move back in with him again. She would refuse him and this angered him. He would point the gun at her and shot her once in the chest and once in the back. She would fall and he would pick up the hoe she was using and hit her twice in the head before breaking it. She was still alive and in agony and he would pick up a second hoe and would beat her head in with it. He would then escape.

He would then try to kill Grandville Simms, someone he had a grudge against. Grandville would take off his shoes and outrun William. William would then exhausted fall on a log. This allowed him to be caught. 

William would be convicted and found guilty. He would be executed in 1895. He was likely executed on May 30th as an article from May 29th stated his execution the next day.

Note:

I could not find Mrs. Owens' first name none of the articles I could find stated her first name. 

SOURCES:

Death Penalty USA Pine Bluff Daily Graphic May 29, 1894

Pine Bluff Daily Graphic May 31, 1894

The Osceola Times June 4, 1894

The Southern Standard June 8, 1894

Pine Bluff Daily Graphic May 29, 1894

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 Nora Donovan

On July 21, 1921, 40-year-old William Donovan and his 27-year-old wife Nora were arguing at their home about 3 miles southwest of Bloomington, Indiana. While holding a baby William would shoot Nora in the head. Then he would proceed to shoot at his 14-year-old daughter and mother-in-law, but both were unscathed. Nora wouldn't automatically die but would die 3 hours later.

William would run to the woods to hide but would be found. He was convicted of the murder and was to be executed. On June 1, 1922, William went to the electric chair for the murder.

SOURCES:
The Indianapolis News July 23, 1921
The Star Press July 24, 1921
Journal and Courier Feb 8, 1922
The Star Press May 12, 1922

Murder of Milly Ludwick (Campbell)

 On June 4, 1867, in Rowan County, North Carolina 21-year-old Rufus F. Ludwick (Ludwig) killed his bride of 11 days 19-year-old Milly (Campbell). He had shot her through the head, slit her throat, and weighed her body down in a creek.

On June 27, 1868, Rufus would hang in Salisbury. 

 I could only find two sources on this murder, the other one was behind a paywall, and could not read the article.

SOURCES:

Legal Executions in North Carolina and South Carolina Page 15

Murder of Mary Stark

On 17 October 1801, Sarah Pafquin came home about 8 that night. She lived on the second floor of a Clements Lane, London, England apartment. Mary Stark and her husband 32-year-old Richard lived on the third floor.  Mary and Sarah visited several times that night. It was about midnight when Richard came home and Sarah was lying on top of the bed with their child sleeping. Before going upstairs he asked Sarah for candlelight.

This was when Sarah heard the mother and child start to scream. This was a common occurrence in the residence. He would beat Mary. On this night she went upstairs to try to get him to stop beating Mary. The door was shut and she could hear Mary beg him to not beat her and Richard swearing at her. He opened the door for Sarah and she came into the room. He continued to beat Mary. He told Sarah it was because Mary had pawned his breeches.

She got Mary to come downstairs with her to her room. Richard followed them down and once they got to the room Richard went inside to and hit Mary in the head knocking her down. Sarah told him to stop beating Mary and not to do it in her home and he asked her to turn her out of her home then. He continued to beat Mary.

Sarah helped Mary up and she was trembling and Sarah asked him to bring her up to their room. Instead, he took a hand full of Mary's hair and dragged her out to the hallway where he bashed her head on the floor. Somehow Mary made it upstairs and Sarah and Richard followed. Mary collapsed on the bed hard. Sarah covered her up and told Richard to not beat her anymore. She said she didn't hear anymore beating after that.

The next morning Sarah saw Richard leave for work. She went upstairs to check on Mary but did not get a response. Sarah thought that Mary had been asleep. Mary Terry who lived in the room under Mary stated that she heard everything that night.

She went upstairs after around 10 in the morning on Sunday after the beating to check on Mary. She found Mary was laying on her left side and her child was trying to drink milk from her breast. Mary was already dead at this point.

During the trial, they tried to make it seem as if Sarah and Mary were drunk, but Mary Terry stated that neither was drinking that night as she had also seen them a few times through the night before the beating. Richard was found guilty at trial and was set to hand on 2 November. He was also hung with James Legg who had killed his roommate William Lamb. The two hung for an hour before being cut down.

SOURCES:
The Caledonian Mercury
The Caledonian Mercury (Execution)
Capital Punishment UK
The Derby Mercury

Murder of Lavinia Jenkins

On May 13, 1872, 20-year-old Lavinia Jenkins and 24-year-old George Jenkins had a fight. George had been drinking on and off that day and came home at 8p.m. Late that night around  9 p.m. Lavinia wanted to leave the house. She at first said she was going to her sisters-in-law, but George told her no and she then told him she wanted to go to church. He told her to not leave and to go the next day.

George would then leave to go to the lodge returning home around 10. When he came home Lavinia was not home. So he went and sat on a bench between his and the neighbor's house. Lavinia would return home with a man (known to George, but not stated who it was). Lavinia called out to George and looked for him.

When she found him beside the house she was offended. She thought that George was trying to spy on her and she was angry. The two said goodbye to the man who walked her home. Once he was gone Lavinia lashed out at George telling him "I don't need you watching me." They would get into an argument leading George to drink more.

He would go and borrow a meat cleaver claiming he was going to cook meat for breakfast. Lavinia was still sleeping when George took a cleaver to his wife. He would hit her in the face, throat, shoulders, and chest.

When Robert, George's older brother, came to the house around 9 a.m. the next morning the doors were closed and the two children were outside playing. He would ask them where their mother was and one of the children would tell him, "Mother is upstairs dead."

Robert believing something was wrong went to the police station to retrieve officers. They would return to the home and forcibly broke down the door. Inside they found Lavinia still in her blood-soaked bed and George was nowhere in sight.

George would turn himself in. He would claim that he did not remember what he did to his wife. He said that he was drunk and blacked out and during the blackout out he murdered his wife. He would take an insanity plea at trial. He would also state that she would not treat him as she should have. They would find him guilty and set to be executed an on October 31, 1872, George would be executed.

SOURCES:
Legal Executions in Delaware, The District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia 
The Baltimore Sun May 15, 1872
The Philidelphia Inquirer May 15, 1872
Evening Star June 27, 1872
Evening Star October 4, 1872
Evening Star October 31, 1872

The Greenbrier Ghost: The Murder of Elva Zona Heaster Shue

In 1896 20-year-old Elva Zona Heaster who went by her middle name Zona met her future husband Erasmus (or Edward) Stribbling Shue who also known as Trout. He was a drifter and came to Greenbrier County, West Virginia to start his life as a blacksmith. 

It was known that Zona's mother didn't approve of him. Even though her mother didn't approve of them she still married him soon after. They moved in together in a two-story log home. 

On Jan 23, 1897, an 11-year-old boy who did chores for the Shue's came to their home. He had found the young Zona laying at the end of the stairs. She was dead and the boy ran to his mother and told her what he found. His mother then called the Dr and Coroner George W. Knapp.  The boy went on and then told Erasmus at his blacksmith shop. 

When the Doctor arrived Erasmus had brought his wife upstairs and cleaned and dressed her. Which was found strange because traditionally the women would do this. This would also be done after the coroner or Doctor looked at the body. 

Her husband cradled her head crying. Doctor Knapp tried to inspect the body, but when he would make it up to Zona's neck and head her husband would start getting agitated. So he was unable to do a full autopsy. He believed that Zona had died from everlasting faint or later changed to childbirth. It was unknown if she was pregnant, but a few weeks before she was having woman problems. 

Mary Jane Heaster Zona's mother was heartbroken from her death. 

Everyone found that Erasmus was acting weird at the funeral and wake. He was insisting that he help with funeral and placing her body inside the casket. Especially being gentle with her head. He was also standing towards her head at the casket and would fiddle with the pillows and claimed to make her more comfortable. 

Mary had claimed she saw Zona's spirit. That Zona had visited her four nights in a row. Zona told her mother that she was murdered by her abusive husband. She had told her that he got mad she didn't prepare any meat for dinner. 

Looking at Erasmus's history it was found he was married twice previously. Those two had died tragic deaths much like Zona. One broke her neck when she fell from a haystack, and the other died from a broken neck when she helped him repair a chimney. Another source states he divorced his first wife because he was cruel to her and his second died mysteriously. 

They exhumed Zona's body and found she had been strangled to death. Her neck was broken and bruises of fingers were on her neck. Mary's ghost sighting was what helped with prosecuting Erasmus. 

On June 22, 1897, the jury came back after 2 hours with a guilty verdict. He died on March 13, 1900 from an unknown epidemic at the West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville. 

SOURCES:
Find A Grave 
America's Most Haunted
Little Things 
Appalachian History
Baltimore America
Wikipedia