September 14, 1922: Two people are found murdered on a farm in Franklin Township, New Jersey. They are the Rev. Edward Wheeler Hall, an Episcopal priest; and Eleanor Mills, a member of his choir.
Hall, 41, was a native of Brooklyn, and was the pastor at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in New Brunswick, about 2 miles south of where he was found. He was married to the former Frances Noel Stevens.
The former Eleanor Reinhardt, 34, was married to James E. Mills, the sexton at the church, and the janitor at the nearby Lord Stirling Elementary School. They had 2 children.
Rev. Hall and Mrs. Mills had been having an affair, and their bodies were positioned to suggest this. Both had been shot in the head. An investigation did not lead to an indictment. But the story wouldn't go away. Finally, in 1926, Governor A. Harry Moore of New Jersey ordered a 2nd investigation.
The suspects were Frances Hall, the Reverend's wife, the former Frances Noel Stevens; her brothers, Henry and William Stevens; and a cousin of theirs, Henry Carpender. Mrs. Hall was related to many of the wealthy families of New Brunswick, including the Carpenders, the Nielsons, and possibly the Johnsons of Johnson & Johnson pharmaceuticals.
Although New Brunswick is the seat of Middlesex County, the murder was just over the City and County Line, in Somerset County. And so, on November 3, 1926, the trial began at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville.
Henry Stevens was an accomplished marksman, and the prosecution contended that he fired the shots, on Frances' orders. He testified that he was away on a fishing trip on the night of the murder, and this was backed up with 3 witnesses. William Stevens supposedly supplied the pistol that served as the murder weapon, but his testimony led to doubt that he knew what was going on. It has since been suggested that he was autistic.
On December 3, 1926, Mrs. Hall and her brothers were acquitted. Carpender had won the right to a separate trial, which was never held. Forensics being what they were then, it was probably too difficult for the prosecution to prove the case. Despite this, the general consensus was that Mrs. Hall was guilty, but the public seemed to side with her, anyway: She was being cheated on, and Mrs. Mills was not held in high regard.
Henry Carpender died in 1934, Henry Stevens in 1939, and both Frances Hall and William Stevens in 1942. The farm on which the bodies were found is long-gone. It is now a residential area. The famous apple tree was roughly where 70 Dayton Avenue now stands, 4 blocks from the intersection of Franklin Boulevard and Easton Avenue.
Roughly where the bodies were found.
Photo taken by me, November 11, 2019.
The case continues to fascinate, and a local historian conducts tours of the various locations: The site, the church, and each side's respective homes.
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September 14, 1922 was a Thursday. Football was in midweek. Basketball and hockey were out of season. These baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Babe Ruth hit a home run in support of Bullet Joe Bush.
* The New York Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-6 at the Polo Grounds.
* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known under Wilbert Robinson's managing from 1914 to 1931) lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 7-3 at Ebbets Field.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves, 8-0 at Braves Field in Boston. Babe Adams pitched a 5-hit shutout.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-4 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 4-3 at League Park in Cleveland. Center fielder and manager Tris Speaker only appeared in the game as a pinch-hitter, and drew a walk.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-2 at Navin Field in Detroit. (It was renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938, and Tiger Stadium in 1961.) Ty Cobb had an RBI triple.
* And the St. Louis Browns beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. George Sisler did not play.
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