On January 6, 1881, Mrs. Margaret Meierhoffer and her alleged paramour, Frank Lamens, were hanged in Newark, New Jersey, for the murder of Margaret’s husband, John. Two years earlier, the Meierhoffers hired Lamens to work on their farm, but Lamens’s presence put further strain on their already troubled marriage. John was dissatisfied with Lamens's work and wanted him gone, but Margaret insisted that he stay.
On October 9, 1879, the police found John Meierhoffer’s body at the foot of the cellar stairs with a gunshot wound in his throat. Upstairs they found Margaret Meierhoffer in bed with Frank Lamens. Neither confessed to the murder; they each accused the other. The state found them both guilty and sentenced them to death.
The illustration is incorrect. The New Jersey gallows was not configured to hang two at a time. Margaret was launched into eternity at 10:25, an hour later Frank Lammens followed her.
Read the full story here: Who Shot Meierhoffer?
Picture from Illustrated Police News, January 15, 1881.
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2 comments :
November 17, 2024 at 1:52 AM
Hi, Robert. I found the Defenders and Offenders trading cards in several different places, and wondered whether you have ever been able to find corroborating information on the people pictured there.
November 21, 2024 at 11:21 AM
Hi Kathy, Defenders and Offenders was a book of criminal portraits from 1888, unique because the illustrations were in color. Murder by Gaslight has done several expanding on the information in the book. Here are five of them:
https://www.murderbygaslight.com/2019/09/a-troubling-spirit.html
https://www.murderbygaslight.com/2019/10/the-poughkeepsie-tragedy.html
https://www.murderbygaslight.com/2019/08/hattie-woolsteen.html
https://www.murderbygaslight.com/2019/08/a-mount-holly-tragedy.html
https://www.murderbygaslight.com/2019/08/ebenezer-stanyard.html
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