He reportedly said he felt her spirit come to him when he sat by her tomb and serenaded her with her favorite Spanish song. To her parents, this was a kind gesture, but this was only where the obsession began. To his absolute horror, Elenas putrefied body had begun to deteriorate. However, the case was eventually dropped and Tanzler was released from prison because the statute of limitations for the committed crime had expired. Not only were reporters sympathetic to Count Von Cosels May-December romance, jurors acquitted Von Cosel of the theft, preservation, and mistreatment of Elenas cadaver. Before leaving, he dynamite bombed the mausoleum he had created for Maria, to spite authorities. Thrive MarketTry Thrive Market and become a member risk-free! A local Cuban- American woman by the name of Maria Elena "Helen" Milagro de Hoyos was brought into the hospital by her mother for an examination. Whichs been recounted a million and one times. The German-born Tanzler moved to the United States in 1926 and began working at a Key West hospital. He poisons her he poisons her to kill her quicker so he can have her as his own. Following his sentence, Tanzler asked if Hoyos body could be returned to him, but he was denied access. He constantly applied disinfectants, deodorizer and formaldehyde to counteract the smells of putrefaction. Tanzler would quickly take advantage of this privilege, which would result in one of the most macabre tales of all time. He even bought her a mahogany bed, which would become her deathbed. Dickinson, writing from Miami, asked, Didnt John Dorschner have anything better to do than write his story about Con Von Cosel? While there, he met a beautiful young woman 32 years his junior named Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos, better known as Helen (top, in a photo courtesy of the Florida Keys Public Library). He believed he had finally found her in Elena. Whether this is true or not, well never know the answer. Sympathists flocked to Von Cosel, excusing his bizarre behavior as an act of love. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos was a 21-year-old Cuban American beauty. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Loathing. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loathing. The medical degrees, licences and medals bestowed upon him were all proven to be forged, though he was considered well-read on medicine, radiology and x-ray technology (Michelfelder 1982). Design a site like this with WordPress.com, The Strange Afterlife of Maria Elena Milagro deHoyos, Odd Oldies: A Vampire, A Romance & A Friendship from Hell Criminally Clueless Podcast. Strong words from a man who was already technically rejected by Maria several times. Hoyos examination at the Marine Hospital confirmed her worst nightmare: she had tuberculosis, a fatal disease in 1930 that mainly affects the lungs. Suffer no more sweet Elena. Thats what happened between Carl Tanzler and Maria Elena Helen Milagro de Hoyos. The truth, however, will forever remain lost to time. Tanzler was evidently consumed by obsessive lust for Elena. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. This one had a story in it somebody was renovating a cottage and when they tore down the wall, they found a confession note. He was born as Karl Tnzler or Georg Karl Tnzler on February 8, 1877 in Dresden, Germany. Von Cosel visited her gravesite for two years, a mausoleum in Key Wests City Cemetery. Despite the lack of qualifications needed to treat a tuberculosis patient, Tanzler was determined to save Hoyos and used a variety of specially-made tonics, elixirs, and medicines in an effort to do so. If youre craving for a new Lifetime movie to watch, look no further. All he had to do was find her. [10], In October 1940, Elena's sister Florinda heard rumors of Tanzler sleeping with the disinterred body of her sister and confronted Tanzler at his home, where Elena's body was eventually discovered (he was also caught dancing with her corpse in front of an open window). Even though people agreed Tanzler committed a crime, many members of the public felt sympathetic towards him. When she passed away in 1931 from tuberculosis, Tanzler refused to leave her side. Cosel fell in love with her despite the fact that she was legally married. Maria Elena "Helen" Milagro de Hoyos was an attractive, young Cuban-American local. On October 25, 1931, Maria finally succumbed to TB, after struggling against the illness for a year and a half, which was how long Carl had spent orbiting her. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The middle of three daughters to a cigar maker and homemaker, Elena had a beauty that didn't go unnoticed. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Von Cosel (Carl Tanzler) in 1940 / Florida KeysPublic Libraries / Flickr / CC BY 2.0, The haunting history of La Pascualita History 101, John Dillingers body to be exhumed after 85 years History 101. He asked if he could have Elenas body returned to him. Learn more about merges. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. He was seen shopping for womens clothing, jewelry and perfumes, and everybody assumed Carl was seeing someone new and had finally moved on. They were comforted by his invention, hoping that perhaps Elena could survive. Nosy neighbours who peered through Carls window saw him dancing with the figure of a woman, and some thought it was a large doll. In April 1933, he removed her body from the mausoleum and transported it to his makeshift laboratory that also served as his home. 22nd April 1930 would turn out to be a very fateful day. As they autopsy her body, for a second time, they discovered that she was removed from her tomb two years after her burial. Von Cosel asked the family if he could keep Elena's body in a casket filled with formaldehyde to preserve her. Just 21 years old, and 32 years younger than Tanzler, Maria Elena "Helen" Milagro de Hoyos was brought to the hospital for an examination. She died because I gave this to her mercifully. Ginsburg, Arthur, director. I have sent you to the angels with my golden elixir (p. 7 8). Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. [1] Tanzler paid for her funeral, and with the permission of her family, he then commissioned the construction of an above ground mausoleum in the Key West Cemetery, which he visited almost every night. I have sent you to the angels with my golden elixir Perez also claimed Tanzler had once told him that he 'would kill Elena if necessary to fulfil [his] destiny'[12] The poison confession letter article was also cited by historian David L. Sloan on episode 44 of the NightMerica podcast.[14]. TSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. She was only nice to him because my mother told her she should be kind to those who were kind to her. I also want to give great credit to Ben Harrison as one of the most prominent writers and researchers on this story, he was one of the first to bring it to the modern age with his book Undying Love. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Carl Von Cosels only solution was to steal her remains. Von Cosel robbed her body from the grave. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Although some have described him as a mad scientist, others, a brilliant doctor, hes more likely a grotesque fetishist. It has been reported that Tanzler somehow still switched the bodies, or that Hoyos remains were secretly returned to him. For nearly 22 years, she had been the focus of his life, alive or dead. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Tanzler immediately recognized her as the woman of his dreams. To many bystanders, this would seem romantic, but nobody knew he had a key to her tomb and that he was secretly preserving her corpse. Love: the mercy killing of a baby with a major deformity or partner with incurable cancer. As if this case wasnt already bizarre enough, it takes an added sci-fi turn. [1], The facts underlying the case and the preliminary hearing drew much interest from the media at the time (most notably, from the Key West Citizen and Miami Herald), and created a sensation among the public, both regionally and nationwide. From 1930 to 1952, he had endlessly obsessed over this woman. Separated from his dead love, Tanzler used a death mask to create a life-sized effigy of Maria de Hoyos and lived with it until his death. [1], Tanzler attached the corpse's bones together with piano wire and fitted the face with glass eyes. File photo of Carl Tanzler when he worked as a . They even resisted Tanzlers ministrations to where they moved house, neglecting to tell him of their new residence. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. She was a devout Catholic who enjoyed Rudolph Valentino movies, cooking for family and friends, dancing at the social club La Brisa and looking forward to the technological developments of the 1930s (Weller 2019). Tuberculosis was after all, considered an incurable disease in 1931 and it was the number one cause of death in Key West at the time (Harrison 1996). A young black-haired Cuban woman and Tanzler met for the first time in 1930 in the Marine Hospital in Key West, Florida. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. She was graduate of Zephyrhills High School and a member of the Zephyrhills Alumni and Friends. He hoped she would return the same feelings. In 1931, a radiologist and bacteriologist working at a tuberculosis sanitarium in Key West, Florida, became obsessed with a 22-year-old patient, Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos. Hes got this plan to be with her after shes dead. [1][8], One evening in April 1933, Tanzler crept through the cemetery where Elena was buried and removed her body from the mausoleum, carting it through the cemetery after dark on a toy wagon, and transported it to his home. Elena was dying of tuberculosis, but Tanzler felt that she was his destinydespite having already having a wife and children. Maria Elena had a bit of a tragic life. Meek (2017) quotes an interview Elenas sister Nana gave to the Miami Herald: [Elena] never loved [Tanzler]. Thats a pretty harsh breakup, isnt it? He wrote his autobiography in 1947, and received American citizenship in 1950, because whats more American than defiling a dead body? At home with her corpse, Carl set to work repairing the damage done by decomposition. Upon returning home, Tanzler married and had two children in 1920, and the family emigrated to Zephyrhills, Florida. Michelfelder (1982) stated that DePoo never explained why he kept his autopsy [findings] secret, (p.61) but Harrison (1996) later speculated that he did not reveal this at the time in order not to cause uproar in an already scandalous plot and to keep things dignified for Elenas surviving family members. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. He transported Elena to his laboratory in the fuselage of a wingless airplane, covertly relocating her body to Rest Beach. This went on for two years. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? 1910 - d. October 25, 1931; Key West, Florida, USA) Contents 1 Parents 2 Siblings 3 Marriage 4 Death Parents Francisco Hoyos (1883-1934), aka Pancho Hoyos Aurora Milagro (1881-1940) Siblings In Carls autobiography, he does confess to kissing and cuddling Marias cadaver. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. She died at her parents home in Key West on October 25, 1931, at just 22 years old. [The magazine] has a story called Floridas Dr. Frankenstein and his Laboratory of Love. Before she died, Carl wrote in his journal how he had hopes that, despite the extensive damage, the lesions would heal again. (Yes, to a real, live, breathing woman.). Tanzler was properly examined by a psychiatrist, who decided he was mentally competent to have a court trial. He was listed as Carl Tanzler von Cosel on his United States citizenship papers, and he was listed as Carl Tanzler on his Florida death certificate. In 2003, two bands released their musical interpretations of the Tanzler story, In 2008, the Swedish band ChansoNoir released the EP. This engraving with Elenas name can now be found at the Fort Martello Museum in Key West. He was charged with wantonly and maliciously destroying a grave and removing a body without authorization, but the statute of limitations saved him from prosecution. Her full name was Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos, a heaven-sent love of his life for Carl, and the moment he first saw her, the beginning of a long-lasting "loving" relationship with literally the woman of his dreams-of which she would know nothing about . Authorities took Elena from him. [1][8], Shortly after the corpse's discovery by authorities, Elena's body was examined by physicians and pathologists, and put on public display at the Dean-Lopez Funeral Home, where it was viewed by as many as 6,800 people. (LogOut/ Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. His negative publicity was a small price to pay for such an excessively grotesque desecration. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Tanzler loved everything about Hoyos. Elena Hoyos. Tanzler had had visions since childhood of a dark-haired woman who was destined to be his true love. At the end of the war no prisoner was permitted to return to his former residence, but all were shipped to the prisoner's exchange in Holland. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Undying Love: The True Story of a Passion That Defied Death. Heartbroken over his loss, Tanzler decided to pay for her funeral, and, with her familys permission, he commissioned the construction of an above-ground mausoleum in the Key West Cemetery. I foremost would like to acknowledge writer and historian David L. Sloan. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Elena Hoyos . Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. She was Methodist. Sources differ (Tanzler von Cosel 1947, Perez 1952, Michelfelder 1982, Swicegood 2003) on when exactly he did this but the more respected tellings of this story (Harrison 1996, Sloan 2012) state this occurred in 1933. After Hoyos sister showed up at Tanzlers home in 1940, the jig was up. He even exaggerated his achievements to her parents, claiming he was Count von Cosel (even though he wasnt a count). Elena did not reciprocate Tanzlers feelings whatsoever. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Resend Activation Email. However, the judge decreed that Tanzler should no longer have possession of Elenas remains (in spite of Tanzlers insistence that she should be returned to him). Elenas married name (and she was still legally married at the time of her death), Mesa, was not engraved on the tombstone, however, on the bottom corner, Ct. 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