Gravediggers working with shovels in darkness to unearth caskets, disrupting the sleep of the dead: Could it be the faint memory of a distant childhood nightmare? Could it be the faded recollection of a horrific tale heard long ago?
It happened during the early morning hours of June 25, 1929 at Angel Hill Cemetery in the quiet town of Havre de Grace.
In the dim light cast by a full moon behind low clouds, M. H. Andrews, superintendent of Angel Hill Cemetery, his son, Clifford and two laborers carried out the grisly task at hand. To avoid frenzied crowds of townsfolk, 3 AM was the designated hour to exhume the bodies of Edward Stone and Edgar Stone, the deceased husband and son of Hattie Stone.
Hattie, in the custody of authorities at the time, was the target of a murder investigation that pointed to the intentional poisoning of her 15 year old son, George, who had died a couple of weeks earlier. Edgar had passed away two years before his brother; Edward had been dead just a year and a half. All three, at the time of their deaths, presented symptoms suggesting they had been poisoned with strychnine. The authorities wanted to know if the rumors circulating around town were true: Did Hattie Stone murder her family?
As might be expected, the bizarre case drew the intense focus of media attention.
The caskets were taken by undertakers George and Robert Pennington, father and son, to their funeral parlor in town. George Pennington was then the mayor of Havre de Grace. The viscera (internal organs) were removed from the corpses to be delivered to Baltimore for chemical analysis.
The caskets were swiftly returned to Angel Hill where they were placed back in the earth, next to George's grave, while the town still slept.
Showing posts with label hattie stone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hattie stone. Show all posts
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Murder by poison in Havre de Grace
In 1929, Havre de Grace took the national spotlight as the gruesome details of a series of murders were revealed. A town resident, Hattie Stone, was convicted for the death of her 15 year old son George - Strychnine poisoning was thought to be the cause - who died in the midst of convulsions following a "hearty meal prepared by his mother." ( Miami News - June 20, 1929 ) .
At the time, Hattie's highly publicized prosecution was referred to as the "Poison Trial."
Authorities suspected that Hattie was also responsible for the deaths of other family members including her husband George Stone, her father-in-law John Stone, her mother-in-law Emma Stone, and another son Edgar. Upon examination, the exhumed corpses of Hattie Stone's family indicated deaths due to unnatural causes.
Her family members lie now, as they did then, in Angel Hill Cemetery in the town of Havre de Grace. All reportedly died under similar circumstances, namely stomach trouble..
Insurance proceeds were allegedly the motive for Hattie's brutal acts. Newspaper articles from the time indicate that insurance policies named Hattie as beneficiary.
Prosecutors painted the picture of a woman with a scandalous lifestyle who may have considered her sole surviving son George as a hindrance. In the words of State's Attorney, W. Worthington Hopkins: "She was the kind of a woman who wanted to be running around all the time with the men."
Keep in mind, the Havre de Grace that Hattie Stone might have enjoyed during the 1920's was a much different place than the quiet tourist town it is today. Home to "The Graw," a prominent thorough-bred racetrack, the town embraced illegal drinking, prostitution and, of course, gambling as part of it's notorious sub-culture. If Hattie was looking for a good time, assuming she had the cash to fund her antics, Havre de Grace was the place to be.
What happened to Hattie Stone? One elderly town resident recalls that Hattie worked as a waitress in Baltimore after serving her prison sentence. Has anyone heard a different ending to Hattie's story?
What about the tortured souls of Hattie's murder victims?
Are they at rest or do they linger in Havre de Grace as a paranormal reminder of a horrible, yet forgotten, secret from the town's past?
At the time, Hattie's highly publicized prosecution was referred to as the "Poison Trial."
Authorities suspected that Hattie was also responsible for the deaths of other family members including her husband George Stone, her father-in-law John Stone, her mother-in-law Emma Stone, and another son Edgar. Upon examination, the exhumed corpses of Hattie Stone's family indicated deaths due to unnatural causes.
Her family members lie now, as they did then, in Angel Hill Cemetery in the town of Havre de Grace. All reportedly died under similar circumstances, namely stomach trouble..
Insurance proceeds were allegedly the motive for Hattie's brutal acts. Newspaper articles from the time indicate that insurance policies named Hattie as beneficiary.
Prosecutors painted the picture of a woman with a scandalous lifestyle who may have considered her sole surviving son George as a hindrance. In the words of State's Attorney, W. Worthington Hopkins: "She was the kind of a woman who wanted to be running around all the time with the men."
Keep in mind, the Havre de Grace that Hattie Stone might have enjoyed during the 1920's was a much different place than the quiet tourist town it is today. Home to "The Graw," a prominent thorough-bred racetrack, the town embraced illegal drinking, prostitution and, of course, gambling as part of it's notorious sub-culture. If Hattie was looking for a good time, assuming she had the cash to fund her antics, Havre de Grace was the place to be.
What happened to Hattie Stone? One elderly town resident recalls that Hattie worked as a waitress in Baltimore after serving her prison sentence. Has anyone heard a different ending to Hattie's story?
What about the tortured souls of Hattie's murder victims?
Are they at rest or do they linger in Havre de Grace as a paranormal reminder of a horrible, yet forgotten, secret from the town's past?
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