Marias family soon became puzzled when Carl stopped visiting her grave, but they just assumed that he had finally moved on. Tanzler was subsequently arrested on the charge of wantonly and maliciously destroying a grave and removing a body without authorisation so a hearing was held. The invention charged her oxygen electrons with electrodes, which he decided would save her. Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos was a 21-year-old Cuban American beauty. Tanzler (1947) tells of many arguments he had with Elenas parents about her condition, the Cuban culture of smoking cigars, having numerous visitors at the house and taking Elena for car rides. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Undying Love: The True Story of a Passion That Defied Death. It seemed to be someone admitting to killing someone. Human jealousy has robbed me of the body of my Elena, yet divine happiness is flowing through me, for she has survived death. He would personally transport her body by airplane, where Carl Von Cosel believed he could restore her life. I own that tomb and everything that is inside, not you! (p.70). He poisons her he poisons her to kill her quicker so he can have her as his own. Local townspeople in Key West noticed Tanzler was buying womens clothing and perfumes, but they thought he was in a serious relationship. (2020) noted that the patient at one point suffered a seizure, much like how Michelfelder (1982) notes the police log where Elena experienced violent convulsions before her death (p. 9). The strange death mask was put on public display as the story became legend. He had her coffin lined with formaldehyde and other preserving agents, and had a special key made for himself so he could come and go as he pleased. His subsequent actions would be the ones that brought this story to public infamy. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. She had dark hair, was beautiful and was a foreigner. Carl had to continuously preserve Marias decaying body, and mummification isnt easy. He hoped she would return the same feelings. She was his soulmate, so he created a life-size doll from a death mask that closely resembled his favorite woman. Are you visiting Key West? On April 22, 1930, while working at the Marine Hospital in Key West, Tanzler met Maria Elena Milagro "Helen" de Hoyos (1909-1931), a local Cuban-American woman who had been brought to the hospital for an examination by her mother. She had two sisters, Florinda "Nana" Milagro Hoyos (19061944), who married Mario Medina (c.19051944) and also succumbed to tuberculosis; and Celia Milagro Hoyos (19131934). Search above to list available cemeteries. Born the daughter of a cigar maker she came from a large Cuban-American family. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. This is a carousel with slides. Tanzler was evidently consumed by obsessive lust for Elena. At home with her corpse, Carl set to work repairing the damage done by decomposition. Shortly after Elenas death, Tanzler talked the family into giving him residence in her room, paying them a fee of $20 a month (about $345 in todays money). He slept with the body in his bed, but he kept a curtain between them because he was an extreme gentleman. Ginsburg, Arthur, director. Florida, U.S., Marriage Indexes, 1822-1875 . We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. [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. Hoyos was suffering from tuberculosis, and despite Tanzler's efforts, she passed at 22 years old. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Three years later a Cuban-American woman by the name of Maria Elena Milagro De Hoyos, was brought to the hospital by her mother for examination. Suffer no more, sweet Elena. It was palatable and my loved one departed this miserable world on October 25, 1931. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. In the early 1900s, approximately 110,000 Americans would die each year from tuberculosis. Image credit: Florida KeysPublic Libraries, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. 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. Detective Cases, Jun. However, a year later, he left his family behind to work as a radiology technician at the U.S. Marine Hospital in Key West, Florida. Carl could not get over Marias death, so he decided to pursue her from beyond the grave. [The magazine] has a story called Floridas Dr. Frankenstein and his Laboratory of Love. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. The list is numerous and was all justified by Tanzler in the name of love. Join today and youll get up to twenty dollars in shopping credit toward your first order. Fans of Tanzler travelled to give him treats, public sympathy portrayed him as an eccentric romantic, an attorney offered to represent him pro bono and Elenas body was put on public display to be viewed by over 6,850 people at the Dean-Lopez Funeral Home (Tanzler von Cosel 1947, Michelfelder 1982, Harrison 1996, Sloan 2012, Meek 2017). He wrote his autobiography in 1947, and received American citizenship in 1950, because whats more American than defiling a dead body? He was a radiologist or x-ray technician. Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos (1910-1931) died of tuberculosis and her body was preserved by Carl Tanzler (1877-1952) who was one of her physicians. Nevertheless, he went on to live out the rest of his days alone and died in his home in 1952, where he was discovered three weeks after his passing. Interested in learning more about the most haunted places on the Island? Folk figure. [1], The story of Tanzler and Elena would be reproduced in pulp magazines in the years following his death, with various parties adding new details to the case. As they autopsy her body, for a second time, they discovered that she was removed from her tomb two years after her burial. As they autopsy her body, for a second time, they discovered that she was removed from her tomb two years after her burial. This article seeks to bring light to these, with the hope that people will learn what really happened as per these key findings. I have paid for all her expenses, not you! But the curious began wondering why Von Cosel visited her night after night and when his visits stopped all assumed he had died. He inserted glass eyes into her orbitals, and replaced her rotting skin with silk cloth coated by plaster of paris and wax. Weve updated the security on the site. There, he met Cuban-American Maria Elena "Helen" Milagro de Hoyos and became instantly infatuated. He stuffed her body with rags, waxed the skin with plaster of Paris, and even fitted the face with glass eyes. The findings of which were most prominently reproduced in an episode of HBOs Autopsy series: I found a tube [in Elenas vagina] wide enough to permit sexual intercourse. Marias life was not going well. Most curiously, he had made a death mask of her face to preserve her beauty. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Death . It was palatable and my loved one departed this miserable world on October 25, 1931. Carl Von Cosel decided that he was in love. Instead of a cure, she found a radiologist named Karl Tanzler who instantly became obsessed with her. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? However, some people go above and beyond this promise. They even resisted Tanzlers ministrations to where they moved house, neglecting to tell him of their new residence. So what does he do? Which theory do you think best explains the Iraq War? When the King grew tired of the feisty and headstrong Countess, he had her exiled, and she stayed that way for 49 years until her death. She was graduate of Zephyrhills High School and a member of the Zephyrhills Alumni and Friends. iUniverse. Some asked if Key West could seal Elena within a glass case as a permanent exhibit. Of course, she was shocked to find Hoyos body and she ran out of the laboratory to notify authorities. Yet Carl Von Cosel was unable to resist peeking at Elena Hoyos. Today's episode is dedicated to our Patron, Jacqueline! Aconite is a plant native to Northern Asia and Europe. 17 Feb. 2017, https://www.thisamericanlife.org/610/grand-gesture, Michelfelder, W. Floridas Dr. Frankenstein and His Love Laboratory. Tanzler became enamored with her, and took an overly keen interest in her care, despite not having any idea on how to treat tuberculosis. According to Michelfelder (1982), Tanzler signed the cause on Elenas death certificate as [expiration] from a series of violent seizures clinically associated with dormant epilepsy (p.9). Whether this is true or not, well never know the answer. The only thing she wanted from Tanzler was a proper medical treatment. As the hair fell out of Elena's decomposing scalp, Tanzler fashioned a wig from her hair, which he had previously obtained from her mother. Florida, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1823-1982, Florida, U.S., Marriage Indexes, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001, Your Scrapbook is currently empty. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Instead, Marias mummified remains were put on display at Dean-Lopez Funeral Home. We have set your language to Tanzler, with his self-professed medical knowledge, attempted to treat and cure Elena with a variety of medicines, as well as X-ray and electrical equipment, that were brought to the Hoyos' home. It was there that he fell in love with a young Cuban-American woman named Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos. How could she possibly have a life-threatening disease? Add to your scrapbook. They were unaware that the doctor had found sperm inside Elenas corpse, clear evidence of necrophilia. Dickinson, writing from Miami, asked, Didnt John Dorschner have anything better to do than write his story about Con Von Cosel? There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Her family initially assumed that this illness was sadness due to the loss of her child, but the cough was not moving. Meek (2017) quotes an interview Elenas sister Nana gave to the Miami Herald: [Elena] never loved [Tanzler]. After this, Maria was finally laid to rest at Key West Cemetery in an unmarked grave, to deter Carl from disturbing her eternal rest. Try again later. With pretty much the entire town talking about the reclusive man often seen buying womens clothing and perfume on top of one local boys account of witnessing the doctor dancing with what appeared to be a giant doll Hoyos family began to suspect that something was off. Count Carl Tanzler von Cosel by Flagler / Florida KeysPublic Librariess photostream / Flickr / CC BY 2.0. In 1940, nine years after Elenas death, Tanzler was discovered by Nana to have taken Elenas body from the grave, reconstructed it with plastered wax and kept it at his residences, which included his wingless plane, a shack on the beach and a cottage in Flagler Avenue. The following "Editorial Note" accompanying the autobiographical account "The Trial Bay Organ: A Product of Wit and Ingenuity" by "Carl von Cosel" in the Rosicrucian Digest[3] of March and April 1939, gives details about his stay in Australia before his internment during the Great War, as well as his subsequent return to Germany after the War:[4][5]. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. (LogOut/ He was no longer her technician; she was the love of his life. 19: Count von Cosel & His Mummy Bride", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carl_Tanzler&oldid=1140915722, Articles needing additional references from October 2021, All articles needing additional references, Articles with trivia sections from October 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Portions of the original memorial plaque that was commissioned by Tanzler and affixed to Elena Hoyos's mausoleum have been reassembled and are on display at the, True Crime Kent Podcast Episode Karl Tanzler, A Haunted History of Pasco County (Haunted America) by Madonna Jervis Wise; Arcadia Publishing. He wrote his autobiography in 1947, and received American citizenship in 1950, whats. Visited her night after night and when his visits stopped all assumed he had moved. His story about Con Von Cosel by Flagler / Florida KeysPublic Libraries, CC 2.0. 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