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The Hall-Mills Murder Case: The Minister and the Choir Singer
On Saturday, September 16, 1922, the bodies of Edward Hall, a handsome Episcopal rector, and Eleanor Mills, his choir singer and lover, were found near a lovers' lane in New Jersey. Four years later, the minister's widow and her brothers were tried for the murders and acquitted. Renowned criminal lawyer William M. Kunstler tells the tale.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 13, 2021
This book was of interest to me because I grew up in the Somerville, N.J. area, have visited the Somerset County Courthouse, and went to Douglass College in New Brunswick. Although the Edward and Frances Hall home on Nichol Avenue in New Brunswick later became the home of the Dean of Douglass College, I was not aware of the historical connection with the Hall-Mills murder case when I attended the school in the 60's. Kunstler's 1964 account of the murders in 1922 of Edward Hall, an Episcopal priest, and church singer and activist, Eleanor Mills, is as captivating as it is mysterious. The investigations into the murders pointed to several people who may have had motives, including Hall's wife, Frances Noel Stevens Hall, and her brothers, and Mills' husband, but jurisdictional disputes and the frenzy created by news reporters and the curious public resulted in no indictments at the time. It was 4 years later in 1926 that new speculations arose from a newspaper report in the New York Daily Mirror based on remarks by a man connected to one of Mrs. Hall's housekeepers that led to renewed investigation and trial. The prosecuting attorney, Alexander Simpson, and defense lawyers, Robert McCarter and Timothy Pfeiffer, presented their witnesses, evidence and rebuttals over the course of the approximately thirty day trial and author Kunstler presents an even-handed description of the various witnesses some of whom have connections or related to high-profile and wealthy New Jerseyans of prominence; and others of questionable background and veritas. The case aroused such a nation wide interest and frenzy that, according to Kunstler, people's interest in other worldly events occurring at the time were ignored or taken with little interest. Kunstler also expresses his own speculations about the case. Some may find Kunstler's writing a bit melodramatic.
August 28, 2017
When I was a kid in the 1960s, my mother checked this book out of the public library, and I was so fascinated by the title that I read portions of the book, which chronicles one of the most famous unsolved murder cases of the 20th century. I found a copy at my favorite defunct used-book store in Chapel Hill a few months ago and snapped it up.
On September 16, 1922, Edward Hall, the rector of a church in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and his paramour, Eleanor Mills, were found dead in a field in Somerset, NJ. Their bodies were lying on their backs, with Mrs. Mills' head resting on Hall's right arm. Hall had been shot once in the head; Mrs. Mills had three bullet wounds in her skull, and her throat was cut ear to ear.
The ensuing investigation and trial were ineptly conducted, and featured such bizarre, so-called witnesses as the "Pig Woman," who claimed that she had been riding a mule near the murder site and had seen three men and a women commit the murder at dusk on September 14. However, there was so much conflicting evidence that no one could be charged with the murders until 1926, when Hall's widow and her two brothers were accused of the crimes. There were a remarkable 157 people who testified at the trial, and the accused were acquitted. However, doubts about the case have been raised for the last 90 years. Attorney William M. Kunstler wrote this book because of his fascination with the case, and he advanced a novel theory. He posited that the Ku Klux Klan had murdered the two lovers as part of their effort to police morals in New Jersey at the time. His argument is entirely circumstantial, and perhaps not to be believed.
A subsequent 1999 book, Gerald Tomlinson's "Fatal Tryst: Who Killed the Minister and the Choir Singer?" is the most detailed exploration of the case written to date and concludes that the Stevens siblings were the guilty parties. But who will ever know? The Kunstler book is certainly a fascinating read, although the mountain of testimony quoted in the book, and the many individuals who deliver it, are a little difficult to keep straight. Still, what a story!
On September 16, 1922, Edward Hall, the rector of a church in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and his paramour, Eleanor Mills, were found dead in a field in Somerset, NJ. Their bodies were lying on their backs, with Mrs. Mills' head resting on Hall's right arm. Hall had been shot once in the head; Mrs. Mills had three bullet wounds in her skull, and her throat was cut ear to ear.
The ensuing investigation and trial were ineptly conducted, and featured such bizarre, so-called witnesses as the "Pig Woman," who claimed that she had been riding a mule near the murder site and had seen three men and a women commit the murder at dusk on September 14. However, there was so much conflicting evidence that no one could be charged with the murders until 1926, when Hall's widow and her two brothers were accused of the crimes. There were a remarkable 157 people who testified at the trial, and the accused were acquitted. However, doubts about the case have been raised for the last 90 years. Attorney William M. Kunstler wrote this book because of his fascination with the case, and he advanced a novel theory. He posited that the Ku Klux Klan had murdered the two lovers as part of their effort to police morals in New Jersey at the time. His argument is entirely circumstantial, and perhaps not to be believed.
A subsequent 1999 book, Gerald Tomlinson's "Fatal Tryst: Who Killed the Minister and the Choir Singer?" is the most detailed exploration of the case written to date and concludes that the Stevens siblings were the guilty parties. But who will ever know? The Kunstler book is certainly a fascinating read, although the mountain of testimony quoted in the book, and the many individuals who deliver it, are a little difficult to keep straight. Still, what a story!
May 2, 2019
This book found me on a central NJ reference shelf and $13.99 and several text overages to share the WTFery, I’m here to tell you it has next to nothing to do with the Great Gatsby or the klan (contra back cover copy) but I will bother you with a detailed recitation whether you ask or not. Viva Pig Woman!
October 21, 2018
Very neat to read about a 100-year-old whodunit that happened in an area I'm so familar with.
June 22, 2018
The bodies under the crabapple tree…
Before the Lindberg kidnapping, the Hall/Mills murder mystery shocked New Jersey. Two bodies were discovered Somerset County. Lying under a crabapple tree were the bodies of a man and a woman. They had been posed with the woman’s head on the man’s right arm, and her hand on the man’s right knee.
The man’s face was covered by his hat and a scarf was over the woman’s neck. Bits of paper scattered around and between the bodies proved to be love letters written by the pair. A business style card was propped against the man’s foot. It was the card of New Brunswick pastor Reverend Edward Wheeler Hall of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist.
The male body was identified as the minister. He had been shot in the head. The lady’s body was identified as Mrs. Eleanor Reinhardt Mills, a choir singer at St. Johns. She had been shot three times in the head and her throat slashed ear to ear. A latter postmortem would reveal that her larynx and tongue were missing. They had been dead around 36 hours, and maggots were in the woman’s neck wound.
The two had been carrying on a not-so-secret affair for some time. Due to the love letters and the certainty of the affair, the minister’s widow, Frances Noel Stevens was suspected of the murders, along with her brothers Henry Hewgill Stevens and William "Willie" Carpender Stevens. The trial was a bit of a circus.
Much of the evidence was given by Mrs. James Gibson, known as “The Pig Lady.” She was dying from cancer and had to be brought into the court in her hospital bed.
The author kind of skirts the idea that the widow and her brothers were well to do and Mrs. Gibson lived in a converted barn. Her story would vary, but the central point, her identification of the suspects never wavered. The lawyers certainly took advantage of wealth and power in suggesting that Mrs. Gibson was not to be believed over her betters.
One point I’d like to make is that the worst of the damage was to Mrs. Mills. Removal of the larynx and tongue, both used in music, seem to point towards revenge on Mrs. Mills. Why wasn’t her husband brought to trial? He had as much motive as the widow Hall, and this was a very personal crime.
I totally discount the author’s idea that perhaps the Ku Klux Klan murdered the pair. They very much were active and murder was not unusual for the outlaw group. Yet the personal attack on Mrs. Mills throat and tongue isn’t something the Klan might do. They would have also been sure they got the credit.
An interesting case from the past, I give the book five stars! One thing this book is not is boring!
Quoth the Raven…
Before the Lindberg kidnapping, the Hall/Mills murder mystery shocked New Jersey. Two bodies were discovered Somerset County. Lying under a crabapple tree were the bodies of a man and a woman. They had been posed with the woman’s head on the man’s right arm, and her hand on the man’s right knee.
The man’s face was covered by his hat and a scarf was over the woman’s neck. Bits of paper scattered around and between the bodies proved to be love letters written by the pair. A business style card was propped against the man’s foot. It was the card of New Brunswick pastor Reverend Edward Wheeler Hall of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist.
The male body was identified as the minister. He had been shot in the head. The lady’s body was identified as Mrs. Eleanor Reinhardt Mills, a choir singer at St. Johns. She had been shot three times in the head and her throat slashed ear to ear. A latter postmortem would reveal that her larynx and tongue were missing. They had been dead around 36 hours, and maggots were in the woman’s neck wound.
The two had been carrying on a not-so-secret affair for some time. Due to the love letters and the certainty of the affair, the minister’s widow, Frances Noel Stevens was suspected of the murders, along with her brothers Henry Hewgill Stevens and William "Willie" Carpender Stevens. The trial was a bit of a circus.
Much of the evidence was given by Mrs. James Gibson, known as “The Pig Lady.” She was dying from cancer and had to be brought into the court in her hospital bed.
The author kind of skirts the idea that the widow and her brothers were well to do and Mrs. Gibson lived in a converted barn. Her story would vary, but the central point, her identification of the suspects never wavered. The lawyers certainly took advantage of wealth and power in suggesting that Mrs. Gibson was not to be believed over her betters.
One point I’d like to make is that the worst of the damage was to Mrs. Mills. Removal of the larynx and tongue, both used in music, seem to point towards revenge on Mrs. Mills. Why wasn’t her husband brought to trial? He had as much motive as the widow Hall, and this was a very personal crime.
I totally discount the author’s idea that perhaps the Ku Klux Klan murdered the pair. They very much were active and murder was not unusual for the outlaw group. Yet the personal attack on Mrs. Mills throat and tongue isn’t something the Klan might do. They would have also been sure they got the credit.
An interesting case from the past, I give the book five stars! One thing this book is not is boring!
Quoth the Raven…
January 10, 2022
William M. Kunstler wrote an intriguing account of the Hall-Mills murders in 1922. One hundred years since the event and the story is ageless. People, motives, affairs of the heart, denial. Written in perhaps at too technical manner...so many details, so many names, a map of whos who would help the reader. But that set aside, the heart of the story, the gory details of the murders leaves one to wonder how justice is ever attained when so many careless assumptions are made by many. Of course, one always suspects the closest member of the family when a gruesome love triangle leads to murder. But Mrs. Hall, wife of the deceased, didn't miss a beat with her denials year after year. Mr. Mills, wife of the lovely Eleanor whom it appears Preacher Hall adored, was hardly detained by the inconvenience. He didn't like being accused of murder but his mourning mood didn't shatter any deep records of remorse or loss. Kunstler's conclusion as to the actual killers will definitely startle the reader. That is if you aren't not aware of nefarious groups of crusaders during that period, 1920s, when they played judge and jury. Truth or fiction? It will take a lot of convincing to believe these murders were carried out by subjects who didn't know the parties well.
May 6, 2024
An incredibly dry account of one of the juiciest scandals in New Jersey’s history.
June 27, 2008
I had this book on my "to-read" list for about 12 years before I got around to reading it and finished it before I realized that these events took place in a part of New Jersey where I had spent a good deal of time with a Navy buddy. I wish I had read it before my visit to the Highland Park/New Brunswick area.
Several years before, I had seen Kunstler argue a case in the court of appeals and concluded that he had missed his calling by not pursuing a career on stage as a Shakespearean actor. After reading this masterfully written account of an acual murder case that remains unsolved, I decided he would have done ever better as a novelist or historical writer.
I still can't make up my mind what I think of him as a person and a lawyer. His conduct in the Chicago 7 case left him damaged goods in my eyes. But it was hard to sort out the blame in that fiasco.
Several years before, I had seen Kunstler argue a case in the court of appeals and concluded that he had missed his calling by not pursuing a career on stage as a Shakespearean actor. After reading this masterfully written account of an acual murder case that remains unsolved, I decided he would have done ever better as a novelist or historical writer.
I still can't make up my mind what I think of him as a person and a lawyer. His conduct in the Chicago 7 case left him damaged goods in my eyes. But it was hard to sort out the blame in that fiasco.
January 18, 2008
Kunstler wildly speculative conclusion: the Klan committed the murders. No evidence for this at all, but he doesn't want that to get in the way of blaming the vast right wing conspiracy. It all comes off as a very ideologically driven for Kintsler. Pretty bizarre.
BUT its a decent read (even if his writing style is strained and melodramatic). The case has an intrinsic interest to it. Kuntsler does provide lots of good details.
Read one of the other books on the case -- it was the wife's brother.
BTW -- Weird NJ has some hysterical amateur experiences with the Pig Lady's ghost. See, for example, the Pig Slayer's article in the November 2007 issue.
BUT its a decent read (even if his writing style is strained and melodramatic). The case has an intrinsic interest to it. Kuntsler does provide lots of good details.
Read one of the other books on the case -- it was the wife's brother.
BTW -- Weird NJ has some hysterical amateur experiences with the Pig Lady's ghost. See, for example, the Pig Slayer's article in the November 2007 issue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2016
This was a pretty good one. Delves into the baffling drama around the murders of the Reverend Edward hall and his lover, Eleanor Mills, who sang in the choir. The author completely sidesteps the prevailing theories of the case and comes up with one of his own -- not unthinkable, but not supported by any evidence, either.
February 21, 2008
I chose this book because the murder case occurred in New Brunswick, NJ where I worked many years ago. I was surprised to find that many of the people involved in the case came from prominent families whose progeny remain prominent today.
May 5, 2014
A good account of the methodical nature of murder trials. However, methodical is not exactly the most enthralling thing to read.
March 17, 2013
One of the first of several "trials of the century" in the last century. I am not entirely convinced by Kunstler's conclusion as to whodunit, but I also am not convinced he is wrong.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews