Saturday, March 21, 2009

Carl Tanzler

Carl Tanzler

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Carl Tanzler

Tanzler in 1940
Born February 8, 1877(1877-02-08)
Dresden, Germany
Died July 23, 1952 (aged 75)
Pasco County, Florida, U.S.
Occupation Radiologist

Carl Tanzler or sometimes Count Carl von Cosel (February 8, 1877 – July 23, 1952) was a German-born radiologist at the United States Marine Hospital in Key West, Florida who developed a morbid obsession for a young Cuban-American tuberculosis patient, Maria Elena Milagro "Helen" de Hoyos (1910–1931), that carried on well after Hoyos succumbed to the disease in 1931.[1] In 1933, almost two years after her death, Tanzler removed Hoyos' body from its tomb, and lived with the corpse at his home for seven years until its discovery by Hoyos' relatives and authorities in 1940.[2]

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[edit] Name

Tanzler went by many names; he was listed as Georg Karl Tänzler on his German marriage certificate. 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. Some of his hospital records were signed Count Carl Tanzler von Cosel.

[edit] Early life

He was born as Karl Tänzler or Georg Karl Tänzler on February 8, 1877 in Dresden, Germany. Around 1920 he married Doris A. (1889–1977) and he was listed as "Georg Karl Tänzler" on the marriage certificate. Together they had two children: Ayesha Tanzler (1922–1998), and Crystal Tanzler (1924–1934), who died of diphtheria.

Tanzler grew up in Germany, and apparently spent time in Australia around the time of World War I, where he may have been held on detention.[3] Tanzler emigrated to the United States in 1926, sailing from Rotterdam on February 6, 1926 to Havana, Cuba. From Cuba he settled in Zephyrhills, Florida, where his sister had earlier emigrated, and was later joined by his wife and two daughters. Leaving his family behind in Zephyrhills in 1927, he took a job as a radiologist at the U.S. Marine Hospital in Key West, Florida under the name Carl von Cosel.

During his childhood in Germany, and later, while traveling briefly in Genoa, Italy, Tanzler claimed to have been visited by visions of a dead ancestor, countess Anna Constantia von Cosel, who revealed the face of his true love, an exotic dark-haired woman, to him.[1]

[edit] Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos

On April 22, 1930, while working at the Marine Hospital in Key West, Tanzler met Maria Elena Milagro "Helen" de Hoyos (1910–1931), a local Cuban-American woman who had been brought to the hospital for an examination by her mother. Tanzler immediately recognized her as the beautiful dark-haired woman that had been revealed to him in his earlier "visions."[3] By all accounts, Hoyos was viewed as a local beauty in Key West[1][3][4]

Elena was the daughter of local cigar maker Francisco "Pancho" Hoyos (1883–1934) and Aurora Milagro (1881–1940). She had two sisters, Florinda "Nana" Milagro Hoyos (1906–1944), who married Mario Medina (c.1905–1944) and also succumbed to tuberculosis; and Celia Milagro Hoyos (1913–?). Medina, Nana's husband, was electrocuted trying to rescue a coworker who hit a powerline with his crane at a construction site.

On February 18, 1926, Hoyos married Luis Mesa (1908–?), the son of Caridad and Isaac Mesa. Luis left Hoyos shortly after Hoyos miscarried the couples' child, and moved to Miami. Hoyos was legally married to Mesa at the time of her death.

Hoyos was eventually diagnosed with tuberculosis, a typically fatal disease at the time, that eventually claimed the lives of almost her entire immediate family. Tanzler, with his self-professed medical "knowledge," attempted to treat and cure Hoyos with a variety of medicines, as well as x-ray and electrical equipment, that were brought to the Hoyos' home.[1][3] Tanzler showered Hoyos with gifts of jewelry and clothing, and allegedly professed his love to her, but no evidence has surfaced to show that any of his affection was reciprocated by Hoyos.[1][3]

[edit] Morbid obsession

The corpse of Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos (1910–1931) encased in wax and plaster circa 1940.

This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. It may be deleted after Tuesday, 17 March 2009.

Despite Tanzler's best efforts, Hoyos died of terminal tuberculosis at her parent's home in Key West on October 25, 1931.[1] Following Hoyos' funeral, which Tanzler paid for, and with the permission of her family, Tanzler commissioned the construction of an above ground mausoleum in the Key West Cemetery that he visited almost every night.[1][3]

In April, 1933, Tanzler removed Hoyos' body from the mausoleum, carted it through the cemetery after dark on a toy wagon, and transported it to his home.[1] Tanzler attached the corpse's bones together with wire and coat hangers, and fitted the face with glass eyes. As the skin of the corpse decomposed, Tanzler replaced it with silk cloth soaked in wax and plaster of paris. As the hair fell out of the decomposing scalp, Tanzler fashioned a wig from Hoyos' hair that had been collected by her mother and given to Tanzler not long after her burial in 1931.[3] Tanzler filled the corpse's abdominal and chest cavity with rags to keep the original form, dressed Hoyos' remains in stockings, jewelry, and gloves, and kept the body in his bed. Tanzler also used copious amounts of perfume, disinfectants, and preserving agents, to mask the odor and forestall the effects of the corpse's decomposition.[5]

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 Hoyos' body was eventually discovered. Florinda notified the authorities, and Tanzler was arrested and detained. Tanzler was psychiatrically examined, and found mentally competent to stand trial on the charge of "wantonly and maliciously destroying a grave and removing a body without authorization."[1] After a preliminary hearing on October 9, 1940 at the Monroe County Courthouse in Key West, Tanzler was held to answer on the charge, but the case was eventually dropped and he was released, as the statute of limitations for the crime had expired.[1][3]

Shortly after the corpse's discovery by authorities, Hoyos' 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.[4] Hoyos' body was eventually returned to the Key West Cemetery where the remains were buried in an unmarked grave, in a secret location, to prevent further tampering.[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. The public mood was generally sympathetic to Tanzler, whom many viewed as an eccentric "romantic".[1]

Though not reported contemporaneously, research (most notably by authors Harrison and Swicegood) has revealed evidence of Tanzler's necrophilia with Hoyos' corpse.[1][3] Two physicians (Dr. DePoo and Dr. Foraker) who attended the 1940 autopsy of Hoyos' remains recalled in 1972 that a paper tube had been inserted in the vaginal area of the corpse that allowed for intercourse.[1][3] Others contend that since no evidence of necrophilia was presented at the 1940 preliminary hearing, and because the physicians' "proof" surfaced in 1972, over 30 years after the case had been dismissed, the necrophilia allegation is questionable. While no existing contemporary photographs of the autopsy or photographs taken at the public display show a tube, the necrophilia claim was repeated by the HBO Autopsy program in 2005.[5]

[edit] Later life and death

In 1944, Tanzler moved to Pasco County, Florida close to Zephyrhills, Florida, where he wrote an autobiography that appeared in the pulp publication, Fantastic Adventures, in 1947. His home was near his wife Doris, who apparently helped to support Tanzler in his later years.[1] Tanzler received United States citizenship in 1950 in Tampa.

Separated from his obsession, Tanzler used a death mask to create a life-sized effigy of Hoyos, and lived with it until his death on July 3, 1952.[5] His body was discovered on the floor of his home three weeks after his death. He died under the name "Carl Tanzler".

It has been recounted that Tanzler was found in the arms of the Hoyos effigy upon discovery of his corpse, but his obituary reported that he died on the floor behind one of his organs. The obituary recounted: "a metal cylinder on a shelf above a table in it wrapped in silken cloth and a robe was a waxen image".[6]

It has also been written (most notably by Swicegood) that Tanzler had the bodies switched (or that Hoyos' remains were secretly returned to him), and that he died with the real body of Elena.[1] There is no evidence that the waxen effigy found in his house at the time of his death contained bones, or any other human material.[6]

[edit] In popular culture

Several bands have released EPs inspired by this story: And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead released The Secret of Elena's Tomb in 2003, and Sleep Station released Von Cosel in 2006. The band "The Black Dahlia Murder" also released the song "Deathmask Divine" which talks about this story. In 2008 ChansoNoir released the single "Count Von Cosels Obsession", with the b-side "A Cemetery Serenade" being an instrumental reenacting Carl Tanzlers organ playing in the tomb.

The Ripley's Believe It or Not museum In Key West, Florida, claims to have the body of Carl Tanzler, presented as Count Carl Von Cosel, on display.

Portions of the original memorial plaque that was commissioned by Tanzler and affixed to Elena Hoyos' mausoleum have been reassembled and are on display at the Martello Gallery-Key West Art and Historical Museum in Key West.

[edit] Timeline

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Swicegood, Tom (2003). Von Cosel. iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-74652-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=ptMZLu_YC3UC&dq. "Tuesday, October 1, 1940. It was not even mid-morning but Nana Medina was tired. She had been res..."
  2. ^ "A Macabre Love Story". Crime Library. http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/necrophiles/story_6.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-24. "Radiologist Carl von Cosel, 56, became obsessed with one of the tuberculosis patients at the sanitarium where he worked. Her name was Maria Elena de Hoyos and she was a beautiful, 22-year-old woman."
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harrison, Ben (2001). Undying Love: The True Story Of A Passion That Defied Death. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-97802-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=Iuco-wPO-xsC&pg=PP1&dq. "... Tanzler left Germany, a country that was dispirited and defeated after the First World War, and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States, ..."
  4. ^ a b Sloan, David (1998). Ghosts of Key West. Phantom Press. ISBN 0-9674498-0-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=_BNK_gs-KIQC&pg. "A German citizen, his real name was Carl Tanzler, and though he was well-read in many subjects, it is doubtful that he had any real schooling in the various ..."
  5. ^ a b c "Autopsy 6: Secrets of the Dead - The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel". HBO. 2005. http://www.hbo.com/autopsy/episode/episode_6_the_strange_obsession_of_dr_carl_von_cosel.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-24. "The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel. In 1934, Dr. Carl Von Cosel worked at a Key West hospital, treating patients suffering from then-incurable tuberculosis. He fell in love with a 22-year-old patient named Elena Hoyos. When she died, Von Cosel got permission from her family to build her a mausoleum. There, Von Cosel used formaldehyde to preserve the body, visiting it nightly. ..."
  6. ^ a b Key West Citizen; July 24, 1952

[edit] External links

[edit] See also


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