He died under the name "Carl Tanzler". As Elena and her family were poor, they were initially willing to accept this offer. The prognosis did not look positive for poor Maria. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Maria Elena 'Helen' Milagro de Hoyos, a 20-year-old local Cuban American woman, was the same dark-haired woman Tanzler had visions of and who was to be his true love. But death was creeping up close and fast. However, he never gave up on his one true love. There was an error deleting this problem. She revealed her face to him in his dream, and Tanzler knew at that moment that this was the woman he was meant to marry. Creepy, crawly Count Carl Von Cosel wasnt a count at all. He died in the arms of Hoyos real body. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. While working at the U.S. Marine Hospital, on April 22, 1930, Carl Tanzler came face to face with the woman of his dreams. Instead of a cure, she found a radiologist named Karl Tanzler who instantly became obsessed with her. "[8] By all accounts, Hoyos was viewed as a local beauty in Key West.[1][8][9]. He reportedly said that Elenas spirit would come to him when he would sit by her grave and serenade her corpse with a favorite Spanish song. Little did they know, Elena, my darling, we are alone on this shore. When he was 12 years old, he dreamed of a woman who would leave an impression on his life forever. Just 21 years old, and 32 years younger than Tanzler, Maria Elena Helen Milagro de Hoyos was brought to the hospital for an examination. Maria Elena had a bit of a tragic life. It is hoped that the findings presented here will contribute towards the continuation of this cultural shift, and bring more empathy and understanding towards Elena rather than the man who pursued, poisoned and exploited her in life and death. Tuberculosis was one of the most prominent causes of death at the time and cigar factories like where Elenas father worked was where the disease was spreading. 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. In 1944, Tanzler moved to Pasco County, Florida, close to Zephyrhills, where he wrote an autobiography that appeared in the pulp publication, Fantastic Adventures, in 1947. The former three, as he describes them, are quite applicable to Tanzler. [8] Tanzler filled the corpse's abdominal and chest cavity with rags to keep the original form, dressed Elena's remains in stockings, jewelry, and gloves, and kept the body in his bed. Tanzler would quickly take advantage of this privilege, which would result in one of the most macabre tales of all time. The jig was up, and authorities confiscated the corpse. Most curiously, he had made a death mask of her face to preserve her beauty. Loathing: Lethal hate directed towards one person, group, culture or nation (Morrall 2006, p. 36). Survivors include her daughter, Susan McKee, Zephyrhills; two sons, Jon Clendening, Portland, Oregon, and Gary Clendening, Hallowell, Maine; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Tanzler would extensively claim in this memoir, as well as during his 1940 court hearing and in numerous newspaper interviews that he had been seeing apparitions of Elena ever since he was a child, and it was the ghost of Elena that instructed him to enshrine her body in his home. When a Cuban-American woman named Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos walked into the hospital, the doctor saw before him an actual dream come true. Tanzler (1947), in his memoirs, recalled being furious at not being informed sooner: In my desperation, I called out [to Elenas brother-in-law]: If only you had come to me half an hour earlier, perhaps it wouldnt have been too late. After Von Cosel's arrest, Key West put Elena's body on exhibit. [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. Ginsburg, Arthur, director. They either ignored or were unaware of the necrophilic aspects of the relationship.. He was cradling Hoyos doll. Maria Elena "Helen" Milagro de Hoyos was an attractive, young Cuban-American local. He showered her with luxurious treats, hoping that Elena would accept his hand in marriage. It was palatable and my loved one departed this miserable world on October 25, 1931. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Tanzler never met this mysterious woman. 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). Episode: Maria Elena Milagro De Hoyos, the Unwilling Corpse Bride w/ special guest @rachaelnobrien 1. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram Failed to report flower. He even exaggerated his achievements to her parents, claiming he was Count von Cosel (even though he wasnt a count). Fantastic Adventures, Sep. 1947, pp.10 69. Medina, Nana's husband, was electrocuted trying to rescue a coworker who hit a powerline with his crane at a construction site. This one had a story in it somebody was renovating a cottage and when they tore down the wall, they found a confession note. ", Learn how and when to remove this template message, Martello Gallery-Key West Art and Historical Museum, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, "Autopsy 6: Secrets of the Dead - The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel", "The Living Doll of Key West: Elena Hoyos & Count Von Cosel", "Ep. As long as she lived I never abandoned hope.. Elenas prognosis was grim. It was palatable and my loved one departed this miserable world on October 25, 1931. Marias life was not going well. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. Failed to remove flower. I had hopes that, when Elena was out of danger, we would get married. [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. 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). Local townspeople in Key West noticed Tanzler was buying womens clothing and perfumes, but they thought he was in a serious relationship. Interested in learning more about the most haunted places on the Island? How can these immense, unfounded claims be made? She was part of one of the most bizarre love stories in history. Instead, he found plenty of things to do, including fashioning a wig for her once her hair fell out of her decomposing scalp. 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. Von Cosel visited her gravesite for two years, a mausoleum in Key Wests City Cemetery. Whats more, I do not love you. He became so persistent that we asked him to stay away from the house.. Cosel fell in love with her despite the fact that she was legally married. Carl Tanzler administered these treatments in Hoyos family home, showering her with gifts and declaring his love all the while. [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. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. While Elena was undergoing agonizing death, Von Cosel supplied her with perfume, jewelry, fruits, and candies. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. This article seeks to bring light to these, with the hope that people will learn what really happened as per these key findings. (p. 54). Before she died, Carl wrote in his journal how he had hopes that, despite the extensive damage, the lesions would heal again. Bienvenido Perez, in a later interview for Men True Adventure magazine (n.d.), would reveal much darker intentions on Tanzlers part. On April 22, 1930, while working at the Marine Hospital, Tanzler met the one person in his life he had been searching for since he was 12 years old: his soulmate. It is perfectly wonderful that you had such a strong love for the girl in this case. Shes not dying fast enough. But the curious began wondering why Von Cosel visited her night after night and when his visits stopped all assumed he had died. Tanzler also used copious amounts of perfume, disinfectants, and preserving agents to mask the odor and forestall the effects of the corpse's decomposition. She repeatedly told him he was too old for her and additionally, she was not yet divorced from her husband (Perez 1952, Harrison 1996, Sloan 2012, Meek 2017). She looked upon von Cosel as a grandfather. He transported Elena to his laboratory in the fuselage of a wingless airplane, covertly relocating her body to Rest Beach. He searched for her, but he could never meet the woman he saw in his dream. He constantly applied disinfectants, deodorizer and formaldehyde to counteract the smells of putrefaction. This engraving with Elenas name can now be found at the Fort Martello Museum in Key West. Perez, B. This would not be the end of Tanzlers obsession. Von Cosel was arrested for body snatching but was not indicted because the statute of limitations had passed. You are living in an insane world. The Countess had an interesting story herself; being the mistress of 18th century King Augustus II of Poland. Carl spent hours at Marias gravesite everyday, talking to her corpse, singing songs to her, reading stories, and other crazy activities that are best left unspoken. 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. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. To some, it is the ultimate romance, and to others, it is a grotesque tale of violation. Although reporters wrote that Carl Von Cosel died alone in 1952, this is somewhat untrue. He did this, as needed, inside of an old airplane he had repurposed into a makeshift medical laboratory. He replaced her former beauty with ghoulish, frightening features. At the bottom of the tube there was cotton and in an examination of the cotton, I found there was sperm (HBO Autopsy 1999). While there is not much written in the way of Tanzler feeling anything described as loathing towards Elena directly, (extreme disgust as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary), his relationship with her family was often very adversarial. 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 they only knew what was going on inside his home. He lavished her with gifts, and professed his undying love, telling her he would love and care for her even if she died.

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