A Humble Life: A Suspicious Death - 83 Years LaterIf you were going to read a book, you wouldn't open to a random chapter and start from there, and the same applies to Stella's story. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 & Part 5 are worth the read if you want to truly understand how things progressed to this point. I delayed the release of this part of the story, hoping that the University of Pittsburgh Archives would be able to locate the coroner's file on Stella but, unfortunately, they couldn't find an archived record for her. Any documentation, descriptions, or reports from the coroner are lost to time, I suppose. While I'm disappointed by the fruitless search, I'm confident that the rest of Stella's story can be told despite that lack of information. In February 1940, Stella Carolina Miller-O'Neill was found floating in the Ohio River, deceased, near Edgeworth. In the weeks following the discovery, county detectives were nearly as puzzled as they'd been when she first disappeared. We can't be certain about the police investigation, as those records were destroyed long ago, but the available information and outcomes provide enough insight into the steps taken after she was laid to rest. From my perspective, Stella was quickly written off as a "frail and very nervous" housewife who put herself into the river, back in December 1939, while "temporarily insane". The death certificate makes no mention of an autopsy, but the death is ruled a suicide just one day after her body was recovered from the river. Would things have gone differently with modern-day forensic technology? Would they have better understood Stella's death if they had done an autopsy like detectives ordered? If they hadn't accepted Walter's description of Stella, characterizing her as unstable and distraught, would they have taken a harder look at possible foul play? No one can change what happened in the past, but we can try to shine a light on the shortcomings of an investigation that, while likely adequate for its time, would not be so hastily closed today. 1940+ Allegheny County, PA - The AftermathThere won't be much of the story aspect to this part, as I'd like to look at more of the technical aspects of the case as well as theories and thoughts. There will, however, be some discussion about post-mortem processes, but I'll try to word it in a way that isn't too graphic. With all that being said...how did Stella end up in the river, at a borough 11 miles away from home, unseen for 2 months? The map above shows mile markers, bridges, dams, and boroughs along the Ohio River. To summarize the mile markers, MILE 0 begins at The Point in Pittsburgh, the convergence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. The location for each mile marker was determined using the US Army Corps of Engineers 1911-1914 atlas charts of the Ohio River, as well as 1939-1940 G.M. Hopkins plat-book maps of the area. Not included in the map are water depths, current speeds, bridge heights, and water temperatures for the 1939-1940 period. Don't worry, though, I have all of those details on hand! The research process for this part took many hours, but I'm confident that I've found all the necessary information to give an accurate description of what the river was like, where she could have started, and how she ended up at Edgeworth. The following are only theories and hypothetical musings. If we knew exactly what happened to Stella, I wouldn't be here telling you her story as a mystery. Scenario 1 - Pittsburgh BridgesIf Stella did leave her house on the afternoon of December 11, 1939, she would have gotten on a streetcar at some point, bound for Pittsburgh. The station on Penn Ave. is where many people would disembark, as many of the shops were within walking distance. The station is also only about 2 blocks from the bridges that cross the Allegheny river. There are three bridges grouped together, used for streetcars, motor vehicles, and pedestrians. They are at 6th Street, 7th Street, and 9th Street, and each are about 42 ft in height. There is a fourth bridge, used for the railroad, a short distance away, nearer to The Point, and it is 72 ft in height. The water beneath the bridges reaches about 19 ft in depth, deepening further at The Point to a maximum depth of 27 ft. Just before the MILE 1 marker, there is a fifth bridge, the West End - North Side, that is about 66 ft in height with 26-30 ft water depth. The bridges had been used in the past for those seeking their end. With the height of the bridges, access to pedestrians, and depth of the water below, it proved to be a successful method for those seeking self-induced death. However, nearly all of those who ended their lives this way were seen by witnesses either just before or right after their departure. The current, at that time, was only moving about .25 mph. If we assume that she went into the water near the 3 traffic bridges and railroad bridge at The Point, she would have remained in that MILE 0 to MILE 1 area for a while. Water temperatures were around 40 degrees (F) at the time. If Stella leapt from the bridge, she would fall for 1.7 seconds before colliding with the surface of the water, likely becoming unconscious from the impact (speed of the fall combined with significant density of the water), and would drown fairly quickly. The phases of decomposition in a water-related death are: floating, initial sinking, reflotation, differential decomposition, and secondary sinking. The current was fairly slow when she first disappeared, but increased gradually (.25 mph in Nov 1939 to 1.4 mph in Feb 1940). Bacteria present in the body is responsible for gas buildup that causes a body to float after death. In cold water (<40 degrees), that bacteria is significantly slower therefore a body that enters the water in November, December, or January is likely to sink to the bottom until the water warms above 45 degrees, then those gases will bring the body to the surface. Its impossible to know if Stella's body was predominantly submerged, out of sight, for the two months she was in the water. The issues with this scenario:
Scenario 2 - Wading InLet's assume, for a moment, that Stella made her way to the river via Bellevue, Ben Avon, Avalon, or Emsworth. If we exclude bridges from the scenario, we have to consider the possibility that she simply waded into the frigid river and let the water take her. Because of the many wooded areas along the river at the boroughs, it could explain the lack of witnesses for at least that last part of her journey. How she would have gotten to the riverside borough without being seen would still be unexplained. If Stella had gone to Emsworth, where her siblings lived in the family home, she would have been near the river and, depending on where she entered the water, could have bypassed the locks and dam. If this were the case, she would have gone into the river around MILE 7. This route would take her past one ferry and one bridge, and the areas between Emsworth and Edgeworth on the north side of the river are largely woodland, meaning that there would have been less opportunities for the body to be discovered prior to February 9th. As mentioned in Scenario 1, the currents of the river that winter were nearly a snail's pace. It seemed unlikely that the body could have only traveled 12 miles down river in two months. How likely is it, then, that she could have only traveled 5 miles downstream in those two months? There is one additional key factor in this scenario: Whites Towhead. From MILE 10 to a little past MILE 11, there was an area of gravel, dirt, rocks, and sand that extended from Neville Island. Essentially, it was a sandbar in the middle area of the river that had smaller, island-like sandbars in close proximity. As shallow as the water was around these sandbars, it seems plausible that her body would have washed up in one of these areas instead of passing through the shallows and traveling another mile and a half. The issues with this scenario:
Scenario 3 - What if she didn't?The possibility of foul play in Stella's case is one that has to be discussed. With Walter's lack of concern early on, delay in reporting her missing, the strange note found on the dresser, and his odd behavior following the discovery of Stella's body, we have to look a little closer. There's a reason that "The husband did it" is a phrase often used when discussing true crime cases. With the death of any person involved in a relationship, investigators have to consider the intimate partner until they can be cleared of suspicion. The stress of being unemployed for several years, a wife that you view as "frail and very nervous", and four children to provide for could have pushed Walter to the edge. It may have only taken one conversation or action for him to snap, ending Stella's life. He told police that Stella was in the basement, doing laundry, when he and William left the house that day. As far as I know, there are no reports or articles that mention statements made by William, Dorothy, or the other two children regarding what their parents' relationship was like or how things may have gone the day their mother disappeared. Could Walter have done something to Stella before leaving the house around 1 pm, telling William that she was doing laundry in the basement? Could he have hidden her body in the coal bin or wrapped her in something, leaving her in the basement until he could dispose of her in the river? Could he have put her in the trunk of the car, driven to an access point (bridge, isolated riverbank, etc.), weighed her body down and deposited her body? The answer to all of these questions is yes. He could have done all of those things. He was physically capable of such actions. The real mystery here is whether or not Walter would have taken Stella's life. That I don't know. With Stella's passing, Walter would have been the sole recipient of any assets Stella had. The $425 in the bank account, about $9, 300 today, certainly raises a red flag. He would maintain ownership of their home and vehicle, as well as sole custody of their minor children. We can't know if Stella had expressed intentions to divorce Walter, or if Walter wanted to end the marriage, but that is another common motive for domestic violence homicide. If Stella was struggling with a mental health disorder, maybe Walter had tired of her instability and, rather than having her committed to an asylum, decided to put her out of his 'misery'. He remarried some time between 1943-1945 in Cuyahoga County, OH, bringing Lena Hausler-Hooge into the O'Neill family. Her first husband, August, had died in October 1942 at the age of 51 from a coronary occlusion (blockage of a coronary artery). When they married, Lena had three children who were all young adults, and Dorothy, Madeline, and Robert O'Neill were all still living at home. The marriage would not last and they were divorced by 1950. Census records show that Walter was living in Dormont with Dorothy, 25, Madeline, 23, and Robert, 21. Maybe Lena had seen something in Walter that didn't sit well with her, something that Stella might have seen before she mysteriously vanished. The issues with this scenario:
In the final part of Stella's story, we'll see what became of Walter, their children, and her siblings in the years following her untimely end. Stella's life may have ended in 1939, but the lives she touched would go on, some for a few years, some for decades. Where would her children be when the 10th, 20th, or 30th anniversary of her death arrived? Would they go on to lead happy, productive lives or would they, too, be haunted by a mind that won't settle?
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EmilyTrue crime, cold case, long-term missing/unidentified, and all things mystery. I've always been interested, but now I'm involved in the search. Archives
June 2023
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Photos used under Creative Commons from Jinx!, Damian Gadal