请输入您要查询的百科知识:

 

词条 Alfred Knapp
释义

  1. Biography

     Early life  Murder of Hannah Knapp 

  2. Trials

  3. Execution

  4. See also

  5. Bibliography

  6. References

  7. External links

{{short description|American serial killer}}{{Infobox serial killer
| name = Alfred Knapp
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| alt =
| birth_name = Alfred Andrew Knapp
| alias = "The Hamilton Strangler"
"The Ohio Strangler"
"The Indianapolis Wife Strangler"
| birth_date = 1863
| birth_place = Terre Haute, Indiana, United States
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1904|08|19|1863}}
| death_place = Columbus, Ohio, United States
| cause = Executed by electric chair
| conviction = Murder
| sentence = Death
| victims = 5+
| beginyear = 1894
| endyear = 1902
| country = United States
| states = Ohio, Indiana
| apprehended = February 25, 1903
| imprisoned =
}}Alfred Andrew Knapp (born 1863 in Terre Haute, Indiana - August 19, 1904 in Columbus, Ohio), also known as The Hamilton Strangler, was a 19th-century American serial killer responsible for killing at least 5 women and girls between 1894 and 1902. He was executed for murdering his third wife on August 19, 1904.[1]

Biography

Early life

Alfred Knapp was born in Terre Haute as one of two children born to Cyrus and Susannah Knapp. When he was 5 years old, a horse kicked him on the head.[2] In his later years, Knapp spent most of his years behind bars in state prisons for brutal assaults on women.[3] Despite this, he had joined the Fourth Christian Church and admitted to the Christian Endeavor Society, where he was described as a man of unassuming manners.[4] At the time of his arrest, he was living with his fourth wife in Indianapolis.[5]

Murder of Hannah Knapp

On December 21, 1903, Hannah Knapp (née Goddard), Alfred's third wife, suddenly disappeared from her Cincinnati home. That morning, her husband had awoken with a seizing impulse to strangle her. After killing her, Knapp got a box and stuffed the body inside before nailing it up. Knapp then proceeded to haul the body two miles away, dumping it into the Great Miami River. After her disappearance, Alfred spent several days in Cincinnati, constantly visiting his sister Sadie Wenzel, before suddenly announcing that he was looking for his missing wife. Soon after, he moved back to his previous home in Hamilton and then to Indianapolis. On January 2, 1903, he met Anna May Gamble, whom he soon married on February 4th.

[5]

On February 25th, Knapp was arrested on suspicion that he had murdered his wife. He was returned to Hamilton, where he soon confessed to strangling Hannah before disposing of it in the river.[5] To the surprise of authorities, the following day Knapp confessed to the murder of another four women and a girl, starting from 1894.[6] The murders to which he confessed were of:

  • Emma Littleman - murdered in a lumberyard in Cincinnati on June 21, 1894
  • Mary Eckert - murdered on Walnut Street in Cincinnati on August 1, 1894
  • Jennie Connors Knapp - Alfred's second wife, murdered on Liberty Street in Cincinnati on August 17, 1894
  • Ida Gebhard - a child, murdered in Indianapolis in July 1896

Despite his confessions, Knapp was suspected of more murders, as he himself confessed that he had pounced on innocent children and had choked them.[6][1]

Trials

Knapp's trial was considered a great sensation by the contemporary press and public, transforming him into a sort of "celebrity". While escorted to the courtroom, he was described as talkative, chatting with police officers and was treated with great consideration. Although he without an attorney, his sister Sadie, his only accompanying family member, acted as his defense. Knapp was described as disinterested and uncaring during the trial, while his sister tried to convince the jury that her brother was mentally unstable and that he should be sent to a mental institution.[2][4] The prosecution had little to no evidence, as during the first trial there were no clues tying him to the murder of his wife, adding to the fact that her body still hadn't been found yet.

On March 3, 1903, however, a woman's nude body was found along the river in New Albany, Ohio. It was quickly confirmed that it was Hannah Knapp's, as the woman had the same jewelry and rings which Mrs. Knapp had worn on the day of her disappearance, as described in her husband Alfred's confession. When confronted with the new discovery, Alfred simply repeated what he had said before.[4][7]

On March 10, Knapp was subpoenad to testify as a witness to the trial of a man named Joseph Roth. Roth was suspected of assaulting two little girls named Hattie and Stella Motzer. Despite his denial of any involvement, Alfred was arraigned to testify because of his similarity to Roth, which lead some to believe that the two girls had been mistaken.[8]

On July 16, Knapp, whose only defence was insanity, was convicted and sentenced to death without any chance of commution of the sentence. Despite the verdict affecting severely his sister and mother, Knapp appeared disinterested in the ordeal, as he was quoted three hours after the trial saying: "I suppose it is all off with me."[3]

On September 2, Judge Belden rejected a motion for a new trial, with Knapp's attorney announcing that he would repeal the verdict. Alfred Knapp was unconcerned during the process, looking at the ceiling the entire time.[9]

On January 4, 1904, Judge Swing from the circuit court granted Knapp a new trial, as there were errors during his first trial. The major erorr was that the court allowed his written confession to the read to the jury.[10]

On July 22, an appeal was filed on Knapp's behalf by his lawyer Thomas Darby to the State Board of Pardons.[11] It was later rejected.

Execution

On August 19, 1904, Alfred Knapp was executed in the Ohio Penitentiary, dying six minutes after the initial shock. He refused to give any further confessions beforehand. Shortly after his execution, newspapers compared his likeness to the crimes of H. H. Holmes, noting that unlike him, however, that Knapp appeared to have committed his crimes out of pure diabolical desire to do harm.[1]

See also

  • H. H. Holmes
  • Denver Strangler

Bibliography

  • {{Citebook|url=https://books.google.bg/books?id=fn-4CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=Alfred+Knapp&source=bl&ots=W2OsFpJbB0&sig=ACfU3U32lyxnPzxLGxKrVB0oldkkHDy8Sg&hl=bg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiq0LnQu4bhAhXwxaYKHXPIAVkQ6AEwDnoECAUQAQ|title=The First Celebrity Serial Killer in Southwest Ohio: Confessions of the Strangler Alfred Knapp|author=Richard O. Jones|date=2015|isbn=1467117501}}
  • {{Citebook|url=https://books.google.bg/books?id=qrEfDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=Alfred+Knapp&source=bl&ots=ygnydoSyAp&sig=ACfU3U2NMNzelcSuPvZlwJbg0J-lnErgpQ&hl=bg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiq0LnQu4bhAhXwxaYKHXPIAVkQ6AEwD3oECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Alfred%20Knapp&f=false|title=Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Ohio History|author=Susan Sawyer|date=2016|isbn=1493018922}}

References

1. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99063957/1904-08-19/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+strangler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=12&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2|title=Juice Ended Career|publisher=Daily Capital Journal|date=19 August 1904}}
2. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038615/1903-03-03/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+strangler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=0&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|title=The Strangler Is Arraigned|publisher=Associated Press|date=3 March 1903}}
3. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038615/1903-07-17/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+STRANGLER&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=10&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|title=Strangler Convicted|publisher=The Times Dispatch|date=17 July 1903}}
4. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015679/1903-03-03/ed-1/seq-5/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+strangler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=3&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|title=A. A. Knapp arraigned|publisher=Indianapolis Journal|date=3 March 1903}}
5. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028490/1904-08-23/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+strangler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=17&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2|title=Strangler Knapp was Successfully Electrocuted.|publisher=Stark County Democrat|date=23 August 1904}}
6. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085947/1904-06-24/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+strangler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=1&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2|title="Strangler" Knapp case|publisher=Spokane Press|date=24 June 1904}}
7. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85033078/1903-03-05/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+strangler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=5&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|title=May Be Mrs. Knapp's|publisher=Wood County Reporter|date=5 March 1903}}
8. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015679/1903-03-11/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+strangler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=8&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|title=Knapp To Be A Witness|publisher=The Indianapolis Journal|date=11 March 1903}}
9. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028490/1903-09-04/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+strangler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=12&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|title=No New Trial|publisher=The Stark County Democrat|date=4 September 1903}}
10. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84038016/1904-01-06/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+strangler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=0&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2|title=New Trial for Knapp|publisher=Richmond Daily Palladium|date=6 January 1904}}
11. ^{{Citeweb|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063592/1904-07-22/ed-1/seq-6/#date1=1903&sort=date&date2=1904&words=A+Alfred+Knapp+strangler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=7&state=&rows=20&proxtext=Alfred+A.+Knapp+strangler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2|title=Knapp Case Before Pardon Board|publisher=Las Vegas Daily Optic|date=22 July 1904}}

External links

  • [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40498623/alfred-andrew-knapp FindAGrave]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Alfred}}

9 : 1863 births|1904 deaths|Male serial killers|American serial killers|American murderers of children|People executed by Ohio by electric chair|Executed American serial killers|People convicted of murder by Ohio|People from Terre Haute, Indiana

随便看

 

开放百科全书收录14589846条英语、德语、日语等多语种百科知识,基本涵盖了大多数领域的百科知识,是一部内容自由、开放的电子版国际百科全书。

 

Copyright © 2023 OENC.NET All Rights Reserved
京ICP备2021023879号 更新时间:2024/9/23 1:34:41