An Unsolved Jazz Age Murder
The crab-apple tree was gone, hacked to pieces by souvenir hunters. It was here, in a New Jersey lover's lane, that the bodies of an Episcopal rector and his singer mistress were found in 1922. The Hall-Mills case, a predecessor to the O.J. Simpson trial in its media frenzy, remains one of history's most captivating unsolved murders.
On the morning of September 16, 1922, the quiet of De Russey's Lane in New Brunswick, New Jersey, was shattered by a gruesome discovery. The bodies of Edward Wheeler Hall, a handsome 41-year-old Episcopal rector, and Eleanor Reinhardt Mills, his 34-year-old choir singer, lay side-by-side beneath a crab-apple tree. The minister had been shot once in the head. The choir singer had been shot three times, and her throat had been cut so deeply that the wound extended from ear to ear. Their bodies were arranged almost ceremoniously, with love letters the pair had exchanged scattered around them 2 3 .
The Hall-Mills case immediately became a national sensation, dominating front pages and captivating the American public. As one account notes, sixty-two front-page articles appeared in The New York Times alone in the months following the murder 3 .
The case had all the elements of a sensational drama: secret affairs, religious hypocrisy, wealth, class conflict, and brutal violence. It was the crime of the Jazz Age, a predecessor to the media circuses that would surround later celebrity trials 2 .
The case generated 62 front-page articles in The New York Times in the months following the murders, demonstrating the intense public interest in the scandal.
Edward Hall was the respected rector of the Episcopal Church of St. John in New Brunswick. He came from a distinguished family and had married Frances Stevens Hall, a woman from a wealthy and prominent family. By all outward appearances, he had achieved the ideal life of stature and comfort, but beneath this respectable surface simmered hidden passions and a double life 4 .
Eleanor Mills sang in the choir of Hall's church. She was the wife of James Mills, the church's sexton, who was described as somewhat simple and unassuming. Unlike her husband, Eleanor was known for her beautiful voice and vibrant personality. She and Reverend Hall had been involved in a romantic affair for several years, a relationship that was apparently an open secret within their church community 2 3 .
Their communication included passionate love letters, which Eleanor had written to Hall. In these letters, she referred to herself as Hall's "wonder heart," revealing the depth of their emotional and romantic connection. These very letters would be found scattered around their bodies at the crime scene, adding a layer of dramatic irony to the tragedy 3 .
| Name | Role | Relationship to the Crime |
|---|---|---|
| Rev. Edward Hall | Episcopal rector | Murder victim; involved in affair with Eleanor Mills |
| Eleanor Mills | Choir singer | Murder victim; involved in affair with Edward Hall |
| Frances Stevens Hall | Edward Hall's wife | Acquitted of murder charges in 1926 |
| James Mills | Church sexton; Eleanor's husband | Initially suspected but never charged |
| Jane Gibson ("Pig Woman") | Pig farmer | Key witness who claimed to have seen the murder |
| William Stevens | Frances Hall's brother | Acquitted of murder charges in 1926 |
| Henry Stevens | Frances Hall's brother | Acquitted of murder charges in 1926 |
From the very beginning, the investigation into the Hall-Mills murder was marred by extraordinary incompetence. According to contemporary accounts, the first doctor to examine Mrs. Mills' body didn't even perform an autopsy, simply concluding that the cause of death was obvious 2 . It would take two more autopsies to discover the full extent of her injuries: three gunshot wounds, a slashed throat, and the removal of her tongue 2 .
The crime scene was similarly compromised. Authorities failed to cordon off the area, allowing curiosity-seekers and reporters to wander through freely. The location became such a popular tourist destination that by the time of the 1926 trial, the crab-apple tree under which the bodies were found had been completely destroyed, hacked away piece by piece by souvenir hunters 2 . This chaotic environment, combined with what one historian describes as a "lack of any practical forensic approach," meant that crucial evidence was likely lost forever 2 .
| Tool/Method | Status in 1922 | Application in Hall-Mills Case |
|---|---|---|
| Crime Scene Preservation | Primitive concept | Failed; area never properly cordoned, public allowed access 2 |
| Autopsy/Medical Examination | Basic but established | Botched; first doctor performed no autopsy, required three examinations to identify all injuries 2 |
| Ballistics Analysis | Emerging science | Not mentioned in available accounts, potentially unused |
| Witness Testimony | Primary evidence | Unreliable; key witness (Pig Woman) gave contradictory statements 2 |
| Media Pressure | Significant force | Major factor; tabloids forced case reopening in 1926 3 |
| Motive Analysis | Standard procedure | Primary focus; affair provided clear motive for multiple parties |
For four years, the case grew cold until 1926, when new life was breathed into the investigation by a New York tabloid, the Daily Mirror 3 . The pressure from the newspaper led New Jersey authorities to reopen the case, resulting in the arrest of Reverend Hall's widow, Frances Stevens Hall, and her two brothers, William and Henry Stevens 3 .
The trial that followed was a media spectacle, drawing national attention and hundreds of reporters to the Somerville, New Jersey courthouse. The New York Times published nearly one hundred front-page articles between July and December 1926 alone 3 .
Front-page articles during trial
The prosecution's case hinged on the testimony of Jane Gibson, a pig farmer who became known throughout the trial as "The Pig Woman" 2 . Her dramatic courtroom appearance became the most memorable moment of the trial.
Gibson claimed that on the night of the murder, her dog disturbed her, prompting her to ride her mule into her cornfield around 9 PM. There, she allegedly saw four people by the crab-apple tree. She heard gunshots, saw one person fall, and heard a woman's voice scream "Don't" three times. After turning her mule away, she heard more shots, saw a second person fall, and heard a woman shout "Henry" — the name of one of Frances Hall's brothers 2 .
However, Gibson's credibility was severely undermined by the fact that her story changed significantly over time. "Over time she saw more people; she saw fewer people; she heard more sounds; she saw a black man; she didn't see a black man," notes one account 2 . Her theatrical arrival in the courtroom on a hospital bed further sensationalized the proceedings but did little to bolster her reliability as a witness 2 .
Bodies of Rev. Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills discovered.
Initial investigation fails to secure crime scene or complete proper autopsies.
Case grows cold despite extensive media coverage.
Daily Mirror tabloid pressures authorities to reopen the case.
Frances Hall and her two brothers are arrested and charged.
Spectacular trial ends in acquittal of all three defendants.
William Kunstler publishes book proposing KKK involvement.
The acquittal of Frances Hall and her brothers left a vacuum that has been filled with competing theories over the decades.
Many contemporary observers and subsequent historians have believed that Frances Hall and her brothers were likely guilty of the murders 2 . The motive seemed clear: the Hall family, representing old money and social standing, sought to eliminate the scandal of Edward's affair with a woman from a lower social class.
In 1964, renowned civil rights attorney William M. Kunstler wrote a book on the case pointing the finger of guilt at the Ku Klux Klan 3 . Kunstler theorized that the Klan might have murdered the couple as moral vigilantes, punishing them for their adultery.
The truth is that the botched initial investigation and the passage of time have made it unlikely the case will ever be definitively solved. As one reviewer of a book on the case concluded, "A modern investigative team would have been much better able to handle the crime scene..." 3 .
The Hall-Mills murder captured the imagination of a nation and left a mark on American culture that would endure for decades. Some literary scholars, including Sarah Churchwell, have argued that the case influenced F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby 2 . The novel, set in 1922 (the year of the murder), echoes themes of secret lives, class conflict, and violence bubbling beneath a polished surface.
Fitzgerald even included a specific reference to the case: Hall had given Mills a racy novel for the time titled Simon Called Peter, and in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald has Nick Carraway reading the same book while Tom Buchanan and his mistress, Myrtle, are together 2 . Furthermore, the characters of Myrtle and George Wilson—the mechanic husband described as "so dumb he doesn't know he's alive"—are seen as potential parallels to Eleanor Mills and her seemingly unaware husband, James 2 .
The case held its place as the "trial of the decade" until it was eventually supplanted by the even more tragic Lindbergh kidnapping in 1932 2 3 . Yet, the story of the minister and the choir singer continues to fascinate as one of America's most haunting and unresolved murder mysteries, a Jazz Age tragedy where the truth remains forever elusive.