"He also made the rope to hang Dr. Beach, of Hollidaysburg, the noted physician, who dissected his wife alive. Beach weighed 265 pounds, and the rope which was used to hang him was one of special make, and it served its purpose."
*This blog post is one in a series of blogs on my famous ancestor, Jacob Bupp, the Hangman's Ropemaker- click the page tab above labeled "The Hangman's Ropemaker" for more information and the blog series*~Untitled article in Tyrone Daily Herald (Tyrone, Pennsylvania), 2 March 1899, page 4
Dr. Beach was trained as a doctor in Philadelphia, but was considered a quack by many. He had lived in Harrisburg for a time, and had been married before, with two children. After deserting his first wife, he moved around a great deal before founding a practice in Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania, though his practice was struggling.
His second wife was Mary Knott Beach. The couple had only been married for about a year at the time of the event, and Mary, formerly Mrs. Benjamin Devine, was forty nine years old. The couple had met when Mary took a job as Beach’s housekeeper, as she had been widowed and had little means to support herself. She was the eldest daughter of Miller Knott, who was lauded as a respected citizen of the Altoona community.
Sometime early in the morning on 7 April 1884, Dr. Beach knocked on the door of his brother-in-law, Levi Knott. He stated very calmly that he had killed his wife, but couldn't remember doing the deed. Levi Knott escorted his brother-in-law to the jail and surrendered him to the authorities there while his sister, Mrs. Willis Fleck, ran to the Beach home and discovered the terrible scene of Mary lying prone on the floor of the home, mutilated in a pool of her own blood.
His second wife was Mary Knott Beach. The couple had only been married for about a year at the time of the event, and Mary, formerly Mrs. Benjamin Devine, was forty nine years old. The couple had met when Mary took a job as Beach’s housekeeper, as she had been widowed and had little means to support herself. She was the eldest daughter of Miller Knott, who was lauded as a respected citizen of the Altoona community.
Sometime early in the morning on 7 April 1884, Dr. Beach knocked on the door of his brother-in-law, Levi Knott. He stated very calmly that he had killed his wife, but couldn't remember doing the deed. Levi Knott escorted his brother-in-law to the jail and surrendered him to the authorities there while his sister, Mrs. Willis Fleck, ran to the Beach home and discovered the terrible scene of Mary lying prone on the floor of the home, mutilated in a pool of her own blood.
Authorities quickly were dispatched to the scene and determined that Dr. Beach had indeed killed his wife, dissecting her with three different knives; a 10 inch scalpel, a five inch scalpel and a cleaver. Her head was nearly decapitated and there were signs of a struggle. The crime was so horrendous many people questioned whether Dr. Beach was even sane. Eyewitnesses to his demeanor testified that just the day before, Dr. Beach had stood up in one of the local churches and professed his faith, so many could not fathom that he was responsible for the crime, despite his testimony. Others quickly jumped on his past history as a wife deserter and a medical quack, and there was some suggestion he had previously killed a few of his patients. while all of this gossiping was going on, Beach remained incarcerated in jail until his trial.
Beach was tried in September of 1884. The prosecution, led by DA Josiah D. Hicks, brought up a great deal of his character and lack there of, as well as his first marriage (and seemingly lack of a divorce from that marriage). The defense tried to prove that Beach was insane, and part of their evidence in this claim was that no less than twelve of his relatives already were deemed "idiotic or insane." However, the judge on the case threw out this defense, though the defense counsel used the insanity argument in his closing statements to the jury. Despite this argument, on 6 September 1884, the doctor was found guilty of Mary Beach’s murder and was sentenced to execution by hanging.
Beach's lawyers tried to have the case reviewed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, but the preliminary requisites could not be complied with in time.
On 3 February 1885, a special meeting of the pardon board was called to address the application of Louis Beach. The Commonwealth's counsel maintained that Beach was totally responsible for the crime, while defense maintained that he was insane, and had to have been, since a sane man would not have killed his wife in the manner Beach had. The petition for pardon was denied, and it seemed Beach had accepted his fate, although he was also found at one point to have enough morphine pills on him to commit suicide. It was questioned how he was able to obtain the pills and keep them secreted.
On 3 February 1885, a special meeting of the pardon board was called to address the application of Louis Beach. The Commonwealth's counsel maintained that Beach was totally responsible for the crime, while defense maintained that he was insane, and had to have been, since a sane man would not have killed his wife in the manner Beach had. The petition for pardon was denied, and it seemed Beach had accepted his fate, although he was also found at one point to have enough morphine pills on him to commit suicide. It was questioned how he was able to obtain the pills and keep them secreted.
Louis Beach was hanged on Thursday afternoon, 12 February 1885, in Hollidaysburg, Blair County, Pennsylvania. His hanging made national news, as newspapers around the country picked up the story (though some newspapers named him Lot instead of Louis, and others spelled his name as Lewis Beech).
There was a possibility that there would not be a hanging due to the rope not being procured as promised, as reported by one newspaper:
There was a possibility that there would not be a hanging due to the rope not being procured as promised, as reported by one newspaper:
"There was a little fright of the possibility that the rope ordered for the occasion would fail to arrive. The firm that had agreed to furnish the required article unexpectedly gave up the contract on short notice. The sheriff immediately ordered a rope from the well-known manufacturer, Jacob Bupp, of Allegheny city. It reached Hollidaysburg at 10.20 Wednesday night. It is of four-ply Spanish hemp and answered the purpose for which it was designed." ("The Curtain Falls," The Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania), 19 February 1885, page 1)Jacob Bupp was able to save the day, thus adding another hanging to his history. When he passed away, many of his obituaries included a nod to this hanging as one of his more famous ropes.
The hanging was criticized by some, who lambasted it in newspapers after the fact as being a crime against the mentally ill and called for a change to Pennsylvania law in regards to execution of insane criminals.
Sources Used and Referenced
"A Doctor Choked," The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (Wheeling, West Virginia), 13 February 1885, page 1; online images, Chronicling America (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov : accessed 28 June 2019).
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"Latest Local News," Patriot (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), 4 February 1885, page 1; online images, GenealogyBank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 28 June 2019).
Report of the Twenty-ninth Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Bar Association: Held at Bedford Springs, Pa. June 26, 27, and 28, 1923 (Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Bar Association, 1923), 63; online images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=hY8DAQAAIAAJ : accessed 28 June 2019).
Sell, Jesse C. Twentieth Century History of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens (Chicago: Richmond-Arnold Publishing, 1911), 101; online imaes, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/twentiethcentury00sel : accessed 18 January 2018.
"Shall Insane Murderers Be Hung?," Harrisburg Daily Independent (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), 15 April 1885, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 30 June 2019).
"Untitled," Tyrone Daily Herald (Tyrone, Pennsylvania), 2 March 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 September 2017).
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