As the newspapers reported itThe Hall-Mills murder case
16 days of original coverage, September 1, 1926 to November 1, 1926, one clipping a day from the papers of 1926. Newest last, the way readers lived it.
As printed: Friend Declares Rev. Hall Was in Fear Of Life with Mrs. Mills
ContextThe Rev. Edward Hall and choir singer Eleanor Mills were found shot side by side in a New Jersey field in 1922; the unsolved case was reopened this summer and is again filling the papers. A friend now says Hall feared for his life while he was seeing Mrs. Mills.
The Hall-Mills murder · a witness breaks his silence
As printed: Hall Vestryman and Girl Admit Being at Murder Scene
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall of New Brunswick and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead under a crab apple tree on an abandoned farm in September 1922; nobody was ever convicted, and New Jersey authorities reopened the case this summer. Ralph V. Gorsline, a vestryman of Mr. Hall's church who had denied all knowledge for four years, was questioned for more than twenty-four hours and now says he was in a nearby lane that night with a choir singer and heard shots and screams.
As printed: Evidence of Pig Woman in Hall-Mills Case is Strengthened by Detectives
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead under a crab apple tree near New Brunswick in September 1922; nobody was ever convicted, and New Jersey authorities reopened the case this summer. Vestryman Ralph V. Gorsline and choir singer Catherine Rastall, who for four years denied being anywhere near the place, now admit they were within 300 yards of it.
As printed: CONVICT CONFESSES DROVE MURDER CAR OF HALL-MILLS CASE
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead near New Brunswick in September 1922; nobody was ever convicted, and New Jersey reopened the case this summer. Now a burglar in the Illinois State prison at Joliet says he was paid $300 to drive the car that night — though San Francisco police records place him in a cell there at the time.
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were shot dead in De Russey's lane near New Brunswick on the night of September 14, 1922, and nobody was ever convicted; New Jersey reopened the case this summer, with Special Prosecutor Alexander Simpson building on the eyewitness account of Mrs. Jane Gibson, the pig-raising farm woman the papers call the 'pig woman.' On the exact anniversary, Simpson announces two new witnesses who were in the lane that night, and reporters have tracked down a farm caretaker who slept in a shack where the bodies were found.
The Hall-Mills murder case · investigators work over the four-year-old evidence
As printed: HALL CLUE IN STAINED CLOTHES
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall, a New Brunswick rector, and Mrs. Eleanor R. Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead on an abandoned farm in September 1922; New Jersey authorities reopened the case this summer and the inquiry is centered at Somerville, the Somerset County seat.
The Hall-Mills murder case · a trial date is set at Somerville
As printed: DEFENDANTS LOSE IN HALL-MILLS CASE AS TRIAL DATE SET
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall, a New Brunswick rector, and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead on an abandoned farm in September 1922, and New Jersey authorities reopened the case this summer. In New Jersey the Supreme Court was then a trial court; an "accessory after the fact" is a person charged with helping a criminal escape justice after the crime.
The Hall-Mills murder case · a hearing on the detective's extradition
As printed: N. J. AFTER HALL CASE SLEUTH
ContextThe Rev. Edward Wheeler Hall and choir singer Eleanor Mills were found shot in a lane near New Brunswick, New Jersey, in September 1922; the case was reopened this summer and the minister's widow, Mrs. Frances Stevens Hall, her brothers Willie and Henry Stevens, and their cousin Henry Carpender now face murder charges. Extradition is the surrender of a person by one state to another for trial, a question here for Alfred E. Smith, governor of New York, to decide.
The Hall-Mills murder case · the trial is set for November 3
As printed: MRS. HALL TO TAKE STAND IN DEFENSE
ContextThe Rev. Dr. Edward Wheeler Hall, rector of a New Brunswick, N. J., church, and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead on a lane outside the city in September 1922; the case was reopened this summer and a grand jury returned murder indictments. Alexander Simpson is the special prosecutor appointed by the state to try it.
The Hall-Mills murder case · two weeks before trial
As printed: MRS. MILLS' BODY WILL BE EXHUMED
ContextThe Rev. Dr. Edward Wheeler Hall, rector of a New Brunswick, N. J., church, and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead on a lane outside the city in September 1922; the case was reopened this summer and a grand jury returned murder indictments. Exhuming a body requires a court order and the county physician's cooperation; an accessory after the fact is someone who helps a killer after the crime.
ContextThe Rev. Dr. Edward Wheeler Hall, rector of a New Brunswick, N. J., church, and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead on a lane outside the city in September 1922; the case was reopened this summer and a grand jury returned murder indictments. An accessory is someone who helps in a crime without committing it, and a writ of habeas corpus is a court order requiring that a prisoner be produced and his detention justified.
The Hall-Mills murder case · the widower's own account
As printed: Mills Tells How He Fell in Love
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall, rector of a New Brunswick, N.J., church, and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead under a crab apple tree on an abandoned farm in September 1922; her husband, James Mills, was the church sexton. The case was reopened this summer.
The Hall-Mills murder case · the body is reburied as the hunt for witnesses goes on
As printed: SEEK ANOTHER EYE-WITNESS IN HALL-MILLS CASE
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall, a New Brunswick, N.J., rector, and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead on the abandoned Phillips farm in September 1922; the case was reopened this summer and is being prosecuted at Somerville by special prosecutor Alexander Simpson. Mrs. Jane Gibson, a farm woman known in the papers as the "pig woman," has said she witnessed the killings.
The Hall-Mills murder case · the trial opens Wednesday
As printed: RAZOR IS NEW EXHIBIT FOR MURDER TRIAL
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall, rector of a New Brunswick, N.J., church, and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead on an abandoned farm in September 1922; the case was reopened this summer and is being prosecuted at Somerville by special prosecutor Alexander Simpson. Exhumation is the digging up of a buried body, here so doctors can examine the wounds again.
The Hall-Mills murder case · the trial opens Wednesday
As printed: 101 PERSONS TO TESTIFY IN THE HALL-MILLS CASE
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall, rector of a New Brunswick, N.J., church, and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead on an abandoned farm in September 1922; the case was reopened this summer and is being prosecuted at Somerville by special prosecutor Alexander Simpson. Mrs. Frances Stevens Hall is the rector's widow; a vestryman is a lay officer of an Episcopal parish, and an affidavit is a sworn written statement.
The Hall-Mills murder case · the trial opens Wednesday
As printed: DEFENDANTS CLAIM ALIBIS IN MILLS CASE
ContextThe Rev. Edward W. Hall, rector of a New Brunswick, N.J., church, and Mrs. Eleanor Mills, a singer in his choir, were found shot dead on an abandoned farm in September 1922; the case was reopened this summer and is being prosecuted at Somerville by special prosecutor Alexander Simpson. Mrs. Frances Stevens Hall is the rector's widow, and an alibi is a defense that the accused was elsewhere when the crime occurred.
