The Bessie Little homicide

In September 2015, the Ridge Avenue Bridge in Dayton, Ohio, had finally reopened. The bridge is also known as the Bessie Little Bridge. So who was Bessie Little? She was a young woman who allegedly became pregnant by a cruel man named Albert Frantz. Bessie wrote a letter to Frantz’s father stating Albert had impregnated her. Bessie asked Albert’s father to force his son to marry her. Unfortunately, someone murdered Bessie after she wrote the unsent letter.

It’s also rumored that the ghost of Bessie Little haunts the bridge. Of course, no one has ever confirmed this. This week’s story goes back over a century ago.

On September 3, 1896, the body of a dead woman was found floating in the Miami River outside of Dayton, Ohio. After the body was recovered, the coroner ruled the death a suicide and had the unidentified woman buried with no fanfare.

Thomas Farrell, the police chief of Dayton, thought he knew the woman’s identity and believed someone had killed her. He didn’t think her death was a suicide. He had the woman’s body unearthed. She was identified as an adopted woman named Bessie Little. Her dentist confirmed Betsy’s identity after examining her teeth. She was reburied and her cause of death remained unknown.

So what events led to Bessie’s body being recovered from the Miami River? Bessie had a falling out with her parents after discovering she had been intimate with a 20-year-old man named Albert Frantz. Back in those days, you didn’t get intimate with someone unless there were future wedding bells.

Bessie’s parents kicked her out of the house until she married Frantz. Little did they know, he had no intention of marrying their daughter. Bessie, now homeless, moved into a boarding house operated by a woman named Mrs. Freese. While living there, Frantz paid her rent. Mrs. Freese said she last saw Bessie on August 27th. Bessie told her she was going on a carriage ride with Albert Frantz.

However, Frantz arrived the next day looking for Bessie. Mrs. Freese thought Bessie had left with Frantz. He denied the claim. He said they never went for a carriage ride because he hadn’t seen Bessie the previous evening.

Bessie’s disappearance was a mystery. Either Mrs. Freese misunderstood Bessie about where she was going or Frantz had lied about seeing her. So why would Frantz lie about seeing Bessie?

Most likely, it had to do with their social status. Bessie lived in an orphanage until she was two. Peter Little and his wife adopted Bessie. When Bessie was old enough, her parents put her to work as a domestic servant. Albert Frantz came from a different background. He worked as a stenographer and came from a family of financial means. He was the youngest of five and spoiled by his parents and siblings. People who knew Frantz said he was a cruel man. However, Bessie overlooked his cruelty and fell in love with him.

Before Bessie died, she had visited with a doctor. It was believed Bessie was pregnant and claimed Frantz was the father. In her belongings was an unmailed letter to Albert Frantz’s father where Bessie had pleaded with him to make Albert marry her. Although Frantz had sexual relations with Bessie, he refused to marry her.

Eventually, Chief Farrell charged Frantz with killing Bessie. Frantz continued to deny being with Bessie on the night she disappeared. Even before Bessie was found, Farrell believed Frantz had thrown Bessie into the river. Judge J.W. Kreitzer represented Frantz. Although Chief Farrell knew Frantz murdered Bessie, he couldn’t prove it. This changed when someone found dried blood and two decorative combs near the site where Bessie was found. The combs belonged to Bessie. There were also carriage tracks near the blood, which likely came from Bessie.

Bessie’s body was dug up a second time. This time, the coroner found two gunshot wounds to Bessie’s head. The coroner removed Bessie’s head and placed it in a jar. The body was then reburied without the head. Unfortunately, the tire tracks couldn’t be connected to Frantz because his stable had mysteriously burned down and his horse and carriage were both destroyed.

Albert Frantz receives a death sentence

Frantz changed his story. He said the two had been together during the night in question. He said they were riding together and Bessie seemed distraught. She then pulled out a revolver and shot herself. Frantz, fearing that no one would believe the suicide story, tossed Bessie’s body from the bridge.

However, there were two gunshots and not one as Frantz claimed. Also, there were witnesses that heard a ruckus coming from the bridge on the night Bessie died. They also heard two gunshots.

Chief Farrell wanted to find the revolver. After unsuccessfully dragging the river, no one found the missing revolver. Farrell then hired a diver to find the missing weapon. The diver didn’t find the revolver either. But Farrell caught a break when he learned Frantz had bought a revolver from a gun store in Dayton three weeks before Bessie’s death.

Albert Frantz’s trial began on December 14, 1896. Frantz continued to say Bessie committed suicide. The prosecutor then tried a bold move that would shock the court. He showed Bessie’s severed head and pointed out the two gunshot wounds to Bessie’s head.

The defense claimed it was possible Bessie had shot herself in the head twice. However, no one believed this. A jury convicted Albert Frantz and sentenced him to death. He met up with old Sparky and was executed on November 19, 1897. Frantz maintained his innocence until he died.