True Crime Collection

Hall - Mills Murder

On 16th September, 1922, the bodies of a woman, Eleanor Mills, and a man, Edward Hall, were discovered in a field near a farm. Both bodies were on their backs, both shot in the head with a .32 caliber pistol, the man once and the woman 3 times. The bullet entered the man's head over his right ear and exited through the back of his neck. The woman was shot under the right eye, over the right temple and over the right eye. A police officer at the scene noticed that the woman's throat had been severed, and maggots were already in the wound, indicating the death occurred at least 24 hours earlier. 

The bodies appeared to have been positioned side by side after death. Both had their feet pointing toward a crab apple tree. The man had a hat covering his face, and his calling card was placed at his feet. Torn-up love letters were placed between the bodies. 

A jurisdictional issue complicated the initial investigation, as the crime scene was near the Middlesex County and Somerset County border. New Brunswick police arrived first, but the crime scene was actually in Franklin Township. While the authorities addresses the confusion, curiosity-seekers trampled the scene, took souvenirs, and passed Edward's calling card among the crowd. The physical evidence was thus severely compromised. 

The woman was identified as Eleanor Reinhardt Mills, born 1888, the wife of James E. Mills. She was wearing a blue dress with red polka dots, black silk stockings, and brown shoes. She had worn a blue velvet hat that was on the ground near her body, and her brown silk scarf was wrapped around her throat. Her arm had a bruise, and there was a tiny cut on her lip. Her left hand had been positioned, after her death, to touch the man's right thigh. An autopsy 4 years later showed her tongue had been cut out. 

The man was identified as Edward Wheeler Hall, born 1881, a New Brunswick Episcopal priest. He was found with his right arm positioned, after death, to touch the woman's neck. His hat covered his face, which concealed the gunshot wound to his head. He wore a pair of glasses. There was a small bruise on the tip of his ear, and abrasions were found on his left little fingers and right index finger. A wound was found 5 inches below his kneecap, on the calf of his right leg. His watch was missing, and there were coins in his pocket. 

The suspects were Edward's wife, Frances Noel Stevens, her 2 brothers, Henry Hewgill Stevens and William "Willie" Carpender Stevens, and a cousin, Henry de la Bruyere Carpender. The original 1922 investigation by Joseph E. Stricker yielded no indictments. Continued speculation in the New York Daily Mirror, fuelled by comments made by a man associated with one of Mrs. Hall's housekeepers, led New Jersey governor A. Harry Moore to order a second investigation and a trial in 1926. Henry Carpender won a bid to be tried separately from the 3 others accused; ultimately, Henry was never tried.

The trial began on 3rd November, 1926, in the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville, New Jersey, with Charles W. Parker and Frank Cleary presiding as judges. It lasted about 30 days, and garnered huge national attention, largely because of the social status of the wealthy Frances and Carpender family. The prosecuting attorney was Alexander Simpson. Defense attorneys were Robert H. McCarter and Timothy N. Pfeiffer. Joseph A. Faurot was the testifying fingerprint expert. Raymond C. Stryker was the foreman of the jury. 

The prosecution's key witness was Jane Gibson, a pig farmer on whose property the bodies were discovered. The defence portrayed her as uneducated and 'crazy', and attempted to ruin her credibility. Jane's account varied, differing when told to the police, to newspapers, and at the trial. Frances Stevens Hall and her 2 brothers had the motive and the means for the murder, but there was not enough evidence to convict them.

Eleanor Reinhardt Mills was married to James E. Mills. They lived at 49 Carman Street in New Brunswick, New Jersey. James was acting sexton at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in New Brunswick and full time janitor at the Lord Stirling Elementary School in New Brunswick. Eleanor and James had 2 children, Charlotte E. Mills and Daniel Mills. Eleanor, James and their children were buried in Van Liew Cemetery, North Brunswick, New Jersey.

Edward Wheeler Hall married Frances Noel Stevens on 20th July, 1911. He was raised in Brooklyn, New York, receiving his theological degree in Manhattan. After graduation, he moved from New York to Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and then to St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in New Brunswick. Edward was living at 23 Nichol Avenue in New Brunswick at the time of the murder. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. 

Henry de la Bruyere Carpender was born on 15th May, 1882, to John Neilson Carpender and Anna Neilson Kemp. He lived with his wife Mary Nielson at the corner of Suydam Street and Nichol Avenue in New Brunswick. Henry was a cousin of Frances Stevens Hall and her brothers, whose mother was a Carpender. He worked as a Wall Street stockbroker. Although he was an initial suspect, he was never brought to trial. He died on 26th May, 1934, and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, North Brunswick. 

Frances Noel Stevens was born on 13th January, 1874, to Francis Kerby Stevens and Mary Noel Carpender. Frances and Edward married on 20th July, 1911. She was buried on 21st December, 1942, in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York with her husband. In the prosecution's scenario, she instigated the murder of her cheating husband. Her home was later bought by Rutgers University and used as the residence of the Dean of Douglass Residential College. She was related to many of the wealthy families of New Brunswick, including the Carpenders, Neilson, and possibly the Johnsons of Johnson & Johnson.