Murder at the Stone Arch Bridge
The Stone Arch Bridge at Kenoza Lake in Sullivan County, New York is locally famous for its role in one of the most prominent murder cases in Catskills history. The dramatic story involves supposed witchcraft, a hex that lasted for over 20 years, a gruesome murder, mental insanity and a lasting legacy of family tragedy and suicide.
The story begins with George Markert, a local farmer, who had eaten supper with his family on the evening of Tuesday, January 19, 1892, and after went to the nearby Halfway House establishment of Philip Hembdt. The Halfway House, “a respectable roadside inn,” was located about one-half mile from Markert’s home along the main road. Markert arrived at the Halfway House between 6 and 7 p.m., remaining for several hours while having a few glasses of beer with his neighbors and friends. Markert left the hotel around 10 or 11 in the evening. Markert headed in the direction of his home, while the others headed to their own homes in different directions.
On his return home, Markert was viciously murdered as he crossed over the Stone Arch Bridge. He was shot five times in the back and side of his head and beaten with a heavy walking stick, resulting in several severe scalp wounds and a badly fractured skull. At least one of the pistol shots was from close range, as blackened powder marks were found around one of the wounds. The body was then dumped over the side of the stone bridge into the cold creek below, a drop of approximately 27 feet.
Markert’s house was located about 125 yards from the stone bridge. Markert was living with his second wife and her grandson named John Sanders, but was better known as Johnny Markert. In physical appearance, George Markert was described as 5 foot, 9 inches in height and weighed about 165 pounds. Markert was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States in the 1860s. When he was about 20 years old, he worked in a tannery near Turners. Later he worked for Gideon Wales at Pike Pond, now Kenoza Lake, and while there married Caroline Heidt, the sister of Adam Heidt. After Caroline had died at Rockville, Connecticut, Markert married Katherine Zehner, circa October 1884. She was a widow with three children.
Markert eventually saved enough money to purchase a small farm in Kenoza Lake near the Halfway House of Philip Hembdt. His farm was only 15 acres, most of which “was just a niche chopped out of a larger one.” One newspaper article referred to Markert as “probably the poorest man in the community.” Given the relatively small size of the farm, Markert also worked as a laborer for other farms in the area as a means of earning extra money.
Markert was regarded as “honest and respected by nearly all his neighbors.” He was also described as “an inoffensive man. Like the rest of the Germans, who make up the population of that vicinity, he enjoyed a glass of beer, and minded his own business.” (Port Jervis Daily Union. January 25, 1892.) Another report noted that Markert “was an honest, good-hearted man, and no enemies, except the Heidts.” (Hancock Herald. January 28, 1892.)
The well-attended funeral of George Markert took place at the Halfway House in Kenoza Lake five days after his murder at one o’clock in the afternoon on Sunday, January 24, 1892. He was survived by his second wife; three daughters, Mrs. A. Gerlich and Mrs. Wohlebe of Rockville, Connecticut; and Mary Markert of Kenoza Lake; by four step-children, and a little grandson who was living with him. George Markert is buried at the Kenoza Lake Cemetery in Kenoza Lake, New York.
The Murder Scene
The murder scene was discovered about nine o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, January 20, the day after the murder. Mrs. Markert, realizing that her husband had not come home the night prior, had instructed their grandson Johnny to go to the Halfway House to inquire of Philip Hembdt as to his whereabouts. Along the way to the Halfway House, Johnny came upon neighbors John N. Kohler, who was a farmer and mail carrier, and Casper VonBerger, both of whom were on their way to cut fuel in the woods.
The three of them, coming upon the bridge, at the scene of the crime, found large blood stains in the newly fallen snow and tracks were found where the body was dragged and thrown over the side of the bridge. A shattered chair leg, an open jack-knife and a blood-soaked folding cap, all belonging to Markert, were found. The chair leg, about three feet in length, was frequently used by Markert as a walking stick. The walking stick was instantly recognized by Johnny for he had found it the summer before and gifted it to Markert. Footprints were found in the snow that were made by a size 11 rubber boot or shoe, which were later found to match those of the suspected murderer. An imprint of a right knee was found near an imprint of a head, and both spots were saturated with blood.
At the scene of the crime, and given the well-known animosity that Adam Heidt had for Markert, Mr. Kohler exclaimed, “Well, if Markert is dead, Heidt killed him.” Mr. Kohler instructed Johnny to go back to the house to tell his mother what they found. Johnny, upon arriving at his house, said to his mom that “Pa is murdered and thrown over the bridge.” Philip Hembdt arrived quickly and was one of the first people to investigate the scene of the murder.
After the initial evidence of the murder was discovered, a group of approximately 80 people was organized, and they began to thoroughly search the Callicoon Creek for the body. They poled boats up and down the river, raking the soft, underflowing ice. Other parties walked along the banks of the creek with hooks, poles, grapnels and rakes. For over 48 hours on Wednesday, January 20, and Thursday, January 21, the search continued without success.
On Friday, January 22, at around 11:30am, Charlie Heidt, the local constable, who was in a boat with Henry Wagner, noticed something in the water that looked like a coat. It was at a point in the river opposite Joseph Welch’s house. Charlie hooked the unknown object that had been snagged under three feet of water. Upon realizing that it was the body of George Markert, Charlie pulled the stiff body, which was covered with soft ice, to the surface. The body was found about a half-mile downstream from the stone arch bridge. Markert’s body was dragged to the shore, placed on a sled and then taken to the Halfway House, where it was examined by Coroner John Dycker, of Callicoon Depot and Dr. Simeon Kemp, a practicing physician and surgeon of Callicoon Depot for the prior 25 years, and assisted by Dr. Brand, of Jeffersonville.
The autopsy revealed “eight lacerations of the scalp as though made by some blunt instrument like a club; also five pistol-shot wounds. After a crucial incision of the scalp an extravasation of blood was found and a fracture of the skull eight inches in length extending from the frontal bone across the parietal bone to the occipital bone in an oblique direction. The first shot wound was four inches behind left ear, bullet imbedded in the lower part of the occipital bone; second shot wound two inches behind left ear, bullet penetrating occipital bone to the dura mater; third shot wound just below the second, bullet glanced off the skull and found imbedded in the muscles of the neck fourth bullet glanced off skull and lodged under the muscles of the neck at back; fifth shot wound passing through the angle of left lower jaw, bullet found in the sphenoidal bone; all the bullets were found.” (Sullivan County Record. January 29, 1892.)
There was also “a black-and-blue welt across the knuckles of one hand as though received in warding off a blow from a heavy stick.” (Middletown Daily Press. January 26, 1892.) Robbery was determined to not be the motive, as the little money that Markert had in his pockets was undisturbed. It was also felt that “nobody would have committed the deed for money, as the man was poor.” (Republican Watchman. January 29, 1892.)
Suspects
Adam Heidt and his son Joseph, the brother-in-law and nephew of Markert, respectively, were both quickly suspected of having committed the crime, for they had not been on good terms with Markert and had long wished him dead. The suspected motive for the murder was that both the Heidts believed Markert was a “hexenmeister,” or sorcerer, who possessed supernatural powers, and that he practiced the “black art” of witchcraft. The Heidts believed that Markert was a “principal midnight visitor to the “hexenkanzel,” or witch pulpit, a spot in the neighborhood where the adepts in the black art were said to meet to say their incantations against those whom they sought to harm or destroy.” Both Adam and Joseph believed that Markert had placed a hex on Adam Heidt and his family which had led to personal illness, prevented their cows from giving cream, the death of several their cattle, the death of a horse, killed their crops and frustrated business plans. The Heidts also believed that Markert’s hex had led to the death of several family members.
Adam Heidt believed the hex began about 22 years before the murder, around 1870, when Markert patted him on the back three times and said, “You are a good brother-in-law, a good brother-in-law, a right good brother-in-law.” This supposed hex took place at the Halfway House, then owned and operated by the Bietz family. Heidt claimed “from that time on I was ailing, more or less all the time; I didn’t know and no doctor could tell what ailed me; medicine done me no good. My trouble never hindered me from work, but I was always ailing.”
Heidt complained of headaches, face pain and stomach issues, all ailments for which medicine did no good. In 1879, Adam went to Dr. Bennitt, who told him that he was healthy, “and he could not tell me what made me ailing. He gave me medicine which did me no good, but made me much worse. I took half of it and stopped. Another year, I went to Dr. Kemp. His medicine did me no good, but hurt me. I lived then in the Beech Wood. I had pains all over. Nothing would cure or help them, and my stomach beat like my heart. Gradually I grew worse, and in March, twelve years ago [1880], I went to Jefferson to see Dr. Wolfreen. He gave me medicine, and said he knew what ailed me. At first, I thought it did me good, but after taking a bottle of it I got down sick. Markert then lived in the Gannpler place. Dr. Wolfreen came to my house and was surprised to see how bad I was. It was reported around then that I would die – starve to death. I had pains like filling teeth. All at once I got better.” (The Sun. January 28, 1892.)
Heidt then claimed that his health improved greatly during the several years that Markert had lived in Connecticut, but that the pains had started again as soon as Markert returned. At an early inquest in to the murder in late January, 1892, Adam Heidt talked openly about his beliefs that Markert had cursed him, his resulting ailments and the steps he took to cure himself.
“I first saw him at our house, and there we shook hands. After that I had worse pains than I ever had before. They were in my head and legs and in my side. If I bought patent medicine the first bottle did me good, but the next made me worst than I had been. Then I let go of that and took the pills, with no better luck. Markert visited me two or three times a year till a year ago last spring. A year ago last spring he came to my house and we shook hands, and I took him in the cellar and treated him to cider. I got at once strange feelings in my eyes. We went upstairs and sat down, he opposite me. He stroked his whiskers.
He stroked his whiskers and twisted his hand at the end of each stroke as if he was throwing something from them at me. He saw that I noticed it and stopped. When I turned my head, he did the same thing again. I went and looked in the glass. My face was yellow, with a blue rim around my eyes. He then went home. I told my wife to look at my face, and that Markert was a witch and had cast a spell upon me. She told me she couldn’t believe that he would do such a thing because he talked so much religion. I told her I thought he had done it.
The next Sunday he came again and did the same thing. Again, my face turned yellow and blue and I had pains all over. Then he came the third Sunday and I wasn’t home. I had been to church in the morning and had walked to Jeffersonville. At just the time Markert called at the house and stroked his beard the thing came upon me in Jeffersonville, and when I got home, I said to my wife that Markert had been here. She asked my why, and I told her. She didn’t believe it. From that time, I had pain three days in the week, Friday Saturday, and Sunday, until in July, when he came to my place again and asked me how I was. I asked how a man who was sick all the time would be. He came the next Sunday and wanted a satisfaction piece on the judgment. I have it to him. From that time my trouble changed, and the pains would begin any day in the week and last three successive days. It was in my eyes and brain, and when it went off I had a peculiar feeling in my breast.
The last time Markert came to my house was in December, 1890. A month later he wanted me to file a saw for him. I wouldn’t do it, for to look at it gave me pain. I went to Dr. Hazie after that. He prescribed vapor baths. I took the baths, and then he prescribed medicine. I took it, and it made me a great deal worse. I had pains in my face every day and all the time. Then I went to a hospital [St. Francis Hospital in New York.] I was there two weeks and got no relief. They gave me medicine three times daily, which I couldn’t take, and they said they didn’t know what ailed me. The professor examined my and found me sound, but he shook his head afraid like, and seemed glad when I went away.
I couldn’t eat or sleep then. I came out of the hospital then and I had a conversation with a woman. She asked my why I went to the hospital. I told her it was to get relief from my troubles. She said medicine would not help me. She said I should not shake hands with any man. She wrote something for me on a piece of paper. She said I should not look at it, but I should carry it all the time and that if I did, I would get better. I saw her again six weeks later, in March, 1891. Before I saw her, I got pains in my stomach. After the second visit the pain left my stomach and went to my limbs.
After seeing Mrs. Stein the second time I came back home, and then I went to see Markert. We were alone. I told him he was the man who had patted me on the shoulder and said, “You are a good, a right good brother-in law,” and I tried to make him take the words back, but he only laughed. At that time, I had a feeling in my legs as if ants were crawling up and down This continued until November, 1891.
Then I went to see my brother in Bradford, Pennsylvania. I stayed there five weeks, and he took me to see the travelling Dr. Clark in Towanda. That doctor gave me two glass bulbs, with a glass tube connecting, and told me to hold them in my hands. The liquid in one was forced over to the other. He told me this indicated heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, and some other diseases. He was going to fix medicines, but I said I didn’t want any. I did not tell him I was bewitched.
I left Bradford and went to Pittsburgh, and saw Father Mollinger. He gave me a blessing, and said that I needed no medicine. I did not tell him what ailed me. I expected the blessing would me off. It didn’t. I was there eight days, and I came directly home to Callicoon. I walked from Callicoon depot, and under the railroad bridge I found a revolver and a box of cartridges. I brought it home. The next morning, I wrapped it up in rags and hid it away in the haymow. I did not tell anyone I had found it. The last time I saw Markert alive was the night of the first Saturday in January. I was down by his house, and saw him through a window at his table.” (The Sun. January 28, 1892.)
Mrs. Stein, the witch Adam visited at Eighty-fifth Street in New York, offered advice on how to break the spell. She said that Adam must get Markert’s hat and boil it, and then he must with his own hand take the brain from the skull of a dead man and boil it.
At one point during his afflictions, perhaps following Mrs. Stein’s instructions, Adam hoped to acquire a hat from Markert, in the belief that if he got one it would relieve him of Markert’s witchery. Johnny Markert testified at an early inquest that Joseph had approached him one day as Johnny came out of a store in Kenoza Lake one day and asked if his father George had an old hat at home, and that Joseph had offered to pay Johnny a quarter if he would bring the hat to the second hill in the woods the next night. Joseph had stated that he wanted it for the Swiss Hill concert that was going to take place in the schoolhouse. Johnny agreed, but after he went home and told his mother, she said he could wait a long time till he got the hat. No one from the Heidt family ever mentioned the hat again to Johnny.
When Markert’s body was found, two letters written from Adam Heidt to Markert were discovered in his coat pocket. One letter contained the warning that if Markert was caught on the Heidt property again he would be killed. The second letter stated that if Markert did not stop “moonshining” the family, he would be killed anyway.
One letter written by Adam Heidt to George Markert, dated March 19, 1891, stated “You seeming friend and sly enemy. Nothing done so fine but what it will appear in the daytime. God had opened my eyes. You should take your witchcraft back. You know I have a judgment against you. You came to me on a Sunday and got a receipt. If you do not take the torture back, I will sell the judgment and pay the doctor bill which you have caused. You came to my house and stroked your beard. I was sick all the time. I forbid you my house and my barn, my flesh and blood. In the name of God. A Heidt.” (Middletown Daily Press. August 19, 1892.)
Two years before his murder, when Markert received several threatening letters from Adam Heidt, he went to Judge Potts and showed the letters to him. Mr. Potts advised Markert to prosecute Heidt, but he never did it, as he felt kindly towards Heidt based on their relationship and family connection.
In the fall of 1891, only months prior to Markert’s murder, Adam Heidt had visited Conrad Metzger, a friend, to request to borrow $10 to go to the city of New York in the hopes of getting cured. While in New York Adam visited a clairvoyant who, when he entered the room, told him that “some one has put a spell on you.” When Adam saw Conrad again that fall, he talked of being bewitched. Conrad questioned him, saying “You don’t believe in it?” But Adam did seem to believe in it, but “did not express any angry feeling, but I [Conrad] noticed his manner was angry.” (Middletown Times-Press. August 19, 1892.)
In deliberating on the hex placed by Markert, Adam thought of the many tragedies that had afflicted the Heidt family in the years before the murder. In 1874, Nicholas Heidt, Adam’s brother, died from his injuries after being hit by a train of the Erie Railroad. Nicholas was working as brakeman for the railroad and had been coupling railroad cars at Lackawaxen. Adam claimed that Markert had possessed Nicholas to go on the track in front of the train and be killed.
On July 11, 1882, Anton Ulrich, Barbara Heidt’s father and Adam Heidt’s father-in-law, died instantly after falling from a wagon, striking his head and fracturing the bones of his neck. A team of horses were pulling a wagon full of a load of hay, and the horsed became frightened and started to run. Within a short distance Anton was thrown from the wagon to his death. This too was blamed on Markert.
In 1887, Ursula Ulrich, Barbara Heidt’s mother, was brutally murdered by a drunken ex-sailor named Abel John Allen, more commonly known as ‘Sailor Jack’. Allen shot Ulrich with a shot gun and then stabbed her in several places. Her house “bore every evidence of having been ransacked for plunder.” Allen was convicted of murder and would become the last man ever hanged in Sullivan County, New York. Heidt blamed the tragic event on Markert. It was believed that Jack Allen was no witch, but that he must have been possessed by one.
It was rumored that there were probably 20 people, in addition to Adam, in the Kenoza Lake community of 200 people that believed in witchcraft. “When a neighbor’s barn burns, they say that he has incurred the anger of the witches. When a neighbor’s child falls sick, they resort to mysterious devices and incantations to get it out of the power of the witch. They cut out of the mud the footprints of the suspected one and roast them and break them up and strew the ashes to the four winds. They put chalk marks on the doors to keep the evil spirits away, and carry charms about their necks. They hang stove pokers up for protection, and do many other strange things that have been handed down as means of preventing evil.” (The Sun. January 28, 1892.)
In the days following the murder, and upon several searches of the Heidt home, a number of pieces of incriminating evidence were found, including a blood-soaked .38-caliber revolver which had recently been fired, a .32 caliber pistol, a bloody handkerchief in a closet and an overcoat with blood spots. Bullets from the revolver matched those found in the head of George Markert. Joseph had two scratches on the back of his left hand. On Joseph’s undergarments, blood stains were found on the right knee. A pair of felt boots, belonging to Joseph, had rubber bottoms on them, the tracks of which matched the footprints in the snow at the scene of the murder.
At the inquest held in the weeks following the murder, Adam claimed that he knew nothing of the murder and that the first he heard of it was when the officers came to his house the following day. Adam also stated that he did not feel relieved of his troubles when he heard of Markert’s death, or at any time thereafter. The lawyers and the jury at the inquest specifically asked Adam “Are you better than before Markert was killed?” Markert responded, “Not a bit. There is pain in me now. I saw Markert dead, and saw Dr. Kemp extract the bullets from his head. The sight of him dead gave me no relief.” (The Sun. January 28, 1892.)
Adam Heidt was a 42-year-old farmer who lived at a place called Swiss Hill, which was south of Jeffersonville, about one-half mile from the Halfway House, and about one mile from Markert’s home. He was four years old in 1853 when he immigrated with his family to the United States from Germany. In 1869, Adam married Barbara Ulrich, the son of Anton and Ursula Urich. Barbara was described as being “possessed of considerably more sense than her husband.” At the time of the murder he was married, with a family of three sons and two daughters. The children included Joseph, 22 years old; John, 18 years old; Rosie, 14 years old; Anthony, 12 years old; and Mary, 3 years old. Adam was commonly known as “old man Heidt,” even though he was only 42 years old.
Heidt’s farm covered 133 acres, most of which was cultivated. His farm was one of the largest in the community, his stock was considered among the best and “their place is finely kept up.” (Hancock Herald. January 28, 1892.) In physical appearance, Adam was of medium height and weighed about 165 pounds.
Adam was described very differently in the press, depending on the account. One article described Adam as “a hard-working man, and though considered honest, he is said to harbor a very keen desire for gain; and to gratify this desire he has on different occasions endeavored to influence the division of legacies of relatives. He is Roman Catholic.” On the contrary, an article in the New York Times stated that Adam “has been long known in the community as of a low order of intellect and extremely ignorant and superstitious.” (New York Times. January 28, 1892.) Another article reported that Heidt “is somewhat demented, but has been known for many years as a quiet, peaceable citizen by his neighbors.” (Port Jervis Daily Union. January 21, 1892.)
Joseph Heidt, Adam’s son, was 22 years old at the time of the murder. He had lived with his family on Swiss Hill at Kenoza Lake for 13 years. He had two brothers and two sisters, of whom he was the oldest. He was educated until he was 16 years old, attending school at Buckwoods, Kenoza Lake and Swiss Hill. He attended school during the winter and worked on the home farm during the summer. He regularly attended the Catholic Church at Jeffersonville. In physical appearance, Joseph was about 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed about 190 pounds. Prior to being suspected in Markert’s murder, Joseph was regarded as “having a good reputation. He has had no quarrels with anyone, and was universally regarded as a good citizen.” (Hancock Herald. January 28, 1892.)
John Heidt, Adam’s son and Joseph’s brother, was also initially suspected of having been involved in the murder. At the time, John, 18 years of age, and described as “a pimple-faced, nervous youth,” was working as a school teacher at Birch settlement. In physical appearance he was of short stature and weighed about 140 pounds. He provided a solid alibi and was released.
Although John was not implicated in the crime, John was thought to know something about it. On the evening following the murder, he had made a memorandum titled “Testimony,” written with pencil on paper, of the time he came home from school Tuesday evening and of his movements from then on. He would later testify at trial that Joseph had returned home the night of the murder at a late hour, approximately between twelve and two in the morning.
The day after the murder, and while attending to his teaching duties, John “suddenly and to the amazement of his scholars, broke down weeping violently. A scholar asked him what was the matter, and he said he was worried because he didn’t know what was going on at home.” (Hancock Herald. January 28, 1892.)
Grand Jury
In February 1892 a Grand Jury was convened at Monticello, New York to determine whether the case against Adam Heidt and Joseph Heidt should proceed to trial. District Attorney Melvin Couch presented the case to the Grand Jury and an indictment was secured.
The trial was originally scheduled to take place in May 1892 at the Oyer and Terminer court at Monticello. However, the trial was delayed until August as neither the prosecution nor the defense was ready to proceed by May. In July 1892 a special term of the Supreme Court at Monticello was scheduled for August, specifically for the trial of Adam Heidt and Joseph Heidt.
While awaiting trial both Adam and Joseph “seem to be very much cast down. The elder is especially lachrymose and melancholy and has frequent fits of weeping. Neither shows any disposition to talk, evidently preferring to be left alone.” (Middletown Daily Press. February 13, 1892.)
Trial of Joseph Heidt
The trials of Adam Heidt and Joseph Heidt were held separately in August 1892, seven months after the murder. District Attorney Melvin Couch opted to try Joseph first, and his trial began on Tuesday, August 16, 1892. Joseph was defended by lawyer George McLaughlin, of Monticello. The trial was overseen by Judge Edgar L. Fursman (1838-1910), of Troy, New York. John E. Kelly served as court stenographer.
For his defense, Joseph was well represented by his lawyer George McLaughlin (1841-1920), who was highly respected in the legal field. McLaughlin attended Alleghany College, at Alleghany Pennsylvania, and upon graduation was admitted to the bar in Ohio. In 1868, due to failing health, McLaughlin moved from Ohio to Sullivan County, New York to work for his uncle. He came to Monticello in 1872 and opened his own law practice. He remained in Monticello for 26 years until 1898, when he moved to Albany, New York upon being appointed secretary of the State Prison Commission.
The prosecution was also well represented by District Attorney Melvin Couch (1848-1913), “a very capable and astute lawyer.” Couch was born at Glen Wild, New York and was educated in the common schools followed by the Monticello Academy. After having gone west to teach for a few years, he returned east to study law, and was admitted to the bar in 1878. He began practicing law in Liberty, but after one year he moved to Monticello to open a law office. He continued to practice at Monticello for the remainder of his life. Upon his passing in 1913 it was written that “he was a man of rare genius” and that “there never was in the village and probably never will be again such a type of man.” (Sullivan County Republican. December 26, 1913.)
Upon being escorted into the courtroom by officers of the law for his trial at 10am on the morning of August 16, Joseph was “sprucely dressed in black clothes, and wore linen of immaculate whiteness.” He “presented a downcast appearance,” but was “cleanly shaved and neatly dressed.” Joseph “sat with his legs crossed and his right hand shading his eyes. Through the whole day he did not for one moment allow his eyes to be seen but once, and that was when the jurors were being sworn and he was required to stand up.” (Middletown Times-Press. August 17, 1892.) At times during the trial, Joseph had “spells of weeping.”
The case began with jury selection. The 12 jurors selected for the trial represented a cross-section of Sullivan County citizens. They included William C. Allan, sash and blind maker, Monticello; Mr. Hornbeck, ex-school commissioner, now farmer, Neversink; Joel C. Blackman, farmer, Liberty; Charles Hall, farmer, Neversink; Gilbert DuBois, merchant, Livingston Manor; William T. Daved, farmer, Phillipsport; Richard Gray, miller and farmer, Parksville; Charles Atwell, farmer, Fallsburgh; John W. Curry, farmer, Neversink; Riley Grant, farmer, Liberty; Manasseh Ingraham, farmer, Neversink; A. E. Rudolph, harness maker and bowling alley proprietor, Monticello. Manasseh Ingraham was chosen as jury foreman.
With the jury selected, the trial began at 3 o’clock in the afternoon on August 16. Catherine Markert, George’s widow, was the first witness, and testified that she thought she heard footsteps around the house on the night of the murder, but did not hear the shots from the revolver. She was followed by her grandson Johnny Markert, who testified that his mother had sent him to find his father, had met Mr. Kohler and they found evidence of the killing. John Kohler testified about finding the scene of the crime on the morning after the murder. Philip Hembdt, owner of the Halfway House, testified about the timing of Markert’s visit to the Halfway House on the night of the murder. Charles Heidt testified about finding the body of George Markert in the Callicoon Creek. William Schott, constable for the town of Delaware, testified about searching the Heidt home and finding several pieces of incriminating evidence. Conrad Metzger testified to the sale of rubber over-shoes to Joseph and that Joseph “has always had the best reputation in our town.”
At 9am on Wednesday, August 17, 1892, Dr. Simeon Kemp continued his testimony from the prior evening, describing his autopsy of the body of George Markert. Dr. Kemp presented photographs of Markert’s skull where the abrasions occurred. The photographs were shown to the jury. William Wilson, a member of the searching party, testified on finding a bloody overcoat at the Heidt home. Wirt Moulthrop testified about seeing Joseph at Kenoza Lake at 8:30 in the evening on the night of the murder and testified as to Joseph’s good character. John Bosley, a constable in the town of Delaware, testified about the Heidts belief that Markert had bewitched them. Oliver Hofer, Justice of the Peace for the town of Callicoon, testified about the crime scene, the autopsy and the search of the Heidt home. He presented a diagram of the murder scene that he had made as evidence.
Curtis Alley, a hotel owner at Kenoza Lake, testified that Joseph had left his house around 9:15pm on the night of the murder and that Joseph didn’t drink anything while there. John Heidt, Joseph’s brother, testified about the time that Joseph had returned home on the night of the murder. Judge Thornton, of Monticello, testified of the confession given by Joseph when the Judge had visited Joseph in jail in May 1892. Smith Benedict, a blacksmith at Kenoza Lake, testified to having seen Joseph on the night of the murder, as Joseph had inquired about shoeing his horses the next day.
After the prosecution rested, Joseph’s lawyer, George McLauglin, opened the case for the defense by summarizing “the history of this [Heidt] family, and of the character, standing and habits of Joseph Heidt; his peaceable character, his industrious habits; that he was a young man living there at the home farm, temperate, honest and hardworking.” (Sullivan County Record. August 26, 1892.) McLaughlin stated that it would be shown that the killing was committed in self-defense.
Joseph then took the stand to present his version of the story, his testimony being “given in a voice hardly audible even to the persons nearest to him.” (Republican Watchman. August 19, 1892.) For his actions, Joseph had already confessed to having committed the crime, but claimed that he had acted in self-defense. The story presented at Joseph’s trial was that he believed that Markert had placed a curse on his father, and that he wished to help his father in having Markert remove the curse. On the night of January 19, Joseph went to Markert’s house to talk to him, looked in the windows, but did not see him. Joseph assumed that Markert was at the Halfway House, and went to wait for Markert at the stone arch bridge. When Markert arrived, Joseph asked “Uncle, won’t you please take that spell from father?” Markert responded by saying “I didn’t put any spell on him and cannot take it off.”
Joseph asked again, “Dear Uncle, won’t you please take off the spell.” Markert again responded that he could not. Joseph became angry and threatened to have his uncle arrested, at which Markert became enraged, clinched Joseph and hit him. Markert then took out his jack-knife, at which point, Joseph believed that Markert was going to kill him. Joseph tried to escape, but slipped and fell to the ground, grabbing hold of Markert as he fell. Joseph drew his revolver and fired, with the first shot killing Markert. Joseph did not recollect having fired five times, did not recollect having beaten him with the club, but did recollect throwing him into the creek. Markert’s knife was found at the bridge the day after his death. Joseph testified that he was alone when he killed Markert, and that his father Adam had nothing to do with it. He also testified that the cuts on his hand were from Markert’s knife.
Joseph then testified that after killing Markert, he went home, and that he “was afraid to tell of the deed for fear of being lynched; after I was arrested and put in jail, I concluded to tell all.” He spoke of having serious headaches for several days after the murder.
McLaughlin began closing arguments for the defense at 1:40pm, going “over the evidence from beginning to end and dwelt strongly upon the former irreproachable character of the defendant. In his plea, which was a strong one, he stated that Heidt was purely a simple, misled boy.” His summation lasted for approximately 1 1/2 hours, concluding at 3:10pm. District Attorney then closed with his version of the case over 30 minutes. The judge then began his charge to the jury. At 4:20pm, the jury retired for deliberations, and were escorted by constable John Masten.
The jury deliberations in Joseph’s case took approximately three hours and twenty minutes, with four ballots taking place. The first three ballots were nine to three in favor of a guilty verdict, and on the fourth ballot the vote was unanimous. The jury did not believe Joseph’s story of self-defense and he was found guilty of second-degree murder.
At 7:40pm the bell in the court house rang out, which proclaimed that the jury’s decision had been reached. Crowds quickly assembled until the court room was filled to overflowing. Judge Thornton, the acting county clerk, addressed the jury, saying “Gentlemen of the jury, look upon the prisoner, prisoner look upon the jury; how find you this man, guilty or not guilty?” Manasseh Ingraham, the jury foreman, rose and stated that they had agreed on a verdict of murder in the second degree.
With the reading of the verdict, the crowds responded with “a ripple of applause.” Surprisingly, Joseph “manifested his delight by a brightening of the face, such as had not been observed during the trial.” The judge complimented the jury on their verdict and stated that they had performed their duty with fidelity and intelligence. The judge announced that Joseph would be sentenced at the close of the court term, which was two days later.
On August 19, 1892, the judge sentenced Joseph Heidt, saying “the sentence which the law imposes for the crime, for which are justly found guilty is fixed, and there is no discretion in the court to modify it in any degree. I am not disposed to add to your grief or misery, or to the grief and misery of your friends, by saying anything in particular to you concerning what you have done, and certainly it would be vain to make any suggestions as to your future life because that is determined. If, however, in the progress of time you should through executive mercy be set free, it is to be hoped that the experience you have already undergone, and the still more terrible experience which you must for many years hereafter continue to undergo, will serve to induce you, from that time on to lead an orderly, peaceable and quiet life, and however much you may be excited with the outward circumstances, to stay your hand from all manner of violence. The sentence of the court in your case is, that you be confined at hard labor in the state prison at Dannemora for the term of your natural life.”
After the court adjourned at the conclusion of the trial, several newspaper reporters visited the jail cell of Joseph Heidt. They reported that Joseph talked freely of his crime and that he expressed his joy at the thought of his father returning home a free and innocent man. Joseph noted that he weighed 189 pounds when he was taken to prison, but now only weighed about 140 or 150 pounds. He put on a vest which he said fit tightly when he came to prison, but there was now nearly enough room in it for another good-sized person. Joseph noted that his weight loss was not due to any mistreatment in prison as Sheriff Beecher had treated him fairly.
On Monday, August 22, 1892, Sherriff Beecher escorted Joseph Heidt to Dannemora Prison, then also known as Clinton Prison. They traveled by way of the O. & W. from Fallsburgh to Middletown, where they boarded the Erie Railroad train. It was the first time that Joseph had been on a railroad car even though he lived within 10 miles of the Erie Railroad all his life. The prison physician examined Joseph upon his arrival, and thought an asylum would be a better place for him as he thought Joseph was insane. Sherriff Beecher returned to Sullivan County on Wednesday morning, August 24.
The judge’s words at the time of sentencing seem prophetic for, despite the life sentence, Joseph was released from prison after having served about 20 years. While serving his time, Joseph had been “regarded by the prison authorities as a model convict, one who never makes any trouble.” After his release on parole, Joseph was employed on a farm near Malone, New York, “where he has proved an exemplary hand.” He was described as having “developed into an honest, hard working man, much respected by the people who know him.”
Joseph was pardoned in 1914 with the rationale that he “was the unfortunate victim of superstition, drilled into him by his father, who instigated the crime.” (Sullivan County Record. September 3, 1914.) He worked at the Malone Bronze Powder Works in Malone for 16 years in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1925 he married Emma Martin (1895-1963), with whom he had one daughter.
In 1939 Joseph Heidt committed suicide by hanging himself in the garage at his home. His body was found suspended from a cross beam by a clothesline rope. Funeral services were held at Notre Dame Church. Joseph Heidt is buried at Saint Francis of Assisi Cemetery in Constable, New York.
Trial of Adam Heidt
The trial of Adam Heidt began at 10am on Thursday, August 18, 1892 at the Court House in Monticello, New York. Upon entering the courtroom, Adam “looked unconcerned at first, although very pale.” (Sullivan County Record. August 26, 1892.)
From an original panel of 60 potential jurors, the 12 jurors selected for the trial included Frank Osterhout, farmer, Neversink; Henry Eastman, farmer, Burlingham; George Dearstyne, merchant, Claryville; Benjamin Gillett, hotel keeper, Grahamsville; Hiram Adams, farmer, Glen Wild; Peter Pomeroy, farmer, Neversink; George Wood, farmer, Rockland; Eugene VanKeuren, farmer, Bethel; George W. Budd, farmer, Phillipsport; Asa Wilson, farmer, Fallsburgh; Homer Travis, farmer Neversink; and Martin Day, farmer, Bridgeville.
Much of the evidence presented at the trial of Adam Heidt had been previously presented at the trial of Joseph Heidt. Oliver Hofer testified about the murder scene at the stone arch bridge and the letters found on Markert’s body written by Adam Heidt to Markert. Several witnesses, including William Pfeifer, Henry Chelius, Adam Barnhart, Conrad Metzger and Philip Hembdt, testified to Adam’s belief that he was bewitched by Markert. Joseph Heidt testified as to the history of his father Adam not feeling well, the supposed curse place on Adam by Markert and the steps that Adam had taken to heal himself; and he also testified as to the events on the night of the murder, much as he had presented at his own trial during the prior days. At 7:30pm on August 18, the prosecution rested their case.
At the conclusion of witness testimony, Mr. McLaughlin, Adam’s lawyer, motioned the court to acquit Adam on the grounds that there had not been sufficient evidence to hold him either as a participant or having in any way abetted or encouraged the commission of the crime for which Joseph had been found guilty. District Attorney Couch responded that he thought the case should go to the jury. The judge responded to the motion by generally saying: “This man is on trial for his life. He is either guilty of murder in the first degree or nothing. It won’t do to convict a man on suspicion. Human justice rests on a foundation of law.” The judge then adjourned the court till the following morning.
When the court reconvened at 9am the following morning, Friday, August 19, 1892, the judge addressed the jury, advising them to render a verdict of not guilty on the grounds that there was not enough evidence that Adam had incited another person, his son Joseph, to have committed the crime. The jury agreed with the judge’s direction, and without leaving their seats, rendered a verdict of not guilty. Heidt’s eyes filled with tears and he nodded an expression of thanks. Lawyer McLaughlin seemed exceedingly pleased over the victory he had won in clearing his client.
In the weeks after the trial, rumors began to circulate that Adam Heidt had run off to Ohio or was in hiding at his home. John Heidt, Adam’s son, wrote to the local newspaper to address the rumors.
“It is evident that those lies are only circulated to torment the remainder of the family and cause more sorrow than there is. Would people only consider one moment, and a feeling of remorse would cover their faces.
The people who talked nothing but witchcraft to A. Heidt are the ones, it is evident, who are circulating those rumors, and they also are the ones who are to blame for our affliction. Adam Heidt neither believed or talked witchcraft until some persons filled his mind with some of the most absurd witch stories obtainable. And those people will some time, earlier or later, receive their punishment.
On the other hand, it would be impolite not to say word of praise on behalf of those who tried to take the delusion from Adam Heidt’s mind. Let me say that those people deserve a blessing, and they will receive it.
The neighbors who so kindly offered their hand of assistance in the hour of affliction, we wish to thank, and home to return the favor, but we hope not in like emergency. John Heidt.” (Middletown Daily Press. September 3, 1892.)
On the day of his acquittal, Adam after went to the village of Monticello and saw Judge Fursman on the steps of the Mansion House. Adam “stepped briskly up to shake hands with him. The Judge waived him aside, refusing the proffered courtesy, which was a proper thing to do.” (Middletown Daily Press. August 27, 1892.) It was reported that “Adam, now that Markert is gone, and his son’s life has been saved by the jury, thinks that he is getting better and the “spell” is leaving him.”
Upon Adam’s acquittal, several local newspapers made their opinions known that they still viewed Adam as a danger to society. One such editorial noted that “proceedings ought to at once be taken to have the man examined as to his mental condition. It would seem that all the evidence of insanity necessary had been obtained at the trial, and that the mere formality of the signature of two physicians to a certificate is all that is necessary for him commitment to an asylum. No sane man could believe, as does Adam Heidt, that poor old George Markert possessed the power of witchcraft, and by stroking his beard three times, and then spitting upon the ground three times could put a spell upon him that would impair his health and cause the death of his cattle. One capable of entertaining such a delusion is not a safe man to be at large. Now that Markert is out of the way, Heidt may select another victim unless put under restraint.” (Jeffersonville Record. Republished by Tri-States Union. 1892.)
Adam Heidt, upon his acquittal, was set free and after went to Pennsylvania to spend time with his brother Edward. In May of 1893 Adam returned to Kenoza Lake, but was almost immediately considered “a menace to the peace and safety of the people of that neighborhood.” It was rumored that he made threats against one of the witnesses who testified against him at trial. Local citizens were reported to be afraid of him and they hoped “that some means will be devised for permanently ridding the country of his blighting presence. The very least that ought to be done would be to secure his incarceration in a lunatic asylum, before another life is offered up on the altar of witchcraft.” His wife Barbara filed a complaint against him for ill treatment and sought to have him adjudged a lunatic.
Adam was again arrested in May 1893 with plans to bring him to the State Hospital at Middletown. Many thought that Adam would resist, but he consented to go when officers told him that his disease could be cured at the hospital. Adam was examined by several state doctors who judged him to be insane and he was officially committed on June 1, 1893. He was to remain at the hospital until such time as doctors could certify that he was mentally sound. That time never came. Adam’s family never came to visit him at the hospital.
Adam Heidt died at the hospital four years later on July 22, 1897 at 48 years of age from chronic melancholia and chronic myelitis, or inflammation of the spine. Attempts were made hospital officials to notify Adam’s relatives of his passing, but no response was received. He was buried at Phillipsburg, Orange County, New York.
Legacy
While the supposed hex placed on the Heidt family was disregarded as medieval and superstitious, there is no doubt the Heidt family continued to suffer tragedy in the years after the murder. Adam Heidt had three sons, two of whom committed suicide, and the other was committed to a mental hospital. Adam’s two daughters, Rose and Mary, both died relatively young, at age 40 and at age 60, respectively.
Following the death of Adam Heidt in 1897 at the insane asylum, his wife, Barbara Heidt, i.e. Joseph’s mother, died four years later in 1901. She died at 51 years of age after a year-long illness during which she was confined to her bed and “suffered not a little.” She was “a mild-mannered woman, respected, and seemingly undeserving of so troublous a life as was hers.”
In 1911, John Heidt, son of Adam and brother of Joseph, was committed to the state hospital at Middletown on the recommendation of Dr. Archibald and Dr. Schonger. John formerly worked as a school teacher, but had more recently been involved in house painting at Kenoza Lake and in Pennsylvania. It was reported that John “showed signs of mental derangement” and was hallucinating that people were trying to covert him from the Catholic religion to the Protestant faith. John believed “that even his own relatives are designing evil against him.”
In 1942, Anthony Heidt, son of Adam and brother of Joseph, committed suicide, just like his brother Joseph had done three years prior. Anthony shot himself in the head with a shotgun in the woodshed on the same Heidt family homestead where he had grown up, and where his father Adam had suffered his delusions of witchcraft all those years earlier. Anthony had suffered a nervous breakdown around nine years earlier, recovered to normal health, but then suffered a second and more severe breakdown in the weeks before his death. Anthony worked as a farmer and summer boarding house keeper.
Although the brutal murder of George Markert took place well over a century ago, it has long continued on in the memories of those living in Sullivan County, New York. Since that infamous cold, snowy night in January 1892, there have many rumored ghostly sightings of the murdered George Markert around the stone arch bridge. The story is chillingly retold each year in all its detail on a spooky Halloween evening.
