On September 16, 1922, the bodies of Reverend Edward Wheeler Hall, a prominent Episcopal priest, and Eleanor Mills, a member of his church choir, were found beneath a crabapple tree on a lovers' lane outside New Brunswick, New Jersey. They had been shot to death. Their bodies were posed together. Love letters from Eleanor to Edward were scattered around the scene, torn into pieces. The double murder exposed a scandalous affair between the married priest and the married choir singer. It also thrust the reverend's wealthy wife, Frances Stevens Hall, into the spotlight as the prime suspect. The investigation and subsequent trial became one of the earliest "trials of the century" - a media circus that fascinated the nation. Frances Hall was tried and acquitted. No one else was ever charged. The Hall-Mills murder remains one of the most famous unsolved crimes in American history.
The Crime Scene: The bodies of Reverend Edward Hall (41) and Eleanor Mills (34) were found on the afternoon of September 16, 1922, beneath a crabapple tree on DeRussey's Lane, a known lovers' lane. They had been shot at close range. Hall was shot once in the head. Mills was shot three times. Their bodies were posed - Hall's arm was placed under Mills's neck, and Mills's hand rested on Hall's knee. A Panama hat covered Hall's face. Mills's scarf was wrapped around Hall's neck. Torn love letters from Mills to Hall were scattered around the bodies. The killer had taken the time to stage the scene after the murders.
⚖️ The Trial of Frances Hall
The investigation quickly focused on Frances Stevens Hall, the reverend's wealthy wife. She was a beneficiary of his life insurance policy. She was known to have been aware of her husband's affair. She had the resources to hire a killer. But the evidence against her was entirely circumstantial. The most famous witness in the trial was Jane Gibson, known as the "Pig Woman" because she raised pigs on her farm. Gibson claimed she had witnessed the murder while out looking for a thief who had been stealing her corn. She testified that she saw four people - two women and two men - at the scene, including a woman she identified as Frances Hall. But Gibson's testimony was inconsistent, and she delivered much of it from a hospital bed (she was dying of cancer at the time of the trial). The jury acquitted Frances Hall after five hours of deliberation. She returned to her life, but the cloud of suspicion never fully lifted. She died in 1942, maintaining her innocence to the end.
"I am innocent of this terrible crime. I did not kill my husband."
Conclusion: The Hall-Mills murder remains unsolved more than a century later. The love letters, the posed bodies, the Pig Woman's dying testimony, the acquittal of the wealthy wife - all of these elements combined to create a case that has fascinated true crime enthusiasts for generations. The crabapple tree is gone. The lovers' lane is now a residential street. But the question of who killed the priest and the choir singer under that tree in 1922 has never been definitively answered. Frances Hall took the secret - if she had it - to her grave. The Pig Woman took her testimony to hers. And the killer, whoever it was, escaped earthly justice.