Carl Tanzler
3448661
220295566
2008-06-19T04:29:15Z
71.90.73.22
/* In popular culture */
{{Infobox Person
| name = Carl Tanzler
| image = Tanzler 049.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Tanzler in 1940
| birth_date = {{birth date|1877|2|8|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Dresden, Germany]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1952|7|23|1877|2|8}}
| death_place = [[Pasco County, Florida]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| occupation = [[Radiology|Radiologist]]
| spouse =
| parents =
| children =
}}
'''Carl Tanzler''' or sometimes '''Count Carl von Cosel''' ([[February 8]], [[1877]] – [[July 23]], [[1952]]) was a [[Germany|German]]-born [[Radiology|radiologist]] at the [[Marine Hospital Service|United States Marine Hospital]] in [[Key West, Florida|Key West]], [[Florida]] who developed a morbid obsession for a young [[Cuban-American]] [[tuberculosis]] patient, Maria Elena Milagro "Helen" de Hoyos (1910–1931), that carried on well after Hoyos succumbed to the disease in 1931.<ref name=Swicegood>{{cite book |last=Swicegood |first=Tom |quote=Tuesday, October 1, 1940. It was not even mid-morning but Nana Medina was tired. She had been res... |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ptMZLu_YC3UC&dq |title=Von Cosel |year=2003 |publisher=iUniverse |location= |isbn = 0-595-74652-7 }}</ref> In 1933, almost two years after her death, Tanzler removed Hoyos' body from its tomb, and lived with the corpse at his home for seven years until its discovery by Hoyos' relatives and authorities in 1940.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/necrophiles/story_6.html | accessdate = 2006-08-24 | title =A Macabre Love Story | quote = Radiologist Carl von Cosel, 56, became obsessed with one of the tuberculosis patients at the sanitarium where he worked. Her name was Maria Elena de Hoyos and she was a beautiful, 22-year-old woman. | publisher =[[Crime Library]]}}</ref>
==Name==
Tanzler went by many names; he was listed as '''Georg Karl Tänzler''' on his German marriage certificate. He was listed as '''Carl Tanzler von Cosel''' on his [[United States citizenship]] papers, and he was listed as '''Carl Tanzler''' on his Florida death certificate. Some of his hospital records were signed '''Count Carl Tanzler von Cosel'''.
==Early life==
[[Image:Tanzler 034.jpg|thumb|Carl Tanzler (circa 1941)]]
He was born as '''Karl Tänzler''' or '''Georg Karl Tänzler''' on [[February 8]], [[1877]] in [[Dresden, Germany]]. Around 1920 he married Doris A. (1889–1977) and he was listed as "Georg Karl Tänzler" on the marriage certificate. Together they had two children: Ayesha Tanzler (1922–1998), and Crystal Tanzler (1924–1934), who died of [[diphtheria]].
Tanzler grew up in Germany, and apparently spent time in [[Australia]] around the time of [[World War I]], where he may have been held on detention.<ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Ben |authorlink= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Iuco-wPO-xsC&pg=PP1&dq |title=Undying Love: The True Story Of A Passion That Defied Death |year=2001 |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |quote=... Tanzler left Germany, a country that was dispirited and defeated after the First World War, and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States, ... |ISBN = 0-312-97802-2 }}</ref> Tanzler emigrated to the United States in 1926, sailing from [[Rotterdam]] on [[February 6]], [[1926]] to [[Havana]], [[Cuba]]. From Cuba he settled in [[Zephyrhills, Florida]], where his sister had earlier emigrated, and was later joined by his wife and two daughters. Leaving his family behind in Zephyrhills in 1927, he took a job as a [[radiologist]] at the [[Marine Hospital Service|U.S. Marine Hospital]] in [[Key West, Florida]] under the name Carl von Cosel.
During his childhood in Germany, and later, while traveling briefly in [[Genoa, Italy]], Tanzler claimed to have been visited by visions of a dead ancestor, [[Anna Constantia Gräfin von Cosel|countess Anna Constantia von Cosel]], who revealed the face of his true love, an exotic dark-haired woman, to him.<ref name=Swicegood/>
==Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos==
[[Image:Tanzler 075.jpg|thumb|left|Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos (1910–1931) circa 1926.]]
[[Image:Tanzler 084.jpg|thumb|right|Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos (1910–1931) circa 1930.]]
On [[April 22]], [[1930]], while working at the Marine Hospital in [[Key West]], Tanzler met Maria Elena Milagro "Helen" de Hoyos (1910–1931), a local [[Cuban-American]] woman who had been brought to the hospital for an examination by her mother. Tanzler immediately recognized her as the beautiful dark-haired woman that had been revealed to him in his earlier "visions."<ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Ben |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Undying Love |year=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's True Crime |location= |id=ISBN 0-312-97802-2 }}</ref> By all accounts, Hoyos was viewed as a local beauty in Key West<ref name=Swicegood/><ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Ben |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Undying Love |year=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's True Crime |location= |id=ISBN 0-312-97802-2 }}</ref><ref name=Sloan>{{cite book |last=Sloan |first=David |authorlink= |quote=A German citizen, his real name was Carl Tanzler, and though he was well-read in many subjects, it is doubtful that he had any real schooling in the various ... | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_BNK_gs-KIQC&pg |title=Ghosts of Key West |year=1998 |publisher=Phantom Press |location= |ISBN = 0-9674498-0-4 }}</ref>
Elena was the daughter of local cigar maker Francisco "Pancho" Hoyos (1883–1934) and Aurora Milagro (1881–1940). She had two sisters, Florinda "Nana" Milagro Hoyos (1906–1944), who married Mario Medina (c.1905–1944) and also succumbed to [[tuberculosis]]; and Celia Milagro Hoyos (1913–?). Medina, Nana's husband, was electrocuted trying to rescue a coworker who hit a powerline with his crane at a construction site.
On [[February 18]], [[1926]], Hoyos married Luis Mesa (1908–?), the son of Caridad and Isaac Mesa. Luis left Hoyos shortly after Hoyos [[miscarriage|miscarried]] the couples' child, and moved to [[Miami]]. Hoyos was legally married to Mesa at the time of her death.
Hoyos was eventually diagnosed with [[tuberculosis]], a typically fatal disease at the time, that eventually claimed the lives of almost her entire immediate family. Tanzler, with his self-professed medical "knowledge," attempted to treat and cure Hoyos with a variety of medicines, as well as x-ray and electrical equipment, that were brought to the Hoyos' home.<ref name=Swicegood/><ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Ben |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Undying Love |year=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's True Crime |location= |id=ISBN 0-312-97802-2 }}</ref> Tanzler showered Hoyos with gifts of jewelry and clothing, and allegedly professed his love to her, but no evidence has surfaced to show that any of his affection was reciprocated by Hoyos.<ref name=Swicegood/><ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Ben |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Undying Love |year=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's True Crime |location= |id=ISBN 0-312-97802-2 }}</ref>
==Morbid obsession==
[[Image:Tanzer 031.jpg|thumb|left|The corpse of Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos (1910–1931) encased in wax and plaster circa 1940.]]
[[Image:Tanzler 68.jpg|thumb|right|The corpse of Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos (1910–1931) encased in wax and plaster circa 1940.]]
Despite Tanzler's best efforts, Hoyos died of [[tuberculosis|terminal tuberculosis]] at her parent's home in Key West on October 25, 1931.<ref name=Swicegood/> Following Hoyos' funeral, which Tanzler paid for, and with the permission of her family, Tanzler commissioned the construction of an above ground [[mausoleum]] in the Key West City Cemetery that he visited almost every night.<ref name=Swicegood/><ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Ben |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Undying Love |year=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's True Crime |location= |id=ISBN 0-312-97802-2 }}</ref>
In April, 1933, Tanzler removed Hoyos' body from the mausoleum, carted it through the cemetery after dark on a toy wagon, and transported it to his home.<ref name=Swicegood>{{cite book |last=Swicegood |first=Tom |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Von Cosel |year=2003 |publisher=iUniverse |location= |id=ISBN 0-595-74652-7 }}</ref> Tanzler attached the corpse's bones together with wire and coat hangers, and fitted the face with glass eyes. As the skin of the corpse decomposed, Tanzler replaced it with silk cloth soaked in wax and [[plaster of paris]]. As the hair fell out of the decomposing scalp, Tanzler fashioned a wig from Hoyos' hair that had been collected by her mother and given to Tanzler not long after her burial in 1931.<ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Ben |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Undying Love |year=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's True Crime |location= |id=ISBN 0-312-97802-2 }}</ref> Tanzler filled the corpse's [[abdominal]] and chest cavity with rags to keep the original form, dressed Hoyos' remains in stockings, jewelry, and gloves, and kept the body in his bed. Tanzler also used copious amounts of perfume, disinfectants, and preserving agents, to mask the odor and forestall the effects of the corpse's [[decomposition]].<ref name="Autopsy 6: Secrets of the Dead - The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel">{{cite web | url = http://www.hbo.com/autopsy/episode/episode_6_the_strange_obsession_of_dr_carl_von_cosel.html | accessdate = 2006-08-24 | quote=The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel. In 1934, Dr. Carl Von Cosel worked at a Key West hospital, treating patients suffering from then-incurable tuberculosis. He fell in love with a 22-year-old patient named Elena Hoyos. When she died, Von Cosel got permission from her family to build her a mausoleum. There, Von Cosel used formaldehyde to preserve the body, visiting it nightly. ...| title = Autopsy 6: Secrets of the Dead - The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel | publisher =[[HBO]]| date = 2005}}</ref>
In October, 1940, Elena's sister Florinda heard rumors of Tanzler sleeping with the disinterred body of her sister, and confronted Tanzler at his home, where Hoyos' body was eventually discovered. Florinda notified the authorities, and Tanzler was arrested and detained. Tanzler was [[psychiatry|psychiatrically]] examined, and found [[Competence (law)|mentally competent]] to stand trial on the charge of "wantonly and maliciously destroying a grave and removing a body without authorization."<ref name=Swicegood>{{cite book |last=Swicegood |first=Tom |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Von Cosel |year=2003 |publisher=iUniverse |location= |ISBN = 0-595-74652-7 }}</ref> After a [[preliminary hearing]] on October 9, 1940 at the [[Monroe County, Florida|Monroe County]] Courthouse in Key West, Tanzler was held to answer on the charge, but the case was eventually dropped and he was released, as the [[statute of limitations]] for the crime had expired.<ref name=Swicegood>{{cite book |last=Swicegood |first=Tom |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Von Cosel |year=2003 |publisher=iUniverse |location= |id=ISBN 0-595-74652-7 }}</ref><ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Ben |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Undying Love |year=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's True Crime |location= |id=ISBN 0-312-97802-2 }}</ref>
Shortly after the corpse's discovery by authorities, Hoyos' body was examined by physicians and [[pathologists]], and put on public display at the Dean-Lopez Funeral Home, where it was viewed by as many as 6,800 people.<ref name=Sloan/> Hoyos' body was eventually returned to the Key West City Cemetery where the remains were buried in an unmarked grave, in a secret location, to prevent further tampering.<ref name=Swicegood/>
The facts underlying the case and the preliminary hearing drew much interest from the media at the time (most notably, from the ''[[Key West Citizen]]'' and ''[[Miami Herald]]''), and created a sensation among the public, both regionally and nationwide. The public mood was generally sympathetic to Tanzler, whom many viewed as an eccentric "romantic".<ref name=Swicegood/>
Though not reported contemporaneously, research (most notably by authors Harrison and Swicegood) has revealed evidence of Tanzler's [[necrophilia]] with Hoyos' corpse.<ref name=Swicegood/><ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Ben |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Undying Love |year=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's True Crime |location= |id=ISBN 0-312-97802-2 }}</ref> Two physicians (Dr. DePoo and Dr. Foraker) who attended the 1940 autopsy of Hoyos' remains recalled in 1972 that a paper tube had been inserted in the vaginal area of the corpse that allowed for intercourse.<ref name=Swicegood>{{cite book |last=Swicegood |first=Tom |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Von Cosel |year=2003 |publisher=iUniverse |location= |id=ISBN 0-595-74652-7 }}</ref><ref name=Harrison>{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Ben |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Undying Love |year=2001 |publisher=St. Martin's True Crime |location= |id=ISBN 0-312-97802-2 }}</ref> Others contend that since no evidence of necrophilia was presented at the 1940 preliminary hearing, and because the physicians' "proof" surfaced in 1972, over 30 years after the case had been dismissed, the necrophilia allegation is questionable. While no existing contemporary photographs of the autopsy or photographs taken at the public display show a tube, the necrophilia claim was repeated by the [[Home Box Office|HBO]] ''Autopsy'' program in 2005.<ref name="Autopsy 6: Secrets of the Dead - The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel">{{cite web | url = http://www.hbo.com/autopsy/episode/episode_6_the_strange_obsession_of_dr_carl_von_cosel.html | accessdate = 2006-08-24 | author = || title = Autopsy 6: Secrets of the Dead - The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel | publisher = ''HBO.com''| date = 2005}}</ref>
==Later life and death==
[[Image:FantasticAdventures.jpg|left|thumb|Cover of September, 1947 edition of ''[[Fantastic Adventures]]''.]]
[[Image:Tanzer 030.jpg|right|thumb|Carl Tanzler (1877–1952) with photograph of Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos (1910–1931), circa 1940.]]
In 1944, Tanzler moved to [[Pasco County, Florida]] close to [[Zephyrhills, Florida]], where he wrote an autobiography that appeared in the [[Pulp magazine|pulp]] publication, ''[[Fantastic Adventures]]'', in 1947. His home was near his wife Doris, who apparently helped to support Tanzler in his later years.<ref name=Swicegood/> Tanzler received [[United States citizen]]ship in 1950 in [[Tampa]].
Separated from his obsession, Tanzler used a [[death mask]] to create a life-sized effigy of Hoyos, and lived with it until his death on [[July 3]], [[1952]].<ref name="Autopsy 6: Secrets of the Dead - The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel">{{cite web | url = http://www.hbo.com/autopsy/episode/episode_6_the_strange_obsession_of_dr_carl_von_cosel.html | accessdate = 2006-08-24 | author = || title = Autopsy 6: Secrets of the Dead - The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel | publisher = ''HBO.com''| date = 2005}}</ref> His body was discovered on the floor of his home three weeks after his death. He died under the name "Carl Tanzler".
It has been recounted that Tanzler was found in the arms of the Hoyos effigy upon discovery of his corpse, but his obituary reported that he died on the floor behind one of his organs. The obituary recounted: "a metal cylinder on a shelf above a table in it wrapped in silken cloth and a robe was a waxen image".<ref name=KeyWest>''Key West Citizen''; [[July 24]], [[1952]]</ref>
It has also been written (most notably by Swicegood) that Tanzler had the bodies switched (or that Hoyos' remains were secretly returned to him), and that he died with the real body of Elena.<ref name=Swicegood/> There is no evidence that the waxen effigy found in his house at the time of his death contained bones, or any other human material.<ref name=KeyWest/>
==In popular culture==
Colombian poet Julio Flórez wrote a poem, ''"Boda Negra"'' (''Black Wedding''), loosely based on the Tanzler incident. That poem, set to music, became a musical standard in Latin America, made popular by Puerto Rican musical trio ''Los Condes'', Ecuadorean singer [[Julio Jaramillo]] and Mexican singer [[Ana Gabriel]].
Two rock bands have released EPs inspired by this story: [[And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead]] released ''[[The Secret of Elena's Tomb]]'' in 2003, and [[Sleep Station]] released ''[[Von Cosel]]'' in 2006. The band "[[The Black Dahlia Murder]]" also released the song "Deathmask Divine" which talks about this story.
The ''[[Ripley's Believe It or Not]]'' museum In Key West, Florida, claims to have the body of Carl Tanzler, presented as Count Carl Von Cosel, on display.
==Timeline==
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
*1877 Birth of Carl Tanzler in [[Dresden, Germany]] on [[February 8]].
*1920 (circa) Marriage to Doris in Germany.
*1922 Birth of Ayesha Tanzler, his daughter.
*1924 Birth of Crysta Tanzler, his daughter.
*1926 [[Rotterdam]] to [[Havana]] on [[February 6]].
*1926 Enters USA and goes to [[Zephyrhills, Florida]] where he may have had a sister.
*1927 Begins work at Marine Hospital in [[Key West, Florida]].
*1930 [[Media:1930 census Tanzler.gif|1930 US Census]] with Doris Tanzler in [[Zephyrhills, Florida]].
*1930 [[Media:1930 census Hoyos.gif|1930 US Census]] with Hoyos family in [[Key West, Florida]].
*1931 Death of Maria Elena Milagro "Helen" de Hoyos in October.
*1933 Removal of the body of Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos to his home.
*1934 Death of Crysta Tanzler, his daughter, from [[diphtheria]].
*1940 Arrest for desecration of a grave.
*1940 [[Media:Tanzler 083.jpg|Released on bond from jail on October 12]].
*1944 Moves to [[Pasco County, Florida]] near [[Zephyrhills, Florida]].
*1950 Receives United States citizenship in [[Tampa]].
*1952 Death of Carl Tanzler on [[July 23]].
*1977 Death of Doris Tanzler, his estranged widow, on May 11.
*1998 Death of Ayesha Tanzler, his daughter.
</div>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyfvf5bc0Vo Video Documentary of von Cosel, Elena Hoyos Affair]
*[http://richard.arthur.norton.googlepages.com/carltanzlerbibliography Carl Tanzler bibliography]
*[http://genealogy.wikia.com/wiki/Carl_Tanzler_%281877-1952%29 Wikia Genealogy: Carl Tanzler]
==See also==
*''[[The Secret of Elena's Tomb]]'' a music [[EP]] by [[…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead]] inspired by the story
*''[[Fantastic Adventures]]'' Tanzler von Cosel, Karl (September 1947); "The Secret of Elena's Tomb"
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME= Tanzler, Carl
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= von Cosel, Carl
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= necrophiliac
|DATE OF BIRTH= [[February 8]], [[1877]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Germany]]
|DATE OF DEATH= [[July 23]], [[1952]]
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[Florida]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanzler, Carl}}
[[Category:1877 births]]
[[Category:1952 deaths]]
[[Category:German immigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:People from Florida]]
[[Category:Radiologists]]
[[Category:Necrophiles]]
[[de:Carl von Cosel]]
[[es:Carl Tanzler]]