Carl von Cosel

Carl Von Cosel (1940)

Carl Von Cosel (1940)

Carl von Cosel , actually Georg Carl Tänzler (born February 8, 1877 in Dresden , † July 23, 1952 in Tampa ), was a German - American radiologist . He became known as a necrophiliac .

Tänzler, who emigrated to the USA via Cuba in 1926 , settled in Key West , Florida in 1927 and called himself Dr. Carl Graf von Cosel . It is doubtful whether he actually acquired the doctorate he had specified in Germany and ever studied medicine. Cosel found a job at the local marine hospital, where he worked in radiology and bacteriology .

In April 1930 he met the 21-year-old tuberculosis patient Maria Elena Milagro "Helen" de Hoyos and fell in love with the Cuban woman. However, she died on October 25, 1931. Cosel preserved the corpse of his lover with formaldehyde and had a pompous mausoleum built for her, in which he spent the nights.

In 1933 Cosel took the mummy home, where he lived with the corpse and worked on preserving the body.

In 1940 the dead sister's sister became aware of rumors and investigated the matter. She found the remains not in the coffin, but in Cosel's house and filed a complaint. Cosel was arrested for desecrating a corpse and Elena's body was examined by a medical commission.

Afterwards, Cosel's work was exhibited to the public for three days and, after 6,000 visitors had taken the opportunity to view the mummy Elena Milagro Hoyos, it was buried in an unknown location.

Cosel was released on bail of $ 1,000 and was acquitted in the ensuing trial because the alleged desecration of the grave had expired after two years. An examination of his state of health did not provide any evidence of illness, so that he could live in freedom without any conditions.

The financially troubled Cosel left Key West and moved to his sister in Zephyrhills , where he wrote his life story under the title The Secret of Elena's Tomb and showed visitors a replica of Elena made from wax after the death mask. Cosel died in July 1952 with his relic in his hands.

The autopsy report prepared in 1940 initially remained under lock and key. In 1972 he became accessible and it became known that Carl von Cosel had attached a device to the mummy of his lover for sexual intercourse with the deceased and carried it out.

Artistic processing

The Swiss composer Nadir Vassena made the event the subject of his opera Carnation , the case was musically processed by the American rock band … And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead on their EP, released in 2003, to which they named Cosel's life story The Secret of Elena's Tomb , by the folk metal band Subway to Sally in their song Black Silk and by the American melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder in their song Deathmask Divine on their 2007 album Nocturnal.

literature

• Ben Harrison: Undying Love - The True Story of a Passion That Defied Death , ISBN 0-88282-149-0

Web links

• Necrophilia: The Scary Dr. from Cosel