Katherine Cross
Encyclopedia
Katherine Cross was a young Oklahoma
woman whose headstone epitaph, "Murdered by Human wolves" was a source of local legend. Her grave is located in Violet Cemetery in Konawa, Oklahoma
.
Cross may have been the victim of a botched abortion. A fictionalized account of her death appears in the novella "Murdered by Human Wolves," by Steven E. Wedel
.
According to the October 25, 1917 Seminole County News, however, Katherine died while under the care of Dr. A.H. Yates and Fredrick O'Neal, a schoolteacher from Konawa who was acting as his assistant. Katherine's death certificate lists the cause of death as a criminal operation and many feel that due to the time period and the location, that this was the result of a botched abortion
.
This, according to the news article, was the "Second Charge" against the two gentlemen. Dr. Yates and Fred O'Neal were held in county jail for the death of 18 year old Elise Stone. Elise was admitted to Dr. Yates office on August 15, 1917 where she remained for four days, at which time she was taken to his home. Her death, according to Dr. Yates, was the result of a "congestive chill." Although most of Konawa was satisfied with Dr. Yates' decision, the few who were suspicious contacted County Attorney A.G. Nichols. Nichols and the county physician, along with an order by M.L. Rascoe, Justice of the Peace
, exhumed the body of Elise to perform an autopsy and the findings also listed the cause of her death as a criminal operation.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
woman whose headstone epitaph, "Murdered by Human wolves" was a source of local legend. Her grave is located in Violet Cemetery in Konawa, Oklahoma
Konawa, Oklahoma
Konawa is a city in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,479 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Konawa is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
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Cross may have been the victim of a botched abortion. A fictionalized account of her death appears in the novella "Murdered by Human Wolves," by Steven E. Wedel
Steven E. Wedel
Steven E. Wedel is an American author currently residing in Moore, Oklahoma. He is best known for his series of books in The Werewolf Saga, all published by Scrybe Press of Morristown, New York....
.
Life and legend
Cross was born March 13, 1899, to J.T. and M.K. Cross. She died at the age of 18 on October 10, 1917. The cause of her death wasn't commonly known, leading her grave to become a popular "ghost story" setting and source of legend. Many modern legends pertaining to the unusual epitaph claim that her body was found shredded to pieces, that she was killed by werewolves, or that she was killed by the Ku Klux Klan.According to the October 25, 1917 Seminole County News, however, Katherine died while under the care of Dr. A.H. Yates and Fredrick O'Neal, a schoolteacher from Konawa who was acting as his assistant. Katherine's death certificate lists the cause of death as a criminal operation and many feel that due to the time period and the location, that this was the result of a botched abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
.
This, according to the news article, was the "Second Charge" against the two gentlemen. Dr. Yates and Fred O'Neal were held in county jail for the death of 18 year old Elise Stone. Elise was admitted to Dr. Yates office on August 15, 1917 where she remained for four days, at which time she was taken to his home. Her death, according to Dr. Yates, was the result of a "congestive chill." Although most of Konawa was satisfied with Dr. Yates' decision, the few who were suspicious contacted County Attorney A.G. Nichols. Nichols and the county physician, along with an order by M.L. Rascoe, Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, exhumed the body of Elise to perform an autopsy and the findings also listed the cause of her death as a criminal operation.
In fiction
A fictionalized account of Cross's death appears in a 2004 novella entitled "Murdered by Human Wolves". Published by Scrybe Press, the story contains a family of werewolves, who along with the town doctor, kill Cross. The novella comes with a nonfiction account of the author's interview with Mary Franklin, a paranormal researcher who has studied Cross's life.External links
- Find A Grave entry for Katherine Cross
- Steven E. Wedel's Werewolf Saga