madge augustine oberholtzer (november 10, 1896 &ndash; april 14, 1925) was an american schoolteacher who worked for the state of indiana on adult literacy. she was kidnapped by d. c. stephenson, grand dragon of the indiana ku klux klan, and held in his private train car, where he raped and partially cannibalized her. the fiery cross: the ku klux klan in america - wyn craig wade - google books she died from a combination of an infection (staph) and kidney failure from mercury chloride poisoning, which she took while imprisoned in order to commit suicide.daniel o. linder, "d.c. stephenson", testimony, famous trials, hosted at university of missouri law school, kansas city after the suicide attempt, stephenson's men returned oberholtzer to her home alive, assuming her severe injuries would quickly prove fatal and that their leader was in any case immune to prosecution. however, she retained consciousness long enough to give a signed statement to police as she lay dying.dying declaration of madge oberholtzer she vividly described stephenson's assaults on her, and this detailed testimony led to his conviction at trial. the ensuing scandal contributed to the rapid decline of kkk membership in indiana, with tens of thousands of members leaving. the decline was hastened by stephenson's talking to the press in 1926-1927 about government officials who had accepted payments and bribes from the klan; the organization lost its reputation as law-abiding and upholding morality. ==early life== born to german-american parents, oberholtzer grew up in indianapolis, where her father worked as a postal clerk and her family belonged to the irvington methodist church. she was, a friend would later say, âan independent soul, yet timid. i donât think anybody disliked madge, but she didnât make a great effort to make people like her, either.â she studied english, mathematics, zoology and logic at butler college in irvington, but dropped out, without explanation, at the end of her junior year. through her life, oberholtzer lived with her parents in the irvington area of indianapolis. by the time she had met stephenson, she was the manager of the indiana young peopleâs reading circle, a special section of the indiana department of public instruction. sheâd heard rumors, though, that the reading circle programâand her jobâwere about to be eliminated due to budget cuts. ==events of the case== oberholtzer first met david curtiss stephenson, grand dragon (state leader) of the indiana branch of the ku klux klan, while attending indiana governor ed jackson's inauguration gala at the athletic club[http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/stephenso
1896_births 1925_crimes 1925_deaths American_murder_victims American_people_of_German_descent American_schoolteachers Deaths_by_poisoning Kidnapped_American_people Ku_Klux_Klan_crimes People_from_Indianapolis,_Indiana People_murdered_in_Indiana Rapes_in_the_United_States