The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-09-26
THE FRoerowN SENSATION.
Desperation Of Rosa Heller's Husband
to Obtain Her Remains.

The body of Rosa Heller, who died al
Mrs. Susan Strickland's boarding house or
Sims street near Lumber, about 1880
o'clock Wednesday afternoon, was
buried by Undertaken James Henderson at
Laurel Grove cemetery yesterday morning.
This Is the case of which mention was
made in yesterdays MORNING NEWS Of the
| fierce contention over the dead wOman's
| body by her husband and alleged lover, as
TO who should have charge of the body.
The information, as published in yester-
DAYS MORNING NEWS, was brought TO this
Office at a late hour by a Mr.. Barditt, a
| Frenchman, who claimed to room in Close
/ proximity to the house, and the night being
| inclemeut, the hour late and the place re-
mote. the information was received and
| published without vouchfng for its correct
| ness, which was true only in part. 1t ap-
| pears that Barditt had motive at the bot
/ tom for making the case, bad enough at
best. even worse than it was
The story of Rosa Heller is a sad one,
/ indeed, and relates to young life blighted
| by the revolving brutality Of one who should
/ have been her protector She was Is years
old at the time of her death. At IA years of
age she was married, in Charleston, to
| Herman Heller. a man much older than
herself From the very begin
ming Of their married life Heler's
conduct toward his girl wife is said TO have
been brutal in the extreme, and the cruel
ties said to have been practiced upon her
were inhuman and fiendish and more like
the acts of an insane person than a man in
his right mind. 1t is said that on several
occasions he attempted to take her life.
After having beaten and starved her, as
she related the story, Heller set her adrift
about year ago, telling ber that she was
not his lawful wife, as he had wife and
two children elsewhere, at the Same time
exhibiting the pictures of his alleged chill
dren by former marriage
The woman, who had had to make her
own support while living with Heller, was
thro wn upon her own resources She found
her way to Augusta and afterward to Burke
county, where she met an old man named
Strange. Strange took a fancy to the
woman, or girl rather, and wanted to marry
her. To this she agreed, and there was
some kind OF ceremony performed but not
a legal marriage. She lived with Strange
until his death. a short while afterward,
and then came to Savannah. where she Sc.
cured place as housegiri in a respectable
family.
Heller learned that Rosa was in Savan-
nah and followed her here. He endeavored
in every way, by persuasion and afterward
by threats, to get her to live with him
again, but she refused to do So Because
she would not live with him he prosecuted
her for bigamy about six months ago,
and mention of the case was made
In the MORNING NEWS at the time, the
woman's name being then given as Rosa
Strange. In the preliminary hearing before
Justice Sheftall Rosa stated her connection
with Strange, and said that she lived with
him because he was kind to her and was
able to take care of her, but she did not
consider herself his wife. She was com
m1tted to jail, however, but was afterward
released by order Of the solicitor general
Rosa had been working at the Empire
Steam Laundry prior to her death and
boarding with Mrs. Strickland on Sims
street. Heller still continued his efforts to
get her to come back to him, and threatened
to kill her if she did not.
About two weeks ago Rosa mas taken
sick and was sent to the st. Joseph's IN
Urinary. Heller called to see her az the
infrmary, and her detestation and fear of
him we're such that she jumped from her
bed and through a window to escape from
him. Realizing that her illness was mortal
she begged to be seat back to Mrs. Strick-
lands, which was done
Last Wednesday afternoon, when Rosa
was dying, Heller stood at the bedside of
the woman whose life he had wrecked. and
made her last hours miserable by his pres
ence. Her detestation of him was such
that even in her dying moments she turned
her head away from him and refused to
look at him
The last request of the dying women to
her friend, Mrs. Strickland, was, that she
should be buried decently, and that Heller
should not be allowed TO have her body.
Mrs. Strickland promised to carry out her
request, which she faithfully did She noti-
fed Undertaken Henderson of the death
and requested him to take charge of the
body. which was done.
Heller was bent upon securing the body
Of the deceased. He called upon Under
taker j. Goette and requested him to take
charge OF the remains, without informing
him as to the nature of the case. Mr.
Goette prepared coffin, and, in company
with Heller, drove to the house. When
Mr.. Goette learned that Mr. Henderson was
in charge, and had become better informed
about the case, Mr.. Goette i'm
mediately refused to have any
thing to do with the matter
Heller swore that he would have the body
at any cost That night he went to Capt.
w. ID. Dixon, making the same representa-
tons to him that he had made to Mr..
Goette. and asked Capt Dixon to take
charge of the body. A coffin was prepared
and Mr.. w. t. Dixon drove down with it,
but when Mr.. Dixon learned from Mr.. Hen
derson how the matter stood, he washed his
hands of the affair and drove back.
Heller was persistent and desperate in his
efforts, and came back to the house late at
night, cursing and threatening to break
down the door If he was not admitted. and
as he was kicking at the door a policeman
was called upon and took Heller away from
the house.
Yesterday morning Heller renewed his
efforts to secure possession of the body. He
endeavored to get possessory warrant in
was unsuccessful Justice Naughtin peremp-
torily refused to listen to the fellow BY
representations to DIR. Norton, who at
tended the woman, Heller secured a
death certificate, and with this OBJ
tanned a burial permit from Health
Officer Drummer, and the desperate
man endeavored to secure police interfer-
ence, but without success. Mr. Henderson
laid the whole matter before
the health officer and was
given a duplicate certificate, and the
body was buried about 10 o'clock yesterday
morning. Heller vowed that he would take
the body and jump into the Savannah
river with it before anybody else should
bury it, but he did not attempt to carry his
threats into execution.
Rev. Mr.. Royal of the Baptist church
conducted the funeral services, and the
body of Door Rosa Heller was laid to rest at
last, without further scandal, under the
shadow of the oaks at Laurel Grove.
AN EVEN DOZEN.