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Saturday, June 07, 2008

Two criminal anniversaries

On June 7, 1924, 27-year-old Anna Strazynski died at her Chicago home from an illegal abortion performed that day. The perpetrator was never identified.

On June 7, 1929, 20-year-old Viola Koepping died at the office of Dr. Albert West of Chicago, from an abortion evidently performed there that day. West was held by the coroner on June 21, and indicted by a grand jury for felony murder on April 21, 1930. Viola's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was performed by a physician.

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2 comments:

  1. hoogie1:01 AM

    I just read your Sat June 7, 2008 article, Two Criminal Anniversaries. Viola Koepping is my aunt. Unfortunately things were kept hush hush back then so all we hear were rumors of what happened to her. To see it in print was a bit of a surprise

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  2. Christina Dunigan6:27 AM

    So sorry about your aunt, hoogie.

    If you're in the Chicago area, you might be able to find more about what really happened in newspaper archives at the library. You also might be able to access information from the coroner's office. Sometimes Ancestry.com also has information available. I learned a lot about my grandmother and her brother that way.

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