Tuesday, January 10, 2023

January 10, 1942: The Penultimate Body on Dr. Gleitsmann's Trail of Death

 Marie O'Malley, age 36, died on January 10, 1942 after an abortion blamed on notorious Chicago abortionist Dr. Emil Gleitsmann, age 76. 

Marie, a mother of six, had gone to Gleitsman's office with two friends on January 5.  Gleitsmann insisted that he had only been treating her for peritonitis for an abortion she'd already undergone before coming to him. However, two other women that Gleitsmann performed abortions on testified that he had indeed perpetrated the fatal abortion, for which Marie had paid $50 (a little less than $800 in 2021 dollars).

While awaiting trial for Marie's death, Gleitsmann was also held culpable during an inquest into the abortion death of a woman I call Maggie Doe

Gleitsmann was convicted in murder in Marie's death and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Gleitsmann appealed on the grounds that he'd had an incompetent attorney, but the court ruled that he'd used the same lawyer before and thus had plenty of opportunity to judge him incompetent prior to the trail in Marie's death. 

Gleitsmann was also implicated in the abortion deaths of Lucille van Iderstine (November 30, 1927)Jeanette Reder (December 1, 1930), and Mary Colbert (March 25, 1933).

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