Friday, September 25, 2026

September 25, 1892: The Second Chicago Victim of Dr. Lucy Hagenow

At about 9:00 on the morning of Sunday, September 25, 1892, 30-year-old Sophia Kuhn "died in great agony" at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. She had been brought there by ambulance the previous evening from Dr. Louise Hagenow's practice at 882 West Madison Street.

"That the woman died from the result of a most cruel criminal operation is fairly well established, and an inquest to-day will beyond question reveal the details of what has every appearance of being little less than a butchery."

A poor quality picture of a white woman of late middle age, with sharp features, wearing round spectacles and a sailor-style blouse and hat
Louise "Lucy" Hagenow

Louise Hagenow and Ellen Hellieu were arrested. Sophia's father identified them as responsible for his daughter's death. Sophie, who had been separated from her husband for about two years, had been living with her sister, Mrs. White, at the time of the pregnancy and abortion. Sophie's brother-in-law, William White, said, "My sister-in-law left home about two weeks ago. She was then complaining of being sick and in trouble. I am certain she did not go to Mrs. Hagenow and the other doctors of her own accord. There was a man in the case who must have persuaded her to submit to an operation."

While police were interviewing Hagenow, who also used the name Lucy Hagenow, at her practice, Hellieu "rushed breathless into her apartments. When she saw Dr. Hagenow's interviewer, she exclaimed: 'Don't say anything!' Then she sank exhausted upon a sofa."

Hagenow had already been implicated in the abortion deaths of Louise Derchow, Annie Dories, Abbia Richards, Emma Dep in San Francisco before relocating to Chicago in 1890.

She was implicated in the abortion death of Minnie Deering in 1891. Shortly after Sophie's death in 1892, Hagenow was again arrested, this time for the abortion death of Emily Anderson. Further abortion deaths associated with Hagenow's Chicago practice include Hannah Carlson in 1896, Marie Hecht in 1899, May (or Mary) Putnam in 1905, Lola Maddison in 1906, and Annie Horvatich in 1907.


Hagenow went to prison for Annie's death. After her release she went back to business and was implicated in the deaths of Lottie Lowy, Nina Pierce, Jean Cohen, Bridget Masterson, and Elizabeth Welter in 1925. She was imprisoned for the last time for the 1926 death of Mary Moorehead.


Sources:
  • "Female Physicians Held," Chicago Inter-Ocean, Sept. 27, 1892
  • "Points to an Awful Crime," Chicago Inter-Ocean, Sept. 26, 1892

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Veteran pro-life investigator Kevin Sherlock asks people of good will to help him have Planned Parenthood prosecuted for profiteering from the rapes and incests of underage girls many thousands of times each year.

Sherlock has  pulled the police records of hundreds of cities and has pulled the child protective services records of multiple states to prove Planned Parenthood staffers are violating mandated reporting laws designed to protect girl victims.   But there is more to be done. Sherlock will make sure more and more evidence gets to federal and state prosecutors who care about protecting girls from abusers and profiteers.

If you would like to help, please click the following link:


Sherlock has talked to many girls and young women who trust him. Their stories and the forensic evidence shows most of them undergo pill abortions or humiliating invasive surgical abortions due to fear or ignorance or pressure or coercion. He treats the girls or women carrying children or devastated from their abortions as friends and neighbors in his home town, not afterthoughts.

Thank you for doing what you can to help girls and fight sexual predators and rape profiteers.

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