True Life Tuesday: Hannah Mary Tabbs

This story has a sort of modern feel. It goes to show that horrible things have always taken place.

Hannah Mary Tabbs was born Hannah Ann Smith in Maryland sometime in the 1850's. She was born into slavery. About 10 years after the Civil War she moved to Philadelphia with her husband and niece who many believed was actually her daughter. She earned quite the reputation in the black community in the city. She committed assaults against community members and threatened her family members. She also used many aliases and fake identities.

Eventually she began an affair with Wakefield Gains, a 24 year old mixed race man. When she saw him speaking with another woman on the street she told him that she was going to kill him. He was reported missing by his sister two weeks later. On February 17, 1887 his mutilated torso was found in a pond in Eddington, Pennsylvania. On February 16th she had confessed to the crime while in police custody. She stated that Gains was at her home when George Wilson arrived. Gains and Wilson began fighting and Wilson hit him several times in the head with a chair. He then dragged his body to the basement where he removed his clothes and dismembered the body. She stated that she took the train to Eddington where she threw the body and his clothes in the pond. Wilson also confessed but he stated that Tabbs was the one who dismembered Gains. The rest of the body was never recovered.

During the trial the coroner stated that Gains was still alive when he was dismembered. Tabbs was convicted of accessory to murder and sentenced to 2 years. Wilson was convicted of murder and sentences to 12 years.