[00:00:00] Two bodies were found in an orchard in New Jersey. They were placed there deliberately. Love letters were arranged around them, not hidden. Displayed to the public. The meaning was immediate. One of them was a respected minister, the other, the woman accused of leading him astray, a saint and a sinner. The story wrote itself.

[00:00:24] The scene appeared to explain everything at once, and because it fits so neatly, people stopped asking questions almost immediately. What followed, was not a shortage of evidence, but a hunger to judge. Private words were stripped of context and turned into motive.

[00:00:42] Moral outrage did the work investigation refused to do, and by the time the case reached, the courtroom, guilt had already been assigned, not by proof, but by narrative.

[00:00:55] This was never undone by silence. It endures because belief arrived first and facts were forced to follow. Welcome to the House of six. Tonight we present lovers letters and lies.

[00:01:08] This is the story of the Hall Mills case.

[00:01:22] Jenn Syx: welcome to the house of six. I, Jen. Welcome to the house of six. I'm Jen.

[00:01:30] People just turned us off right then.

[00:01:33] He is. Jared, we're here to talk about some things. Uh, last night I set you up for failure and I asked you if you thought that I was high maintenance.

[00:01:44] Hmm.

[00:01:46] I I've been thinking about that all

[00:01:48] morning.

[00:01:48] Why was that setting up for failure?

[00:01:50] Oh. Because I think a lot of women , ask questions that they don't want the answers to.

[00:01:53] Well, I know, but you're not

[00:01:54] high.

[00:01:54] maintenance. And then they get mad when they don't get the answers

[00:01:57] that they want. Well, sure. But I, but I,

[00:01:58] Jared: I

[00:01:59] Jenn Syx: I mean, I don't think you're high maintenance.

[00:02:01] This is a genuine question. I think I'm a lot to deal with

[00:02:03] that's different than high maintenance.

[00:02:06] I think that's what high maintenance

[00:02:07] means. Mm.

[00:02:08] Jared: Yeah.

[00:02:08] Jenn Syx: I, I, I look at it differently.

[00:02:10] Jared: Yeah.

[00:02:10] Jenn Syx: Yeah.

[00:02:11] I think the only time I'm high maintenance is during arguments or disagreements because like I need you to come in with the receipts and

[00:02:20] Jenn: like

[00:02:20] Jenn Syx: he never does. So it's, I'm not saying that I'm always right, but I end up always being right because of how I structure my arguments.

[00:02:31] So

[00:02:34] nothing.

[00:02:34] Nope. That's

[00:02:36] cool.

[00:02:37] You know, I think people are just waiting for us to get into this huge argument on camera. It doesn't happen yet because if there is any chance of an argument happening, we don't film because I'm like, I'm not

[00:02:49] Jenn: blah.

[00:02:50] Jenn Syx: No. I mean, yeah, if anything arguments happened before filming is 'cause you lose your shit on the fucking shit

[00:02:57] Jared: I

[00:02:57] Jenn Syx: I did that one time. eh? it's borderline each time today, the fact if we're able to pull this off without any ranting and raving from you. Holy shit.

[00:03:09] Now

[00:03:09] we're not gonna get in an argument on film. No,

[00:03:14] no. because you just shut down

[00:03:16] and you stopped talking.

[00:03:17] Eh?

[00:03:19] See like nothing.

[00:03:21] just, just, anyways, all right. So today

[00:03:25] Jenn: is,

[00:03:25] Jenn Syx: gonna start us?

[00:03:26] You didn't start it.

[00:03:26] No, we've already started. We started like 15 minutes ago.

[00:03:29] That was your welcome to the house of six.

[00:03:30] Yeah. It was completely bat shit. Oh, hi.

[00:03:36] Jenn: Yeah,

[00:03:37] Jenn Syx: Yeah, we've already, we're going. You didn't think I was being serious.

[00:03:42] I'm just chatting.

[00:03:43] Same. This is our 20th episode Boop.

[00:03:48] Boop. We made it 20. That's actually for

[00:03:51] Jenn: for

[00:03:52] Jenn Syx: That's, that's better than like 80% of all podcasts. Yeah.

[00:03:56] Jenn: Yeah. Usually quit

[00:03:57] Jenn Syx: Usually quit before Kudos to you?

[00:03:58] Jared: Because

[00:03:59] Jenn Syx: I show up

[00:04:01] 'cause I make you.

[00:04:02] No, I mean.

[00:04:05] you don't

[00:04:05] make me just highly suggest it.

[00:04:10] Why do you do this podcast?

[00:04:14] Because,

[00:04:14] because I wanna do it.

[00:04:15] Yeah, sure. I mean, it's not that I don't want to do it. I, I, I have no problem doing it.

[00:04:21] If I,

[00:04:21] Jenn: if

[00:04:21] Jenn Syx: if you really didn't wanna do it, would you still do it if I wanted you to do it?

[00:04:26] Uh, it depends on, you're pretty good at favors

[00:04:30] anyway.

[00:04:31] Um, uh, no, I don't feel forced into this at all. At all.

[00:04:38] Jared: Hmm.

[00:04:38] Jenn Syx: Hmm. I'm

[00:04:40] easygoing. like I just show up.

[00:04:42] Jared: Here

[00:04:42] Jenn Syx: Here I am.

[00:04:44] I,

[00:04:47] the title of this case is gonna be Lovers Letters and Lies.

[00:04:53] How

[00:04:54] do you feel about that?

[00:04:54] Okay.

[00:04:54] That sounds fun, right? It

[00:04:56] does, it does,

[00:04:56] right? Yeah. Yeah. We are going to talk about the Halls Mills. case, And I'm not even gonna bother asking if you know about this one.

[00:05:06] Nope.

[00:05:06] Because I know that you haven't, this case is well known in true crime circles and, and podcasts of that nature.

[00:05:16] But beyond that, it is not actually very well known. And uh, so I thought it would be interesting to talk about.

[00:05:22] Okay.

[00:05:23] Yep.

[00:05:24] Dug this one up.

[00:05:27] Well, I already knew about it.

[00:05:28] Jenn: it.

[00:05:30] Jenn Syx: There's very few cases that we discussed that I didn't already know about in advance. Uh, I

[00:05:36] don't doubt that

[00:05:37] we're going to have to like, really get into this for a few years of episodes, weekly or biweekly before I get to cases that I don't know much about.

[00:05:47] Yeah.

[00:05:48] We've got a long ways to go.

[00:05:49] Jenn: Yeah.

[00:05:49] Jenn Syx: You

[00:05:50] know, going back to just one second, you know about why do I show up? I'm gonna surprise you maybe on episode like 50 and I'm gonna bring one to the table.

[00:06:01] You are going

[00:06:02] to do an episode? Yeah. I'm gonna bring one to the table. I might not do it. I might, I don't know.

[00:06:05] We'll see. I might,

[00:06:06] Jared: just,

[00:06:07] Jenn Syx: gotta figure out how I, I bring it to the table without having to do it.

[00:06:11] That's not a, do you know how much research each of these takes? That's why I can

[00:06:15] only, I, could, I could knock it out in about you know 30 minutes.

[00:06:19] That will be a terrible podcast

[00:06:21] episode. It will be one, like, you know, I do it on the fly.

[00:06:24] And so anyway, that's my, uh, that, that that'll happen at some point.

[00:06:29] So I'm to just go back and stay in my lane and just show up.

[00:06:31] I got it. I would actually, I would love for you to present a case. I feel that you're going to be hard pressed to find a case that I don't know much about.

[00:06:40] That's without a doubt.

[00:06:42] Okay. And you would have to know that I don't know much about it.

[00:06:45] Right. And that's gonna be difficult without telling me what it is.

[00:06:48] Yeah.

[00:06:49] And then making sure that I don't go and research it because I wanna know everything about it.

[00:06:53] Jared: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:06:53] Jenn Syx: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:06:54] Jared: All

[00:06:55] Jenn Syx: Alright. But I like your plan. Okay. I think it's, I think it's a great plan. Okay. I think we should do it like once a year.

[00:07:01] Okay. Oh Yeah.

[00:07:02] Jared: Okay.

[00:07:03] Jenn Syx: Is that too much?

[00:07:04] Maybe. Let me check my calendar.

[00:07:07] Yeah. Okay.

[00:07:09] Alright. Lovers, letters, lies. See, I was paying attention.

[00:07:13] That was close. Yes.

[00:07:14] Oh shit.

[00:07:15] Lovers. Letters and lies.

[00:07:18] Okay.

[00:07:18] Jared: Okay.

[00:07:18] Jenn Syx: I can be pedantics. Sorry. No kidding. I

[00:07:22] like things to be exact. If you're gonna say it and you're gonna mean it, then you fricking say the thing.

[00:07:28] Jared: Mm.

[00:07:29] Jenn Syx: Hmm. This is the fight.

[00:07:31] Jenn: Yeah.

[00:07:32] Jenn Syx: This is it. This

[00:07:33] is it. We're it's time. Alright, let's go back. This is my favorite part. Guys get settled. I don't wanna hear pants during the episode.

[00:07:47] He's

[00:07:47] moving around. Let's go back

[00:07:54] to understand why this case unfolded the way it did. You have to understand the world it belonged to. This is New Jersey in the early 1920s, not the roaring speakeasy version. People like to think of the of the twenties, which is a very fun one. But this is a quieter one college town. Church town, places where social order mattered more than all of that excitement and where everyone's business was technically private, but observable.

[00:08:27] New Brunswick is where we're going. Sat at the intersection of religion, education, and old family money. This is gonna get juicy. Churches were not just spiritual centers, they were employers, gatekeepers, social hubs. Being inside the church structure meant stability. Being out outside of it is precarity.

[00:08:51] Jenn: I

[00:08:52] Jenn Syx: I like that word.

[00:08:54] Moving on. This was a rigidly stratified world. Class mattered. Gender mattered. Of course it always does. Respectability mattered more than truth, so a person's credibility was often assumed. Before they ever

[00:09:10] Jenn: spoke, and

[00:09:12] Jenn Syx: it was based on where they lived, who they married, and what role they played in public life.

[00:09:19] You can imagine where this is all going. Do you know where this is headed? I'm listening. Where do you think this is headed?

[00:09:26] I,

[00:09:27] Jenn: Well.

[00:09:30] Jenn Syx: here's

[00:09:30] the deal.

[00:09:31] Their private lives were not really examined closely unless something forced the issue.

[00:09:38] This

[00:09:38] was also a moment of transition. The first World War had ended only a few years earlier. Social norms were shifting, but unevenly women had gained the right to vote in 1920, but not the authority that came with it because why would they? Uh, sure.

[00:09:56] Public morality was still tightly pleased, especially when it came to sex and gender roles, but enforcement depended heavily upon who you were in society, how much money you had, if you really wanna get to it,

[00:10:09] so when something disruptive entered this environment, it didn't land in a neutral space. It landed in a community, trained to preserve appearances.

[00:10:19] Although, to be fair, that context doesn't really explain what happened, but it explains why once it did nothing about the response. was Simple. right? Or, You know? So let's get into who we're talking about here. 'cause I'm sure you're already nodding off.

[00:10:33] Nope, I'm chomping at the bit.

[00:10:38] That's

[00:10:38] such a weird phrase to use. Okay. All right. Edward Hall arrives in New Brunswick, already credentialed. He is not a local boy who worked his way up. He is Ivy League, Harvard educated, trained in theology and rhetoric, fluent in the kind of institutional language that carries weight automatically. A Harvard degree in the early 20th century was not just education, it was social proof of who you were.

[00:11:08] It signaled intellect, discipline, and a belonging to a national elite that moved easily between academia, religion, and power. It's, I think it still does when you hear Harvard Law degree, or

[00:11:21] Jenn: I,

[00:11:21] Jenn Syx: doesn't have to be a law degree. I don't know why I went immediately to a law degree. But when you hear Harvard degree, that's, that's, you're somebody

[00:11:29] Sure.

[00:11:31] Just

[00:11:32] the, the rhetoric is

[00:11:33] Jared: No,

[00:11:34] Jenn Syx: I mean, you're You're right.

[00:11:34] Jared: right.

[00:11:35] Jenn Syx: And then I think that, you know, all these dirty politicians that have Harvard degrees still think they're dirty politician. So Anyway,

[00:11:43] you know, that is actually an interesting theme that might, uh, correlate here to this case.

[00:11:48] Okay.

[00:11:48] Jared: Okay.

[00:11:49] Jenn Syx: Not there are no politicians Gotcha.

[00:11:51] But dirty. I don't know. We'll find out. When Hall becomes rector of St. John's Episcopal Church, the pedigree matters. It places him above ordinary parish politics. It gives him authority that is assumed rather than earned. He is not simply a minister Tending a congregation.

[00:12:11] Jenn: He

[00:12:12] Jenn Syx: a man expected to represent , moral stability in a town that prizes, that

[00:12:18] his

[00:12:19] marriage reinforces this position.

[00:12:22] Francis Stevens Hall comes from money, not flashy money, old established money, family resources, property and security. The kind of wealth that doesn't announce itself, but quietly shapes all the outcomes around them. Through Francis Edward is insulated. His lifestyle is not dependent on, parish salary alone.

[00:12:46] His social circle expands.

[00:12:49] This is

[00:12:50] important You listening. Yeah. From the outside, the marriage reads, correct. Educated minister, socially prominent wife, respectable home. Public composure. There is no record of open conflict, no scandal, no fractures.

[00:13:07] Whatever the emotional texture of this marriage may have been. It is not documented. We do not know it. What we do know is that Francis Hall occupies a position of confidence and control. She's not economically vulnerable. She's not socially . Marginal. She belongs. Now, I've seen picture of these people and, uh,

[00:13:33] I don't know what to say. I will say that they're not very photogenic.

[00:13:37] Okay. It's a very polite way to put it.

[00:13:40] Indeed. However you can tell very much that they are wealthy,

[00:13:44] okay?

[00:13:45] Jared: okay?

[00:13:45] Jenn Syx: Wealthy and not photogenic.

[00:13:47] Jenn: I

[00:13:48] Jenn Syx: I guess when you have money, you don't really care.

[00:13:52] The

[00:13:52] Kardashians do. That's why they all don't look like they were born that way.

[00:13:58] I'm Just saying. I don't know where I was going with that. Anyways. The church itself is not just a place of worship. It's also an employer, a social clearing house. A place where class distinctions are present but politely ignored. Clergy sit at the top of the hierarchy. Those who work for the church, exist within it, but without the same protection.

[00:14:20] This is where Eleanor Mills enters the picture. Eleanor is not a society woman. She's a working woman attached to the church. She sings in the choir, she assists, she teaches her intelligence and musical ability are very well noted. She apparently had a very beautiful ex singing voice. She's expressive, emotionally open, deeply religious in a way that is more personal than performative.

[00:14:50] I'm just gonna lay that there. Her marriage to James Mills places her firmly inside the church's orbit. They have two children, approximately 10 and seven years old. But we don't know a whole lot about the kids. They were left out of all of this.

[00:15:04] Thank goodness.

[00:15:06] James works as a sexton. Do you know what that is?

[00:15:10] I've heard of it, but I actually don't know.

[00:15:11] I, I know I've heard the term.

[00:15:13] He handles the practical realities of the church maintenance schedule. He's just the all around Go-to do guy.

[00:15:21] Yeah.

[00:15:21] Task doer.

[00:15:22] Yeah.

[00:15:23] Guy

[00:15:23] handyman

[00:15:24] probably.

[00:15:25] Yeah.

[00:15:26] Yep, yep. Together, their livelihoods are modest and tied directly to the church's goodwill. They live in housing connected to that employee, so their stability is conditional. Right. This distinction matters. These four people moved within overlapping, but unequal social spheres. Edward Hall and his wife interacted with parish leadership donors, university adjacent elites.

[00:15:53] Eleanor and James Mills occupied a service role within the same institution. They were present visible, but there was no influence tied to them.

[00:16:04] Church

[00:16:05] life of course, created repeated contact, choir, rehearsals, services and events placed hall and mills in close.

[00:16:13] Professional proximity. This was not unusual in itself. What distinguished their relationship according to later accounts was duration and familiarity in that environment. Emotional in intimacy, apparently grew, , without immediately appearing transgressive. Shared faith, shared intellectual interest, shared time, none of that would have raised alarm on its own.

[00:16:42] At some point though, obviously the tone shifts. , By the early 1920s, members of the church community had begun to circulate gossip that Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills shared a personal relationship, beyond their formal roles,

[00:16:58] This belief was not based in a single public in incident. It emerged gradually shaped by observation, whispered conversation, and assumptions about their time spent together.

[00:17:10] So the reverend and the choir singer, that's what we've got here.

[00:17:14] Okay.

[00:17:15] They're having an affair.

[00:17:16] Jared: Alright.

[00:17:17] Jenn Syx: Okay.

[00:17:21] Importantly, this knowledge functions socially rather than officially. There is no public accusation, no church inquiry, and no documented disciplinary action before September, 1922. This is gossip. It was widely known to be referenced later, but not widely enough to force institutional response at the time.

[00:17:41] I think it would probably be not, I don't know what the word is, but the clergy, I don't think is supposed to mix with the riff-raff.

[00:17:50] Sure.

[00:17:50] In the church, especially if the clergy's married

[00:17:52] dead even more. So

[00:17:53] I, I think the church goes, should probably go further than frowning upon that.

[00:17:58] Yeah.

[00:17:59] I would hope. I don't know a whole lot about clergy.

[00:18:03] Yeah. Let's

[00:18:03] just put that there. I, yeah,

[00:18:10] I just have to point here that the imbalance is.

[00:18:12] Jenn: Is

[00:18:13] Jenn Syx: Is important. Edward Hall's status affords him margin. Even if rumors surface his education, position and marriage to a very influential woman provided insulation. , Eleanor Mills does not have that same margin. Her respectability is thinner and fragile.

[00:18:31] Her livelihood is tied to this institution that would be most threatened by a scandal. And James Mill is

[00:18:41] completely

[00:18:42] outside the emotional narrative. Uh, others construct. He's present, observant, and I, I assume structurally aware of the church's rhythms there, but there is no record of any sort of public confrontation.

[00:18:54] That's just not how this works.

[00:18:56] On the evening of Saturday, September 16th, 1922, both Hall and Mills left their respective homes separately. Edward Hall told his wife he was going out for a walk. Eleanor Mills left her home later that evening. Neither departure was unusual on its face. No one reported raised voices, urgency or distress.

[00:19:19] They were observed traveling toward Desi's Lane, a secluded area near the Phillips Farm, located between New Brunswick and Highland Park. The lane was narrow, wooded and infrequently traveled, especially after dark known locally as Lover's Lane. Hmm, Nothing good happens at Lover's la

[00:19:39] Jenn: I

[00:19:40] Jenn Syx: I just, that's what, that's what I know.

[00:19:44] This

[00:19:44] is close to the New Jersey turnpike and bordered by Fields and brush. This location was not remote wilderness, but it was shielded from casual observation, especially at night. We don't know if they got there together separately, but they got there sometime during the night. Both Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills are killed.

[00:20:07] Hall

[00:20:08] was shot once in the head. Fatal mills was not simply shot. She also showed signs of physical harm, including blunt force injuries and extreme trauma to her neck of the cutting. Kind. Hmm.

[00:20:24] Jenn: Hmm.

[00:20:25] Jenn Syx: Her clothing was torn and displaced.

[00:20:29] No conclusive evidence of a sexual . Nature was established. The nature of her injuries suggested prolonged physical harm and close physical contact, not a single distinct act.

[00:20:43] The sequences of injuries is not definitively established. No witnesses reported shots. No one nearby reported screams. If there was a struggle, it was not to draw. It did not draw any attention. Their bodies remain undiscovered for more than a day. On Sunday, September 17th, people passed through the area without noticing anything unusual.

[00:21:07] It was not until Monday morning, September 18th that their bodies were found by a local farm hand moving through the area

[00:21:15] By

[00:21:15] the time the authorities arrived. This is important. The scene had already been disturbed because, here we go.

[00:21:22] Your favorite thing.

[00:21:23] My favorite thing. Edward Hall was found lying on his back.

[00:21:29] Eleanor Mills was found next to him. Around them were personal items, including torn fabric, a calling card of Edwards and several handwritten letters. They were loose, not enclosed, and they were torn up. They were torn up letters, and they were handled before the scene was secured because why not? They were picked up.

[00:21:52] They were red, they were thrown back down. The exact number present at the scene was never definitively recorded. They were not photographed. It doesn't matter if they were fingerprinted, because these goofballs were running around picking up evidence, Yep, for crying out loud. The positioning of the body suggested that the killings occurred where they were found, the victims being transported

[00:22:18] afterwards. However, it does seem that they were. posed In a way.

[00:22:25] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:26] Right next to each other.

[00:22:27] Jenn: Right.

[00:22:27] Jenn Syx: Valuables were not, were not taken. This immediately suggested that the crime was targeted rather than opportunistic. weather conditions during the intervening hours further complicated the scene exposure, foot traffic, and time degraded whatever physical evidence might have existed.

[00:22:47] Not that it was handled very properly

[00:22:50] within hours. Word spread through New Brunswick and beyond, the identities of the victims became known almost immediately. And of course, with that knowledge came shock. This was the reverend, a prominent clergyman and a choir singer found dead together in a secluded lover's lane was, uh, not easily absorbed.

[00:23:12] in gus up circles, i'd be like, what? That's what I'd be like, what the fuck? That's what I would do actually,

[00:23:18] Reverend, My scandal,

[00:23:22] the timeline from that point forward would be shaped not only by what happened, but what had already been lost. Evidence had been touched and passed around, handled time had passed. This is like, what are people thinking?

[00:23:39] Jenn: What

[00:23:39] Jenn Syx: thinking is, I wanna get on on the action,

[00:23:42] Ooh, let me go drip my fingers in blood and write on the walls. I, nobody did that, but. To be clear, nobody did that. The field Build up not just with cops, with the looky-loos, right? People walked up to the body they picked up things. People who the calling card, Edward Hall's, calling card people, passed it around,

[00:24:08] Hmm.

[00:24:09] okay? Like,

[00:24:09] come on.

[00:24:10] Let's get a souvenir of death.

[00:24:16] People are into weird shit, man.

[00:24:18] I'm into weird shit, but I don't are you like murder.

[00:24:24] Oh,

[00:24:24] Jared: Oh,

[00:24:24] Jenn Syx: okay. Thing like not to do,

[00:24:27] right?

[00:24:28] Just to know.

[00:24:29] Jared: There

[00:24:29] Jenn Syx: you go.

[00:24:30] I don't wanna do the murder, Yeah, but No, no. I should stop saying that.

[00:24:34] word. Yeah.

[00:24:34] yeah. Immediately. And everything around doing it. 'cause I'm not doing it.

[00:24:40] Anyways. What was I talking about? Oh yeah.

[00:24:45] , Once the bodies were discovered, responsibility for the investigation fell primarily on the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office. working with local police from New Brunswick and Highland Park. 'cause it's right on that scene. The investigative structure was informal by modern standard.

[00:25:01] There was no like homicide unit detectives were just generalist In, in, in general. That's what I said. So before we get into forensics, we have to be honest about what the police actually had. They had two bodies, a compromised scene, and a community where the victim was not just a man, but he was the clergy in town.

[00:25:23] Right. Edward Hall was a reverend and Eleanor Mills was not.

[00:25:29] Jenn: not.

[00:25:30] Jenn Syx: That imbalance matters here because it shaped how people behaved at the scene and how quickly assumptions formed even before they could do anything. .

[00:25:42] Jenn: Now

[00:25:43] Jenn Syx: the medical side, the autopsy findings gave investigators a few hard facts and then a long list of questions. Of course, hall was killed with a 32 caliber pistol at close range in the head. Mills was shot three times in the head, three times in the head, and her throat had sustained deep cuts deep enough that major structures of the neck were severed.

[00:26:14] Yeah. Those findings did two things at once. They suggested planning because a firearm was involved and

[00:26:20] the bodies were arranged.

[00:26:22] They also suggested physical pros, proximity and sustained physical harm because of what happened to Eleanor. Leor. , But autopsies in 1922 could not hand police what modern viewers assume is standard.

[00:26:38] Obviously, there is no DNA, there's no reliable physical evidence. Spatter

[00:26:43] work, ,

[00:26:44] ballistics did exist, but it was only to identify what

[00:26:48] Jenn: type

[00:26:49] Jenn Syx: of firearm was used. Not

[00:26:51] Jenn: they

[00:26:51] Jenn Syx: couldn't trace it back to a specific firearm. Right? They, they couldn't do that. When the bodies were found, what stood out was not chaos but arrangement.

[00:27:00] Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills were lying side by side positioned deliberately. Their heads were near each other aligned,

[00:27:08] Jenn: uh,

[00:27:08] Jenn Syx: parallel. People don't collapse like that. So

[00:27:11] they were probably moved like that.

[00:27:13] Investigators noted that Eleanor's Throat appeared to have sustained those injuries after she was shot.

[00:27:21] So after she was no longer alive. Uh, that sequence probably matters. It suggested that at least one of the victims survive the initial gunshots briefly.

[00:27:32] Mm. Okay.

[00:27:32] I was just thinking anger.

[00:27:37] I would say that too. Yeah.

[00:27:38] Jenn: Yeah.

[00:27:39] Jenn Syx: But you'd have to, I. as an investigator, you would have to decide what that means.

[00:27:44] Sure. Anger for what?

[00:27:45] Yeah, Agreed. Because she fought back or because she did something that offended the Yep. assailant.

[00:27:51] Yep. That's what I say. Yep.

[00:27:54] Jenn: Yep.

[00:27:56] Jenn Syx: Nearby, torn love letters were arranged around the bodies Mm-hmm. and the placement suggests time and tension and control at the scene.

[00:28:03] This is not panic. Mm-hmm. This is Staging.

[00:28:05] Yeah. Right.

[00:28:06] I would say tearing up love letters

[00:28:11] is anger.

[00:28:11] Yeah. Right.

[00:28:12] Jenn: Yeah.

[00:28:13] Jenn Syx: Yeah.

[00:28:13] Okay. One of the few pieces of physical evidence that should have mattered was Hall's calling card.

[00:28:20] Jenn: It

[00:28:20] Jenn Syx: was found placed at his feet. It became kind of a symbol of the staging, and because it was handled, passed around and exposed to do dozens of people,

[00:28:29] Jenn: it's

[00:28:29] Jenn Syx: obviously a forensic mess. Later,

[00:28:32] fingerprints would become a

[00:28:33] major courtroom storyline, in this case, including testimony from an early

[00:28:39] Jenn: fingerprint

[00:28:39] Jenn Syx: expert, Joseph Farrow.

[00:28:42] But it doesn't really matter because a ton of people handled it. So like what difference does it make if you have a fingerprint to a suspect that we will talk about later?

[00:28:50] Yep.

[00:28:51] Jared: Yep.

[00:28:53] Jenn Syx: Then there's the love letters themselves , they were completely disturbed. Read, moved before any control of the scene was established. Even if the police later recovered pieces, the chain of custody has already been compromised. It's hard to say, are these the exact letters that were found because they had been passed around?

[00:29:11] You don't know if somebody could have introduced them later. But I would also like to note that no pieces of these letters were preserved. So what they said now is hearsay.

[00:29:22] Okay?

[00:29:25] These

[00:29:25] people

[00:29:27] near

[00:29:27] the scene, investigators noted automobile tire tracks and at least one footprint. The presence of tire tracks suggested that someone arrived and left by car.

[00:29:37] Obviously, they implied planning and familiarity with the area. I don't know, I don't know how much you could buy into that. It was People drive.

[00:29:48] Yeah,

[00:29:48] Sometimes I drive where I don't mean to, 'cause I'm like, oh fuck, I forgot where I was going. I went the wrong way. Really? That's what I made a wrong turn. Okay. That happens all the time.

[00:29:59] And I'm like, oh. So in theory, like people can just drive and they're like, oh whoop,

[00:30:05] Jenn: I'm

[00:30:05] Jenn Syx: I'm in love Oh no, get outta here. I don't know what happened. , The footprint, however, was indistinct. It was not conclusively matched to any sub suspect, and it was poorly preserved. Basically all they can say is there was a footprint.

[00:30:19] Yeah.

[00:30:20] We, we can't tell you it was, man, it was a woman. It was barefoot. They were in socks. They were in heavy boots. We don't know. Shoe size. Nope. Both victims were killed with a 32 caliber firearm, which was a common revolver caliber in the early 1920s. Uh, this detail matters because it, n. not because it narrowed down the field, but because it.

[00:30:41] didn't, The 32 caliber pistol was widely owned, easily concealed, and common among civilian men of the era.

[00:30:49] Yep.

[00:30:49] So that's waste. At least one of Eleanor Mills's brother in Willie Stevens was known to have access to a firearm consistent of that caliber. But that's all I'm gonna say about that.

[00:31:03] Okay. Okay. The next phase of the investigation is interviews. Okay. Who saw them last? Who they knew, what church staff had noticed? This is a social pressure cooker is what it is. By the time Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills were killed, their relationship was no longer a private secret.

[00:31:25] Evidence and testimony indicate that Eleanor's Brothers, Willie Stevens and Henry Stevens Were aware of the affair before the killings. How they learned of it is not documented. We don't know. What is clear is that the relationship became visible enough within Eleanor's family that provoked anger.

[00:31:47] Multiple witnesses later testified that hostile statements had been made toward Edward Hall.

[00:31:54] Jenn: The

[00:31:54] Jenn Syx: language attributed to Eleanor's brothers were things like he will be taken care of, quote unquote. These remarks were reported as expressions of outrage, not jokes, and they were made before the killings occurred.

[00:32:13] Okay?

[00:32:14] Jared: Okay?

[00:32:15] Jenn Syx: At

[00:32:16] the time, such statements were framed by investigators and later by the defense as an emotional bluster they were noted but not pursued as a sign of premeditation. No similar hostile statements were documented from James Mills, nor from Francis Stevens Hall, Edward Edwards wife. Just trying to keep everybody straight for you. One of the most controversial figures in this case is Jane Gibson known in the press as

[00:32:48] pig woman.

[00:32:49] Okay.

[00:32:50] Jenn: Okay.

[00:32:50] Jenn Syx: She was a local farm worker who lived near the sea. I'm assuming this is the pig farm.

[00:32:55] Yeah,

[00:32:55] I'm hoping.

[00:32:56] I hope so, right?

[00:32:57] I really am. 'cause that's a really rude thing to call somebody.

[00:33:02] Gibson claimed that on the night of the killings, she heard voices followed by gunshots. She later testified that she heard a woman cry out and believed she heard the name Henry spoke, spoken aloud. Her testimony was volatile and inconsistent in places and the defense. Aggressively attacked her credibility, focusing on her class, her occupation, and her mental health, rather than strictly on her statements.

[00:33:27] If you recall earlier I said that nobody heard any shoutings or anything. The reason that I said that is because her ear witness testimony

[00:33:37] is so

[00:33:39] contested.

[00:33:40] Okay.

[00:33:41] She did change her story several times. The overall theme of it was consistent, but she changed the wording and the timing and whatnot. And when she, , testified in court, they wheeled a hospital bed in, she was, there is a picture of her laying down in a hospital bed with a microphone up to her face.

[00:34:03] Why?

[00:34:05] She had to give testimony in court. She was ill,

[00:34:11] I

[00:34:11] think. Is she large? Is that why they called her the pig lady?

[00:34:13] Jenn: No.

[00:34:14] Jenn Syx: No,

[00:34:15] She had a pig farm.

[00:34:16] I know, but I'm just like It is. I'm wondering if it was more than that.

[00:34:19] No, I said she was willed. She was in a hospital bed. Yeah. She's not a large woman for the record. Okay. She's not. I can, do you want me to find the picture?

[00:34:27] No, I'm good. You don't believe me?

[00:34:29] I do.

[00:34:30] Shortly after the deaths. Willie Stevens, Willie is not an like, that's a, it's hard for me to take anybody serious if her name is Willie, like it really like Willie Nelson's. Now look, I respect the guy, but I'm not gonna take him seriously. His name is Willie.

[00:34:46] He's, I think he's the only Willie that you can take Seriously.

[00:34:49] He's a good guy and he is fun, but he's probably high.

[00:34:52] All the time.

[00:34:54] Yeah. Yeah. And it's funny to me because your first name is William, so in theory you could be Willie,

[00:35:04] I

[00:35:04] guess, in theory. Okay. If you wanna run with that.

[00:35:06] Jared: with that?

[00:35:08] Jenn Syx: You wanna call me Willie?

[00:35:10] Not really. Okay. Because I just said I couldn't take you seriously.

[00:35:13] You wanna call me William?

[00:35:14] No.

[00:35:15] Good.

[00:35:15] It's Your name's Jared.

[00:35:16] Thank you.

[00:35:17] You're welcome.

[00:35:18] Yeah.

[00:35:19] Moving on. Willie Stevens was observed with visible scratches on his face after the deaths when questioned. Willie stated that the marks came from shaving. Now let me ask you this. As a man, have you ever had cuts on your face that look like scratches from shaving?

[00:35:41] No.

[00:35:42] No. Now to be fair, these men probably used straight razors.

[00:35:46] Yeah. They probably were not using a, an an advanced blade such as I use.

[00:35:50] Right.

[00:35:51] Scratches as much as like a cut.

[00:35:54] Jared: Yeah.

[00:35:55] Jenn Syx: Yeah. Understood. It's fair to say

[00:35:56] scratches. Yeah. Multiple scratches.

[00:35:59] Right. It's Fair to say.

[00:36:01] Hmm.

[00:36:02] Jenn: Police

[00:36:03] Jenn Syx: documented the scratches, newspapers reported on them. No medical examination was conducted. No follow up. They're just like, Hmm. Well that's okay. Because He's not good at shaving.

[00:36:17] Jenn: Exactly.

[00:36:17] Jenn Syx: Right. Exactly. Let's move on

[00:36:20] on silly

[00:36:20] Willy. Willy. What an idiot. These people, I mean, to be fair on their own, scratches, prove absolutely nothing in context.

[00:36:32] There's some hinky stuff going on here.

[00:36:35] Yeah, it's bothering you.

[00:36:37] Scratches. I would like to note that Eleanor had some things happen to her. Uh, scratches would be the appropriate response in any way, shape, or form to try to get your attacker off of you. Yeah, that's one of the things that women can, can do. You poke 'em in the eyes.

[00:37:00] I got nails. If I try to scratch somebody,

[00:37:02] it's gonna be deadly. Like I'm, I'm not fucking around.

[00:37:05] Okay.

[00:37:05] I, underst got it all. I just want you to know that if you try to attack me, I'm gonna try to poke your eyeballs out and my nails are very sharp, so don't try.

[00:37:13] it. Noted not you. I'm talking to the audience.

[00:37:17] I got it.

[00:37:18] Not you. You've never tried to attack me. That would be ridiculous.

[00:37:21] No, no,

[00:37:21] Jared: no,

[00:37:21] no. no,

[00:37:22] Jenn Syx: no, no.

[00:37:22] Jenn: Alright,

[00:37:23] Jenn Syx: I just wanted to point that out. We don't have that kind of relationship. This took a

[00:37:29] Jenn: turn

[00:37:32] Jenn Syx: anyways. All right, so in the days following the deaths investigators took statements from those closest to Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills, what they say and how they said it shaped suspicion as much as the evidence did.

[00:37:44] We're going to start with Francis Stevens Hall. She had

[00:37:48] no prior knowledge of her husband's relationship with Eleanor. Mills. She described Edward as devoted, denied any marital discord and expressed shock at both the affair and the deaths. There were no hostile statements, no emotional outbursts, and no inconsistencies noted in her statements.

[00:38:08] She showed no physical injuries and was not linked to any weapon that's Francis James Mills, which was Eleanor's husband, acknowledged knowing of Edward Hall and Eleanor's involvement through the church, but denied any awareness of an affair prior to the deaths.

[00:38:25] He made no recorded hostile statements, expressed grief and confusion, and cooperated with investigators. No scratches or injuries were noted.

[00:38:35] Jenn: Importantly,

[00:38:37] Jenn Syx: Mills was not connected or said to have access to a firearm and was never tied to any weapon. So there's that. Willie Stevens were not taking him seriously.

[00:38:50] Admitted he knew about the affair before. Witnesses testified that he expressed anger toward Edward and made statements indicating Edward would be taken care of or stopped. When questioned about scratches on his face, they were the result of shaving

[00:39:07] Jenn: that

[00:39:07] Jenn Syx: is dumb. He denied any involvement in the killings.

[00:39:11] He was known to have access to a firearm consistent with the caliber used, which was a 32. Though

[00:39:18] Jenn: it

[00:39:18] Jenn Syx: is important to note, no weapon was recovered and we have no ballistic comparison possible.

[00:39:23] here.

[00:39:24] Henry Stevens also denied involvement and minimized his knowledge of the affair. However testimony placed him among those who are aware of the relationship beforehand, he was implicated indirectly through witness statements including the pig woman's.

[00:39:42] Hearing Henry being shouted during the night that it happened. However, Henry showed no documented injuries. Okay. So by the fall, investigators were stuck with what you would expect, a case that looked targeted, but there is no clean trail. , Once the bodies were identified, the case stopped belonging to the police alone. It became a public event. What am I gonna talk about here? I'm gonna talk about the newspapers. You know how I felt about the newspapers in the twenties?

[00:40:10] I've made this very clear. Newspapers descended immediately, not just local ones. This was a story with all the ingredients, sex, religion, class,

[00:40:23] physical harm,

[00:40:24] hypocrisy, a clergyman and a choir singer found dead together. This is not something you put on page six. This is front page news, alright? , But what the press needed immediately was a story that made sense and that meant deciding who to listen to.

[00:40:45] One of the

[00:40:45] earliest most talked about witnesses is

[00:40:47] Jane Gibson. The pig Woman. It's not the name I mu that is the name that was in the newspapers. Just to be clear, I would never call anybody a pig woman publicly. To be clear, , her statements were detailed, sometimes too detailed. They changed. She described voices, figures,

[00:41:08] police did not ignore her outright, but her social position mattered. She was poor. Yeah, let's just face it right. She, she was poor. She was unmarried. She lived on the margins of the community. Her credibility was treated as conditional. Yeah. So as newspapers picked up Gibson's story, they amplified it selectively.

[00:41:30] Some outlets framed her as a crucial eye witness. Others portrayed her as unreliable, excitable, or confused. I don't know what excitable means in this context. Like Was she just very excited? anyways? I don't, That's not what I was trying to say. Maybe she's just very animated.

[00:41:52] Right.

[00:41:52] There you go in, in in the tellings that she gave,

[00:41:55] so at the same time, people closer to the church were quieter. Members of the congregation offered very little beyond routine observation. Rumors began circulating almost immediately. Uh, some were whispered about town, while others appeared in print stories about the letters, about meetings,

[00:42:15] The press played an active role in that transformation. Headlines were suggestive without being explicit. Language did a lot of work. Phrases like tragic friendship or unfortunate association allowed readers to draw conclusions without the pavers having to assert rumors outright.

[00:42:35] They created a feedback loop, so witnesses read the papers, papers quoted, witnesses, statements shifted throughout that whole loop. So what people remembered became influenced by what they had already been told that the story was about.

[00:42:55] It's a shame. It's a.

[00:42:57] shame.

[00:42:58] Jenn: There

[00:42:58] Jenn Syx: were people who did not talk at all. Francis Hall made few public statements. Of course, she made a statement to the police. But in public, when she talked, her statements were brief and controlled. She did not engage with the press. Emotionally, that

[00:43:14] Jenn: that

[00:43:15] Jenn Syx: was interpreted in wildly different ways, depending on who was, who was writing it.

[00:43:20] Jane Mills also remained largely silent. His grief was not public. And in fact, we actually know very little about him and got very little from him.

[00:43:31] We don't know who these people really were. Every, all of the actual facts of the case are buried in newspapers and rumor is more prevalent.

[00:43:42] Jenn: So

[00:43:44] Jenn Syx: I think the town decided

[00:43:47] Jenn: how

[00:43:48] Jenn Syx: how

[00:43:48] to treat their reputations

[00:43:50] eleanor Mills was flattened into a stereotype almost immediately, the, in the public imagination. She became the immoral influence, the woman whose existence explained a respectable man's downfall. Once that story took hold, her humanity stopped mattering. Uh, she was framed as a sinner that took down the Saint

[00:44:11] Edward

[00:44:12] Hall was spared that treatment.

[00:44:13] He was framed as someone acted upon, not someone who acted. right. Of course, Francis Hall, of course, was treated as untouchable because her money wouldn't allow her to be touched. Wealth and status turned suspicion into Impoliteness. More on her later, but, and then James Mills was just erased.

[00:44:33] He didn't matter. He, whatever, Yeah. so yeah, that's, that's, that's all of the information that I have and I gave you a little bit of my opinion there at the end, but we're gonna talk about theories, next. Okay.

[00:44:50] What do you think so far?

[00:44:52] It could be anybody that, I mean, like, that's, I, I don't have anybody pinpoint if No, you do,

[00:44:57] Jared: but

[00:44:58] Jenn Syx: of course

[00:44:59] I'm

[00:44:59] gonna,

[00:44:59] I I do not.

[00:45:00] Okay. I'm gonna tell you what the theories are.

[00:45:02] Okay.

[00:45:02] Do your best.

[00:45:05] Now, as I say that these theories

[00:45:11] discuss

[00:45:11] very specific people and how they could have happened within each theory. Okay. But try to let each theory stand on its own. Okay. And then come to the conclusion, okay? okay?

[00:45:22] Jenn: Okay.

[00:45:24] Jenn Syx: Theory

[00:45:24] number one, Francis Hall orchestrates it with her brothers. Now this is very suggestive and it is very speculative, and I took some liberties. I just wanna make that clear. Okay.

[00:45:39] This version assumes that Francis Stevens Hall knew more earlier than she ever admitted. We have to say that she did not tell the police the truth.

[00:45:49] Sure. The letters existed well before the deaths. We know that they were not just proof of betrayal. They were, they mapped the secrecy, right? They explain habits, they implied timing.

[00:46:00] They tell two people where and when they expect to be alone.

[00:46:04] Jenn: In

[00:46:04] Jenn Syx: this theory, Francis does not confront them

[00:46:07] Jenn: herself.

[00:46:08] Jenn Syx: She delegates her brothers, Henry and Willie.

[00:46:12] They are, they already know about the affair.

[00:46:14] Jenn: Witnesses

[00:46:15] Jenn Syx: say they were furious. Hostile statements were made. They said, Edward Hall will be taken care of, not warned, stopped, resolved on the night of the deaths. Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills go to the place where they believe they're safe. They're going to lover's Lane. They're having a little trust. They're going out there to do whatever it is people do on lover's lanes, right? They're not alone. A car arrives. There are tire tracks that you don't need to rush. You got a car, they walked, it's fine.

[00:46:49] Hall

[00:46:49] is taken care of first. He's the, he's the guy, right? So he's, he's.

[00:46:55] taken care of. I'm just gonna leave it at that. Eleanor is then killed afterward and differently. There is more physical harm. That difference does matter in this theory. It isn't chaos, it's intention. Either it's because of rage or because Edward was taken care of and she had time to fight back. , The way the bodies are positioned, then side by side heads near each other,

[00:47:21] Jenn: other,

[00:47:22] Jenn Syx: where they fell, where they were placed.

[00:47:24] The letters are torn and deliberately arranged, not discarded. They're displayed. A calling card, reinforces identity and status. They're like calling out who Edward is. Like this is the guy.

[00:47:38] Now, the only thing that bothers me is Eleanor's clothing disarray, which could either be before this harm happened.

[00:47:50] Sure.

[00:47:50] Or after.

[00:47:51] Yeah. Right.

[00:47:52] I'm not gonna make

[00:47:54] Yep.

[00:47:54] Suggestions one way or the other. Yeah. It's just a,

[00:47:56] yeah.

[00:47:57] Horrible part of it.

[00:47:58] Yeah.

[00:47:59] Jared: Yeah.

[00:48:01] Jenn Syx: So I'm not gonna, s like, usually when clothing is disturbed,

[00:48:06] Jenn: it

[00:48:06] Jenn Syx: is an implication that something sexual happened. Yeah. Either But your

[00:48:11] point. It could have happened before.

[00:48:13] It could have happened before.

[00:48:14] Could have been. They were like, you know, getting a little hanky panky and

[00:48:17] Yeah.

[00:48:17] Next thing you know.

[00:48:19] Yeah.

[00:48:20] Took a 32.

[00:48:22] Yeah. It, it makes me uncomfortable though. Yeah. understood. Just that, that part of it, of course just is not, that's, not, that's

[00:48:28] a horrible thing.

[00:48:29] Yes. That's a horrible, I mean, the whole thing's horrible,

[00:48:30] right?

[00:48:31] Yeah. This would explain the scratches on Willie's face, right? He's the one that attacked Eleanor in whichever fashion you want to.

[00:48:41] Input there. And then, um, obviously the drive away that would explain the footprint, the car tracks, all of the evidence there. And in this theory, Francis never touches his weapon. She doesn't have to, she doesn't need to.

[00:48:54] Jenn: She

[00:48:54] Jenn Syx: She has her hands cleaned. She didn't actually do anything. Her brothers carry all the risk and she just has silence. , So yeah, the problem was handled in that theory. This theory explains foreknowledge access, timing, staging, and then all of the calm and the silence that came after this.

[00:49:13] I mean,

[00:49:15] If these people were rich and wealthy and prominent, they had lawyers to take care of everything, and I'm sure they were told, just be quiet.

[00:49:22] Yeah,

[00:49:22] don't say a word, even guilty or innocence, just be quiet. There's nothing to say. So that's theory number one. Okay. Theory number two.

[00:49:32] James Mills discovers the affair. And does it. Okay. James finds the letters. There is no evidence he did it. He did not. And no logical reason to assume he couldn't. They shared a household. If the letters existed, anybody could have found them. Once he knows, he doesn't need long-term planning, he just needs proximity and certainty.

[00:49:54] So Eleanor leaves to go for a walk and he tracks her down or follows her or stumbles upon it because he's suspicious and looking around.

[00:50:03] Hall is dealt with immediately again, and then, you know, threat, threat neutralized. And then what happens to Eleanor is different. The physical harm is

[00:50:13] Jenn: personal

[00:50:15] Jenn Syx: rage,

[00:50:16] Jenn: whatever, you

[00:50:17] Jenn Syx: you know, betrayal, escalation.

[00:50:19] And that's why she

[00:50:20] Jenn: sustained

[00:50:21] Jenn Syx: more injuries than Hall did. And in this version, the letters are torn up in anger. This guy. pissed and he's ripping up the letters and. Throwing down the calling card at Edward like you, son of a gun. You, sir.

[00:50:38] Rude. So this, this theory explains the injury disparity better than, than the other one did.

[00:50:46] Jenn: I

[00:50:46] Jenn Syx: don't know.

[00:50:46] Jenn: I

[00:50:47] Jenn Syx: I mean, Willie could have been

[00:50:49] Jenn: I

[00:50:49] Jenn Syx: because his sister's reputation was being harmed. Correct.

[00:50:53] Jenn: But

[00:50:54] Jenn Syx: in that case, wouldn't he be matter at Edward than Eleanor?

[00:50:59] Equally?

[00:51:01] It's just, I, yeah, I mean, this theory works too.

[00:51:06] Theory number three, this is the theory. Investigators can never completely dismissed, although I will say these investigators did, they never even considered it. Hall and Mills meet privately possibly to argue, possibly to end their relationship. One of them brings the letters, they're mad at each other and tear up the letters during their little.

[00:51:28] Discussion or argument that there happened, and then a third party happens upon them wrong place.

[00:51:34] Jenn: Worst

[00:51:35] Jenn Syx: time hall is taken care of first again, 'cause he's the immediate threat. And then once he's taken care of, mills is harmed. Afterwards, she resists, and then this bad guy does bad guy things. And that is, would explain why her clothing was disturbed

[00:51:55] Jenn: and

[00:51:55] Jenn Syx: consistent with sexual nature, but for forensics couldn't establish at the time.

[00:52:01] So then the assailant, flees, if he's transient, he just nopes right out of town, There's no similar crime because he's, he's, he's, a, he's a vagabond on a train. He is going around.

[00:52:11] Jenn: There

[00:52:11] Jenn Syx: were other acts murders that happened throughout the country during this point in time, and that has nothing to do with this case whatsoever.

[00:52:17] But oddly enough, in the teens and twenties, Acts, murders We're very prominent. Yeah. This doesn't have anything to do with an acts. It's not the point. Anyways, so this just relies on coincidence. It's just, whoa. That was weird, right? Coincidences happened,

[00:52:34] right.

[00:52:35] So those are my three There's only three theories,

[00:52:37] right? '

[00:52:37] cause shoot.

[00:52:38] So it's pretty clear that

[00:52:39] Jared: that

[00:52:40] Jenn Syx: you think Theory one, just 'cause, I mean, really it comes down to, it makes the most sense. Uh, also the injuries on his face, on Willie's face. And, um, it just makes the most sense.

[00:52:53] It makes the most sense. I

[00:52:56] all of the details on their own can be explained away, but all of them collectively tell a very compelling story.

[00:53:09] Now I'm gonna talk about coincidences in a little bit 'cause I have thoughts on that,

[00:53:15] Jenn: but

[00:53:16] Jenn Syx: yeah.

[00:53:17] The only thing I can't say is whether or not Francis knew about it or not.

[00:53:22] understood. Yeah.

[00:53:23] I don't know if Francis knew. I think Willie and Henry totally did it. Yeah.

[00:53:31] I think there's no doubt about it that they did it with or without Francis's knowledge.

[00:53:34] I don't know.

[00:53:35] Jenn: Right.

[00:53:37] Jenn Syx: They could have been like, I'm gonna get rid of them. Like who do these people think we are? Here we are the Stevens family with all their prominence and their money and they're like, Hmm, I don't think so. Because remember Edward married into the prominent family.

[00:53:55] Yeah. So he wasn't prominent on his own. I mean, that's true. He had a Har Harvard education, but he wasn't prominent on his own. Okay. He married into the prominent family, so I'm sure that they were like,

[00:54:06] Jenn: we're who

[00:54:07] Jenn Syx: who we are and you're not

[00:54:10] Jared: nobody.

[00:54:13] Jenn Syx: I don't have anything against wealthy people, but some, for some reason when I talk about 'em, I'm just like, like that's how they are.

[00:54:19] I have no idea. I know very few wealthy people on that scale.

[00:54:25] It's hard to say what wealthy is anymore. I'm not kidding when I fit, when I like that's just the way I feel.

[00:54:30] 'Cause there is very much a disparity between what you would consider poor and what you would consider wealthy.

[00:54:39] Correct. And everything in between.

[00:54:40] Yeah. And a millionaire was a big deal. But it's not a big deal anymore.

[00:54:45] No, no. A million A million dollars didn't get you much anymore.

[00:54:49] Jenn: No.

[00:54:49] Jenn Syx: No. long term wise, right? I don't know.

[00:54:54] I'm gonna tell you what happened next. Okay? Okay.

[00:54:58] Jenn: Okay. '

[00:54:59] Jenn Syx: cause

[00:55:00] Jenn: I

[00:55:00] Jenn Syx: did the, I did this out of order. I did the, I did the theories before the trial, but now I'm gonna tell you what happened in the trial.

[00:55:07] Okay.

[00:55:07] I Figured There we go.

[00:55:08] By the time this case reached a courtroom, the mystery had already been flattened. Investigation, stalled evidence, compromise, witnesses contradicting so it simplified. In 1926, Francis Stevens Hall, along with her brothers, Henry and Willie.

[00:55:25] Hopefully that wasn't in the court's. Transcripts were brought to trial. The theory presented was a deliberate, coordinated clearing, clearing, ki killing, killing.

[00:55:39] The jury didn't buy it. After weeks of testimony, the defendants were acquitted,

[00:55:44] Hmm.

[00:55:45] not because the story made sense, but because the evidence couldn't survive.

[00:55:49] Cross-examination.

[00:55:52] Jenn: Too

[00:55:52] Jenn Syx: much had been touched, trampled

[00:55:54] Jenn: talked

[00:55:55] Jenn Syx: about, shaped by rumor before

[00:55:57] Jenn: before

[00:55:57] Jenn Syx: it even reached the stand.

[00:55:58] That's bullshit.

[00:55:59] Yep. Legally. Legally, yeah.

[00:56:02] Understood.

[00:56:03] That was the end. No alternative theory was pursued with real force. The case was closed without resolution, and that's where history tends to stop.

[00:56:15] Now, interestingly enough, Edward Hall remains a respected clergyman who met a tragic end. Eleanor Mills remains a cautionary tale flattened into scandal.

[00:56:30] So

[00:56:31] what happened after the trials? Francis Stevens Hall, after her acquittal in 1926, her life narrowed, but it did not collapse. She was legally cleared and never retried. She remained wealthy, of course, and financially secure. She did not remarry. She lived quietly, largely withdrawing from public life rather than being forced out of it

[00:56:55] Jenn: Socially.

[00:56:56] Jenn Syx: She was treated as respectable, but damaged, not disgraced, but no longer in the

[00:57:02] Jenn: central part

[00:57:03] Jenn Syx: part of society any longer. She retained enough status, not that no serious post-trial scrutiny followed her. She died in 1952 with her secrets. With her secrets. Indeed, Henry Stevens returned to private life after acquittal, maintained his business interest.

[00:57:26] But no lasting legal consequences. Never charged again,

[00:57:30] Jenn: lived

[00:57:30] Jenn Syx: out his life

[00:57:31] Jenn: without

[00:57:31] Jenn Syx: further public scrutiny. Willie Stevens, same trajectory. Acquitted, no, no Legal ramification remained a part of New Jersey's upper class social structure. James Mills

[00:57:49] he retained custody of his children. He did not remarry, at least not publicly that we know of. He left all the spotlight. There is no evidence that he was ever seriously pursued in this case. We have no information about his children or what became of them later in life. I will say that is the one thing that the press did right in this situation, and they did normally in the twenties, is if there were children that were not directly related to a crime, they kept their names out of it.

[00:58:19] which I can appreciate that. That's one thing the press did, right? One, it's a short list. It says one thing on there.

[00:58:31] Jenn: Yeah.

[00:58:32] Jenn Syx: So something that I did wanna talk about is that I went into this case with an opinion already formed because I've heard it on other podcasts. And I've, I've read, the, I've read a book, a bio, not, not a biography, what do you wanna call it, just a true crime book and I came into doing this episode like ah, they did it.

[00:58:53] Like I know, I know who did it obviously. , But I would like to make up a point of where I have to check myself here because. When you line up these details, the scratches on his face, hostile statements, tire tracks a name shouted in the dark. It feels like something solid should emerge.

[00:59:12] Like it has to mean more than it does.

[00:59:14] And this is where I have to bring up my detective boyfriend Paul Holes, who I respect the heck out of. I just think he's an amazing investigator and detective. , Not only does he have a background as a detective, but also in forensics as a crime scene investigator

[00:59:34] Throughout his biography and the podcast that he does.

[00:59:38] It's called Buried Bones. It's really good, you should listen to it. Um, it's that even experienced investigators can get trapped by coincidences that stack up. By patterns that look meaningful, simply because the human brain is really good at connecting dots, even when dots don't actually touch. So coincidences do happen.

[00:59:58] Jenn: They

[00:59:59] Jenn Syx: They happen all the time. Even coincidences.

[01:00:02] Sure.

[01:00:03] Multiple coincidences. So suspicious facts that can coexist without belonging to the same truth. And sometimes the most dangerous thing in an investigation is a story that feels complete and jumping to conclusions. So I did come into this case, assuming Francis Hall was the obvious villain.

[01:00:22] She's the rich wife. Got her brothers in on it to do all the dirty work. And the deeper that I went into this, the more that I realized that I was doing exactly what the press did in the twenties. Flattening ambiguity in a narrative that feels satisfying. 'cause you want the rich to be the bad guy if you're not the rich like you want him to, right?

[01:00:44] So there is suspicion here, there is definitely opportunity,

[01:00:49] Jenn: but

[01:00:49] Jenn Syx: but there is also a complete lack of forensic proof that is more important to me than anything. Now that doesn't clear Francis Hall and Willie and Henry, not even close, but it does clear me of lazy certainty.

[01:01:08] 'cause I don't think that's fair either. I think that's how narratives form and suspicion travels.

[01:01:16] So

[01:01:17] Jenn: that's,

[01:01:17] Jenn Syx: yeah. What,

[01:01:19] no, you're right, you're right. All good.

[01:01:21] I mean, class, gender and expectations shape who we're willing to believe.

[01:01:26] Sure, of course.

[01:01:27] So it's easy to inherit this story that's already been determined.

[01:01:33] Jenn: I

[01:01:33] Jenn Syx: I mean, people have been saying for decades, a century. That these people are guilty.

[01:01:39] Right.

[01:01:40] But there is no proof.

[01:01:41] Right.

[01:01:42] And they were legally cleared.

[01:01:43] Yep.

[01:01:44] And that's what matters.

[01:01:45] Jared: Yep.

[01:01:49] Jenn Syx: And the other thing that I think in this case is harder to quantify, but impossible to ignore, at least from my perspective, is the relationship between Edward and Eleanor looking at who held the power and who didn't.

[01:02:04] Jenn: There

[01:02:04] Jenn Syx: is a very huge power disparity there. Edward Hall was not just a married man having an affair.

[01:02:13] He was a minister, he was the head of a church and he was very highly respected and publicly insulated. And he was also her employer that that matters. She had no protection in this situation.

[01:02:27] If their relationship ended badly, not in the way that it did, but like a public. breakup Sure. Or knowledge about it.

[01:02:34] Her social standing and even potentially she would've been

[01:02:38] ruined.

[01:02:38] She would've been ruined. Her husband would've been out of a job, right? They would've been out of their house. He risked embarrassment. She risked

[01:02:47] Jenn: everything,

[01:02:48] Jenn Syx: and her entire livelihood. And I also wanna say, when you look at the photographs, , the imbalance between them also is very clear.

[01:02:57] Edward Hall was an ordinary middle-aged man, and I, I would like to say his wife was as well. They were not photogenic. Eleanor Mills, by the standards of the time, was attractive and socially vibrant. Uh,

[01:03:14] Jenn: now

[01:03:15] Jenn Syx: look, that doesn't mean the relationship wasn't real, okay? I mean, love is not obligated to follow these optics, but his position and authority.

[01:03:27] And The consequences if it goes bad, mean something here. So I'm not saying he co coerced her into relationship, he could have been a very kind man. I don't have

[01:03:38] Jenn: evidence

[01:03:39] Jenn Syx: that he was one thing or the other, but the structure of the relationship was incredibly unequal. Yeah.

[01:03:47] Held all the power she had.

[01:03:48] None. Yeah.

[01:03:52] Jenn: So

[01:03:52] Jenn Syx: people are mean, you don't know anything about this man or a woman. And everybody's assuming that he's the good guy and it's all her fault, and yet he's the one that was holding all the power. Yep. What the hell is this? What? Got some fucking nerve

[01:04:12] I got.

[01:04:12] nothing.

[01:04:16] Some fucking nerve up in here and it happens all the time. Like, get, get the fuck outta here. Like, I just can't even do this anymore.

[01:04:27] Anyways, that's

[01:04:29] okay. What

[01:04:29] do you think? Yeah,

[01:04:30] that was a good story.

[01:04:31] You like the story?

[01:04:32] Yeah.

[01:04:33] I mean, I know, Yeah,

[01:04:35] Jared: that's a

[01:04:36] Jenn Syx: story.

[01:04:37] Yep.

[01:04:38] Jenn: So that's

[01:04:38] Jenn Syx: today's story.

[01:04:39] Okay,

[01:04:41] sure.

[01:04:43] When you edit this, I'm gonna be very fidgety with my eyes.

[01:04:47] Okay. Can you talk about the episode though? Like what do you think?

[01:04:50] Sorry. Yeah, it was a good story. Um,

[01:04:58] I'm trying to think of what I wanna say. I was going back to the whole, you know,

[01:05:02] Jared: you

[01:05:02] Jenn Syx: dirty preacher and you, you know,

[01:05:04] Jared: you

[01:05:04] Jenn Syx: um, having

[01:05:06] relationships.

[01:05:09] Jared: Yep,

[01:05:09] Jenn Syx: Yep,

[01:05:10] Jenn: yep.

[01:05:11] Jenn Syx: Affairs happen even the most holy of all places. Yep. I mean, you get down to it and human beings are just

[01:05:21] Jenn: animals.

[01:05:22] Jenn Syx: Well, it's true. I,

[01:05:23] mean, it's, I mean, it

[01:05:24] is true.

[01:05:24] I, I, don't, I mean, I said it in a funny way, but

[01:05:26] but it's true.

[01:05:28] Humans are animals and we are just sometimes subject to our base or instincts.

[01:05:33] Yeah. Sometimes you don't think with the right area.

[01:05:36] What he

[01:05:37] saying it, who's thinking with his Dick,

[01:05:41] you said it.

[01:05:43] Jared: Even

[01:05:44] Jenn Syx: though you know, he probably loved her. But it had to start somewhere.

[01:05:47] I don't know. I have no, I have no, I really have no opinion on their relationship whatsoever.

[01:05:53] Whether it was loving.

[01:05:54] Yeah, it doesn't matter. 'cause we don't know

[01:05:56] whether it was sexual.

[01:05:57] Maybe they just got together and read books on Lover's Lane.

[01:06:00] I don't think people go to, like, if you're going to Lover's Lane, you better mean it. Yeah. You should not be going to Lover's Lanes to read books.

[01:06:08] Yeah.

[01:06:08] Jared: Yeah.

[01:06:08] Jenn Syx: That's a silly Go to the library. It's free.

[01:06:11] Right.

[01:06:12] And it doesn't look so fricking suspicious.

[01:06:14] Right. But don't go to the library to do Lover's Lane things.

[01:06:18] So You'll get kicked. You might get arrested even.

[01:06:20] Yeah.

[01:06:20] Yeah. Mm-hmm.

[01:06:22] That's all you

[01:06:23] Jared: all you

[01:06:23] Jenn Syx: you'd have to constantly hear.

[01:06:25] I think you'd hear more than that.

[01:06:26] Get out.

[01:06:26] Jared: Get out.

[01:06:27] Jenn Syx: Whatcha doing?

[01:06:29] That's what you'd hear.

[01:06:31] Call that

[01:06:32] police. Okay.

[01:06:35] So yeah, so of course like review, subscribe. I say it every time. Everybody hates hearing it. Even me. I don't know what to tell you. You should do it and then I'll stop saying it.

[01:06:47] That's what I say. that

[01:06:48] Jenn: Um,

[01:06:48] Jenn Syx: you can find us on Patreon, TikTok, YouTube @HouseofSyx, wherever you get your podcast.

[01:06:55] Yeah. It's not hard to do an internet search people. It's just not

[01:06:58] Yeah.

[01:06:59] Look us up.

[01:07:00] Comment. Comment on how good you know, how good of a job you do and how horrible a job I do.

[01:07:05] Yeah, you should do that. Say anything that you want,

[01:07:08] Jenn: just

[01:07:08] Jenn Syx: make a comment.

[01:07:09] why has Jared been there?

[01:07:10] Jenn: That's

[01:07:11] Jenn Syx: besides support of his wife, which is great and I commend him for that.

[01:07:15] But otherwise,

[01:07:16] yeah. Yeah, comments are fun for

[01:07:19] Jenn: us

[01:07:20] Jenn Syx: mostly. Um, yeah, so episodes drop every other Tuesday. It could be weekly if we get enough people watching, but until then, I gotta keep the lights on up in this old house 'cause we need food. So, until next time, stay outta the attic. And probably lover's lanes too.

[01:07:40] Yes. Because that's, that's where bad stories start. Yeah, it does.

[01:07:43] Bye bye.

[01:07:44] Jenn: Right?