The Madness of Obsession

Elena Milagro Hoyos | Wikimedia Commons

Elena Hoyos was young and beautiful. She was born July 31, 1909, to Francisco "Pancho" Hoyos, and Aurora Milagro. She had two older sisters, Florinda "Nana", and Celia. However, Elena's life tragically ended too soon. She died on October 25, 1931, from Tuberculosis. Unfortunately, most of Elena's immediate family also succumbed to the disease, including her sister, Florinda, and her father, Francisco.

Elena's Father Francisco worked in a factor in Key West, Florida rolling cigars. The working conditions of a cigar factory at the time, were overcrowded, with large numbers of workers sitting in rows rolling tobacco leaves. The air humid, and filled with dust. This was the perfect environment for disease to spread, especially Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that attack the lungs of the victim. When someone who is infected coughs or sneezes the bacteria are expelled into the air. Anyone in the vicinity that breathes in this same air can contract the disease.

Elena's mother, Aurora, took Elena to Marine Hospital in Key West hoping to find treatment. It was there that Elena and Aurora met a man going by the name of Dr. Carl von Cosel.

Carl Von Cosel | Wikimedia Commons

Unknown to Elena or Aurora, Von Cosel's real name was Georg Karl Tänzler and he wasn't a doctor at all. He was born as Georg Karl Tänzler on February 8, 1877, in Dresden, Germany. He married a woman around 1920 named Doris Shafer, and they had two children who later died of diphtheria. In 1926 he immigrated to Havana, Cuba, and then moved to Florida. While in Florida he took a job as an x-ray technician at Marine Hospital in Key West under the name Dr. Carl von Cosel.

Von Cosel claimed to have visions of who he claimed was his ancestor, named Countess Anna Constantia von Cosel. He said that the Countess told Carl his true love would be a woman with dark hair. When he met Elena with her dark hair and beautiful face, he was convinced that Elena was the woman the Countess was talking about. Von Cosel became obsessed, giving  Elena gifts of jewelry, flowers, and clothing. However, there is no evidence showing that Elena returned Von Cosel's feelings.

Elena's Mausoleum 

When Elena died Von Cosel was devastated. With the family's permission, he had an above-ground mausoleum built to house her body in a local cemetery. He also had Elena's body placed in an airtight casket and had formaldehyde gas continuously pumped into the coffin to preserve her body.

Von Cosel visited her mausoleum every night. He claimed the spirit of Elena would come to him singing a Spanish song, begging him to bring her home. So in April of 1933 Von Cosel entered the cemetery under the cover of darkness and removed Elena's body from the mausoleum and carried it home.

Von Cosel then got to work trying to stop the decomposition of Elena's body. He replaced her decaying skin with waxed silk. He tied her bones together with wire from coat hangers. He replaced her eyes with glass ones. He made a wig out of Elena's own hair and put it back on her skull. As her face became sunken and the eyes shriveled he placed a handmade mask out of plaster to place over Elena's face. He treated the body with formaldehyde, perfume, and various chemical preservatives to help stop the decay, and combat the smell. It's said he even inserted a tube into Elena's vagina so he could have sex with her.

Elena's Body on Display at Dean-Lopez Funeral Home

Elena's sister, Florinda had heard rumors that Von Cosel had stolen Elena's body from the cemetery. Florinda confronted Von Cosel at his house. There Florinda found her sister's body in the upstairs bed room looking more like a dummy than a human being.

Von Cosel was arrested and was put on trial for the charge of "wantonly and maliciously destroying a grave and removing a body without authorization". On October 9, 1940 he testified declaring his love for Elena, and his reasoning for what he did. He was declared sane enough for trial. However, the case was eventually dropped due to the statute of limitations.

On October 9, 1940, he testified declaring his love for Elena, and his reasoning for what he did. He was declared sane enough for trial. However, the case was eventually dropped due to the statute of limitations.

Elena's Body on Display at Dean-Lopez Funeral Home

Elena's body was examined by pathologists and put on public display at Dean-Lopez Funeral Home, where over 6,000 people filled past to see Carl's obsession. Her body was later returned to Key West Cemetery and buried in a secret location so she would not be disturbed again.

Von Cosel with a picture of Elena

Citations:

Brewer, Isaac W. “‘City Life in Relation to Tuberculosis: a Plea for Better Surroundings for Factories and Better Homes for the Working Classes." American Journal of Public Health 3, No. 9 (1913): 903-914.” American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, Mar. 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2820065/.

 "Autopsy 6: Secrets of the Dead - The Strange Obsession of Dr. Carl Von Cosel". HBO.com. 2005.

“Carl Tanzler.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Aug. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Tanzler#cite_note-Swicegood-1.
Boese, Ann. “A Key to History.” Cigar Aficionado, Cigar Aficionado, 31 July 2017, www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-key-to-history-7461.

State Library. “Photographs - The Cigar Industry in Florida.” Florida Memory, www.floridamemory.com/onlineclassroom/cigar-industry/photos/.

“Tuberculosis.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 15 Feb. 2019, medlineplus.gov/tuberculosis.html.

“Elena Hoyos (1909-1931) - Find A Grave Memorial.” Find A Grave, 26 Nov. 2007, www.findagrave.com/memorial/23114033/elena-hoyos.

“Carl Tanzler (1877-1952) - Find A Grave Memorial.” Find A Grave, 22 Dec. 2010, www.findagrave.com/memorial/63240551/carl-tanzler.