What happened to Carl Von Cosel?

Answer 1

Dr. Carl Von Cosel, born in Dresden Germany on Feb. 8 1877, he was employeed as a respriathory thearapist at the US Marine Hospital. Although Von Cosel was a married man with 2 daughters he lived as a single man in Key West Florida.

That is where he met a Cuban-American named Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos on April 22, 1930. She was suffering from tuberculosis and came to the hospital for lung treatment. To say Von Cosel fell head over heels in love would be an understatement. Von Cosel (who claimed to be a count) became obsessed with Hoyos, and in all fairness, if he could have cured her illness he would have. But he was not even a medical doctor, but led Hoyos to believe that he could cure her. Hoyos, being a married woman, although her husband abandoned her after a miscarriage, was still married in her mind and only wanted Von Cosel as a friend.

He gave her and her family much hope when there really was no hope of a cure. She believed him for a while. As her condition worsened it became clear that a cure would not be forthcoming. Elena died in 1931, and though it was hard for her family, it was worse for Von Cosel.

Within a short time, Von Cosel crept into the cemetery at night and stole Hoyos' body. For the next 7 years he kept her body with him, most of the time in an old airplane, where he tended to her body, trying to preserve it and keep it as life-like as he could. He would eventually replace her skin, eyes, hair and vagina. He dressed her in a wedding gown and held his own ceromony, so they would be joined forever.

Seven years down the road, Hoyos' family found out that their loved one was not where she was supposed to be. Von Cosel took Elena's sister to her body in the airplane where he lived and planned to fly them to the outer stratosphere, and the poor woman almost fainted looking at her long-dead sister or what was left of her. The family confiscated the body and filed charges against Von Cosel. He was arrested and charged with destruction of a tomb, but he was never prosecuted. There is a statute of limitations on his crimes, so he was finally released. The family of Hoyos buried her body in a secret unmarked tomb, afraid "the Count" would repeat his crime. Before her final burial, city officials displayed her body for 6000 lookee-loos and the press.

Although Hoyos' family was horrified and upset, once charges were dropped they had no enthusiasum for revenge. It was time to let their Elena rest in peace.

Carl Von Cosel moved to Zephyrhills, Florida where he lived until his death on July 23, 1952. Rumor had it that he was found dead lying in a makeshift coffin beside a life-size doll that looked just like his beloved Elena.

As unbelieveable as the story is, Von Cosel had a wife and daughter (a second daughter died at the age of 2 from diptheria) in a nearby town. Von Cosel gave up a loving wife and child to live with a corpse. When news broke of his misdeeds, his wife endured among other things, extreme embarassment. (they had the same name of course)

Interesting fact:The body was examined before reburial and it was discovered that Von Cosel was in fact having sex with the corpse. I doubt few were surprised.