THE DISTURBING CASE OF CARL TANZLER

"He called it love. The world called it the most grotesque obsession in Florida history." For seven years, a German-born radiologist named Carl Tanzler lived with the corpse of a young tuberculosis patient he believed was his soulmate, preserving her remains in his bed.Tanzler, who styled himself Count Carl von Cosel, first met Elena "Helen" Milagro de Hoyos in 1930 when the 21-year-old Cuban-American woman visited the Marine Hospital in Key West [citation:1]. Despite her diagnosis with incurable tuberculosis—and the fact that she was married and felt no romantic connection to him—Tanzler became convinced she was the dark-haired beauty revealed to him in childhood visions of his reincarnated true love [citation:1][citation:4].When Elena died on October 25, 1931, Tanzler paid for her funeral and mausoleum, visiting almost every night for nearly two years, serenading her corpse with a Spanish song he claimed she sang to him [citation:1][citation:8]. In April 1933, he crept through the cemetery with a toy wagon, removed her decaying body, and transported it to his home [citation:1][citation:5].Over the next seven years, Tanzler performed unspeakable preservation rituals: inserting glass eyes, stringing bones together with piano wire, replacing rotting skin with wax-soaked silk, fashioning a wig from her real hair, and filling her chest cavity with rags to maintain her form [citation:1][citation:4]. He dressed her in stockings, jewelry, and gloves—and slept beside her every night [citation:7]. Two physicians who examined the corpse in 1940 later revealed a vaginal tube had been inserted, suggesting necrophilia [citation:1][citation:2].The macabre secret ended when Elena's sister, alerted by rumors, discovered Tanzler dancing with the corpse [citation:1][citation:10]. He was arrested for grave robbery but released when the statute of limitations had expired [citation:1][citation:9]. Over 6,800 people came to view Elena's remains at a funeral home before she was buried in an unmarked grave [citation:1][citation:4]. Tanzler died in 1952, reportedly found in the arms of a life-sized effigy of his obsession [citation:1][citation:7].Listener discretion absolutely required—this episode deals with necrophilia and extreme psychological disturbance.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/red-tree-crime--6847553/support.