Henry Debosnys
Henry Delactnack Debosnys (May 16, 1836 – April 27, 1883) was a man who was hanged for murder of his third wife, Elizabeth Wells.[1][2][3][4]
![](../I/Debosnys-Cryptogram-1.png.webp)
Debosnys' true identity was never determined. According to his autobiography, he was born in Lisbon, Portugal. He spoke six languages and said he had been married twice before. He arrived in Essex on a yacht with a woman he claimed was his wife.[4] She disappeared and a few weeks later he married Betsy Wells on June 8, 1882. She was a local widow with four daughters who owned a small farm in Essex, New York which she had inherited from her first husband, along with a sum of money. He was arrested August 1, 1882 in Essex, New York after local farmers had seen him acting suspiciously in the woods and returned to the location later and found the body of Betsy Wells. His trial began on March 6, 1883, took two days and the jury deliberated for eight minutes before returning a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree.
He was hanged on April 27, 1883, the second and last person to be hanged in Essex County. The execution was watched by approximately 2000 people.[3] Debosnys' last words, as reported by the hangman, were "I am innocent of the crime. You have made a mistake. The blood on my knife was the blood of a chipmunk."[5] He had sold his body in advance to a local doctor for $15 and it was found to be covered in tattoos which were never specifically described. His skull and the noose he was hanged with are on display in the Adirondack History Center Museum in Elizabethtown, New York.[6]
Debosnys left enciphered documents, that have never been decrypted, using a cryptographic script (or scripts) and/or pictograms.
References
- "Eric Voornis: Mysterious wife killer once again a topic: 2. April 2010". Archived from the original on 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
- Revai, Cheri (20 February 2009). The Big Book of New York Ghost Stories. Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780811746267 – via Google Books.
- Davis, Mr. (1900-05-03). "Essex County NY Jail Ledger Entries for 3 Inmates Executed". NY Correction History Society. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
- "A WIFE'S FEARFUL DEATH.; HER BODY FOUND IN THE WOODS AND HER HUSBAND ACCUSED OF KILLING HER". The New York Times. 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
- "Hangman's Day". Daily Republican. Wilmington, DE. April 28, 1883. p. 4. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- "Elizabethtown, NY - Skull and Noose of Last Man Hanged in Essex County". RoadsideAmerica.com. 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
External links
- Cheri L. Farnsworth: Adirondack Enigma. 2011, ISBN 978-1596298682
Media related to Henry Debosnys at Wikimedia Commons