HELLER, ISAAC: 1809-1836.
Isaac Heller (Young), son of John and Sarah Heller Young, was born in Dauphin County, Pa., on May 2, 1809. Tried for the murder of a young girl in his native state and acquitted on grounds of insanity, he was confined in chains at the poor house of the community.
After his release–apparently in 1831–he came West and settled outside the town of Liberty, Ind., changed his name from Young to Heller, married, joined a church and prospered moderately. Soon, however, he began to develop what appeared to be a religious mania, began to talk of his crime and to neglect work.
On Feb. 27, 1836, he killed his wife and their three small children with an axe. He fled but was captured, arrested and eventually hanged. The pamphlet giving his life story was written–or more probably dictated –by him while awaiting execution.
Information from Smith, O. H.–Early Indiana Trials and Sketches and the Indiana State Library.
- The Life and Confession of Isaac Heller Alias Isaac Young Who
Was Executed at Liberty, Union County, Ia. on the 29th Day of April, 1836,
for the Murder of His Wife and Three Infant Children, to Which Is Appended a
Brief History of the Trial, Together with the Sentence Pronounced Upon Him
by Hon. Samuel: Bigger, Presiding Judge. Liberty,
Ind., 1836.
