Case File: Pearl Osten

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Revision as of 05:14, 25 November 2024 by 208.127.76.151 (talk) (Created page with "thumb|Osten Diagram - Star Tribune, 5 Oct 1927 ==Overview== In 1927 a student of music and a member of the Mendelsohn Chorus was brutally killed just feet from her sisters home where she was staying. A small down girl, she had only returned two Minneapolis two weeks prior - having spent the previous year in college before going home in Pelican Rapids for part of the summer. She wasn't found until later in the afternoon when neighborhood boys...")
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File:Osten Diagram.png
Osten Diagram - Star Tribune, 5 Oct 1927

Overview[edit]

In 1927 a student of music and a member of the Mendelsohn Chorus was brutally killed just feet from her sisters home where she was staying. A small down girl, she had only returned two Minneapolis two weeks prior - having spent the previous year in college before going home in Pelican Rapids for part of the summer. She wasn't found until later in the afternoon when neighborhood boys were playign hide-and-seek, and one dodged into a shed to hid, but instead stumbled over the body of Pearl Osten.

Locations[edit]

  • 1413 5th St N, Minneapolis - home of Mrs. H. Salchert, right next to the shed.
  • 1415 5th St N, Minneapolis - home of Johnny Kerner, who found the body
  • 1418 6th St N, Minneapolis - home of Mrs. A. W. Kampf, passenger on street car, among last to see Pearl alive; also of Charles Dorinski
  • 1422 6th St N, Minneapolis - home of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Lanseth
  • 1835 Harvester St, St. Paul, Minnesota - residence Robert F. Roffler, street car conductor
  • 2623 Newton Ave N, home of Mrs. John Munson and residence of Pearl from Feb to Jul 1927
  • 3321 43rd Ave S, residence of friend Nora Aas, where sister assumed Pearl had spent the night.
  • Bostrom Mortuary, 3008 27th Ave S.
  • Jolly Peasant Tearoom, 218 8th St S.
  • Norwegian Grove, a township in Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Gallery[edit]

People[edit]

Type Name (Born-Died) Description
Victim Osten, Pearl 1907-1927 beaten and strangled
Suspects "man in small coupe" accosted Pearl Friday night
"negro and white man" unidentified, released
young man on street car a young man, well dressed, accompanied her from streetcar
Witnesses Aas, Nora friend of Pearl's
Anderson, Mrs. Effie passenger on street car
Bergesen, Rev. B. E. pastor of Zion Luthern Church, their church in Minneapolis
Christianson, Adolph harvest worker and lodger in Wisconsin
Dorinski, Charles saw a man loitering about the Langseth house
Hayes, Mark passenger on the streetcar
Huisinger, M. L. identified black man as loitering near shed
Kempff, Mrs. A. W. passenger on street car
Kerner, Johnny c1915-? found the body
Logowski, Joe passenger on street car, paid not particular attention
Munson, Mrs. John previous landlord to Pearl
Nelson, Dr. Frank President of Minnesota College
Nelson, Mrs. Helma landlord to Charles Dorinski
Nelson, Melvin boy playing with Johnny Kerner when Pearl was found
Nelson, Mrs. mother of Melvin Nelson, talked to police
Panning, A. E. proprietor of the Jolly Peasant Tea Room
Roffler, Robert F. street car conductor, witness
Salchert, Mrs. H. neighbor, heard nothing
Sanbeck, Dagny c1913-? heard screams
Severs, Carl passenger on the streetcar
Officers & Investigators Bell, Dr. E. T. performed autopsy with Coroner
Brunskill, Frank W. Superintendent of Police
Crummy, Andrew Capt of the Detectives.
Forby, William Detective
Hanaford, Walter Detective
Helwig, Richard Detective
Marxon, Al Detective
Seashore, Gilbert Coroner
Family Hovland, Theo Mathilde 1871-1957 mother of Pearl
Lanseth, Alma Osten 1897-1992 sister to Pearl
Lanseth, Johan Melvin 1889-1959 brother-in-law to Pearl
Osten, Alma {Langseth/Shields) 1897-1992 sister to Pearl
Osten, Martin Andreas Simon 1867-1956 father of Pearl

Documentation[edit]

Burials[edit]

  • Find-a-Grave: "Martin Andreas Osten" (1867-1956), West North Immanuel Church Cemetery, Norwegian Grove, Minnesota
  • Find-a-Grave: "Pearl Gilma Osten" (1907-1927), West North Immanuel Church Cemetery, Norwegian Grove, Minnesota

Census Records[edit]

Newspaper Articles[edit]

Vital Records[edit]

  • 1907: Minnesota Birth Index: "Gilma Osten" - 14 Feb 1907, Otter Trial County
  • 1907: South Immanuel Lutheran Church Records: "Pearl Gilma Osten", baptised 3 Mar 1907
  • 1912: Marriage records for Alma Caroline Osten to Johan Melvin Langseth; and sister Clara Alice Osten to Bernie Sillerud - same page
  • 1927: Minnesota Death Index for "Pearl Gilma Osten" - 2 Oct 1927, Hennepin County
  • 1936: Marriage of Nora Aas to Jack Rennie in Glasgow, Montana
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