Cincinnati's Savage Seamstress: The Shocking Edythe Klumpp Murder Scandal

by Richard O. Jones

On a cold, drizzly fall afternoon in 1958, a trio of duck hunters stumbled on the charred remains of Cincinnati resident Louise Bergen. When investigators learned that her estranged husband was living with an older divorcee, Edythe Klumpp, they wasted no time in questioning her. When she failed a lie detector test, Edythe spilled out a confession. Although it did not fit the physical evidence, she was found guilty and sentenced to death in the electric chair. Governor Michael V. DiSalle put his political career on the line to save Edythe from the death penalty, personally interviewing the prisoner while she was under the influence of truth serum." But was it the truth? Richard O Jones separates the facts from the fiction in this comprehensive book about the Klumpp murder."

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Mystery, Crime, American History

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2014

About the author

After 25 years writing the first draft of history as a writer and editor for his hometown newspaper, the Hamilton Journal-News, Richard O Jones left the grind of daily journalism in the fall of 2013 for a life of true crime. Mr. Jones, a creative writing graduate of Miami University, Ohio, spent most of his career as an arts journalist and has won numerous awards for his reviews and profiles. In 2004, he was named a Fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts Theatre and Musical Theatre program at the Annenberg School of Journalism. The Ohio Associated Press named him Feature Writer of the Year in 2011. Since leaving the newspaper world, Mr. Jones has become an active member of his local history community as Secretary of the Butler County Historical Society and the Hamilton Round Table Club. He is also a member of the History Speakers Bureau and a regular presenter at Miami University in a program titled “Yesterday’s News.” The Michael J. Colligan History Project of Miami University presented Mr. Jones with a Special Recognition for Contributions to Public History for his coverage of the Centennial Commemoration of the Great Flood of 1913.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dour face of Edythe Klumpp haunted my childhood. If you lived in Cincinnati in the '50's, Klumpp's story was one you could not escape. It starred Sex, Death and Money—the three most popular screen personalities of that (or any other) era—but it also benefited by cameo appearances from an anti-death penalty Democratic governor seeking re-election and sodium-pentothal, each in a small but crucial role.

Edith Klumpp was definitely a lady who pushed the Queen City's buttons. On one hand, she was an industrious single mother trying to maintain a hard-scrabble existence by teaching night-school sewing classes. On the other hand, she was a fast-living waitress working at a municipal airport restaurant, a woman who liked to drink with the local fly-boys after her shift. When her common-law husband's legal wife's body was found bludgeoned, shot, stabbed, and half-consumed in the remains of a bonfire an hour northeast of the city, it wasn't long before the police arrested Mrs. Klumpp and charged her with murder. Edith soon confessed, taking complete responsibility for the act, but doubts lingered. She was a small woman, after all, and a good deal of heavy lifting must have been involved in transporting and burning the corpse. It seemed logical to assume that someone else—her common-law husband perhaps?--might also be responsible.

The book follows Edythe through her trial and conviction, her second confession--under sodium pentothal and witnessed by Governor Mike DiSalle--and her subsequent career in and out of prison. The question of guilt is never completely resolved, but we do get glimpses into the Cincinnati judicial system and the larger world of Ohio gubernatorial politics.

The Savage Seamstress is not a work of great style, but it tells its story adequately, and I found it informative and enjoyable.

[H. P. Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in a conversational tone, this account of Louise Bergen's murder, the arrest of her estranged husband's lover Edythe Klumpp, and the drama of the trial was fairly interesting. It surely was a different time in 1958 through 1961, and not a good different either. Edythe was not your average housewife, although she was a faithful churchgoer at times and taught sewing to young women. Not for her the boring nights at home alone after a shift at one of her three jobs. She enjoyed the company of men. And she saw them as tickets out of poverty. She wasn't particularly good looking; she had a hardness in her face that wasn't attractive but she appealed to certain men despite that and despite her thin lips and sullen demeanor. When she met Bill Bergen it was lust at first sight, at least on his side. Bill couldn't make up his mind between Edythe and his wife Louise, however. One night Louise turns up dead and partially cremated. One Louise's identity is established, it isn't long before Edythe is arraigned. The trial, her convication with no recommendation of mercy (tantamount to automatic death penalty at the time) and the last minute commutation of her sentence keep the reader's attention. The book raises considerable doubt about her guilt but reminds us that mid-20th century Cincinnati was convinced of her qualifications for Old Sparky. There was so much hatred of this woman who was a liar, manipulator and at least an accessory to murder that death threats arrived on Ohio Governor Disalle's desk after he gave her the commutation.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think if the author has fleshed this story out more, explained 1950s murder investigation techniques, and delved more into the politics of the trial and afterwards, this book would be much more complete. As it is, the book has quite a bit of information, but very little proof of what happened and I'm wondering what the whole book was about. Yes, it was about murder, but was the author also trying to begin a discussion on death penalties, divorce, love triangles, speaking the truth? There's so much STUFF in here for such a small book that I'm left wanting more information.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read for true crime fans, with several excellent photos. I discovered new things about Ohio history (hey, why don't we talk more about Governor DiSalle?)

My biggest criticism is that the book could have dug deeper into how the society of the 1950s and early 60s played a part in the whole affair: specifically misogyny and domestic abuse. The idea of Edythe as a desperate, jealous homewrecker made more sense to everyone than both Louise and Edythe being sick of Bill's manipulation. Plus Bill probably was not looking forward to paying alimony and child support. In addition, I'm not sure I buy the whole "gun went off accidentally" narrative in either version or that if Louise pulled the gun first it was in self-defense, not irrationally.

I won't get into all the problems with this case, but I'd like to make one final point about how both Edythe (and thus Louise) was failed: while I generally liked DiSalle, I thought his reasoning behind commuting Edythe's sentence to Murder 2 was a bit flawed. There was a guy who just showed he was capable of incredible violence insisting she helps him cover up a murder he committed, and if she doesn't do what he says, her kids are next. And while I won't argue that Edythe was a saint, but she doesn't strike me as less upstanding than most other Americans in 1958, especially Bill Bergen.

[Amanda Turpin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Read

This book was interesting to me being from my home town. Kind of a difficult read with the way the format is and there are quite a few typing, grammar issues the need corrected. But other than that, lots of information regarding the case.

[Judith A Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, but a bit dry.

A bit sparse on some details. Would have helped to be given a bit more understanding of the laws of that time for the court case. Otherwise an interesting read.

[Julie Kelly]

Another great true crime story.

[Tee Minn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder in your back yard and a true story and first woman to be charged with death penalty in your state.
Got to read it.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t particularly care for the format the book was written in, but appreciated a few of the photos included. It’s always helpful to SEE people, location, vehicles etc associated with a crime.

Now, why wasn’t Mr. Bergen ever included in these photos and thoroughly investigated like Edythe?? Beyond me…

But it was so much more of a sensationalized ordeal to blast Edythe & coin her as the “Savage Seamstress.” She’s no princess for sure but ALL these people … man … they’re all a disaster!! The parties of interest, the manner in which the investigation & interrogations were conducted, the circus of the media … total chaos!

Even if this didn’t read easy, it was interesting for sure!

E📖

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, but well written piece of true crime. I came across this title at my local library and as I have not come across a lot of locally written true crime, I picked it up. The book covers the case of Edythe Klumpp, a Cincinnati woman convicted of the murder of her married boyfriend's estranged wife. The book was intelligent and an in-depth study (despite being a very short read). The case itself I found to be quite frustrating. The title and lead into the book are quite a bit more sensational than the book truly is (which is fine--most true crime books are extremely over the top). The case itself contains a lot of what is most frustrating and incorrect in our justice system. I would recommend this book to people who find true crime interesting but lean more towards In Cold Blood as opposed to the true crime written by folks who work for serial killer websites.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Solid account of a late 1950s murder. The author is a former reporter so it's no surprise that much of the material comes from old newspaper stories (plus a hearty dollop from the memoirs of the accused's lawyer). The resolution gets a bit murky because of some local politics, but it's a decent read.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a toddler during this event so I don't recall anything first hand. Interesting story. I think I would like to read the defense attorney's memoir. I honestly don't know if she acted alone or not.

[Barbara D · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just skimmed the book

Didn't grab my interest so I just jumped ahead to the end. Wasn't what I thought it would be. Few photos and personal interest.

[Bob Hostetler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a joy to read.

[Georgette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting local history. Would like to read more by this author in the future.

[Coleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Local true crime story. Wished there would have been photos of Bill Bergen and Louise Bergen.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cincinnati Savage

I liked the book but it was a bit slower than some of the other books I've read. I would have like to read about the trial of the husband of the nudes victim.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love true crime stories and I love Cincinnati history. What could be better than a Cincinnati True Crime story? A quick and interesting read. Now I'm off to read some of the other works cited within this particular text.