If you have visited Veazie.org recently, please REFRESH this page to ensure you have the latest update for this page
Family of Arthur E RACKOW and Leona May BIDELER
Arthur E RACKOW b. 1900 Apr 265136 at Eden, WI5136. d. 1973 Nov 35136 at St Agnes Hosp., Fond du Lac, WI5136. bd. North Lamartine Cem., Fond du Lac, WI5136.
Leona May BIDELER b. 1901~5131 at Wisconsin5131. d. 1929 May 235134 at at a hospital, Fond Du Lac, WI5134.
Married5134 1922 Sep 265136 at Fond Du Lac, WI5136. In the series of articles regarding the death of Leona Rackow, and the subsequent trials of her husband Arthur Rackow, charged with her murder by poisoning, it is mentioned in a May, 1929, article that Arthur had moved from Eden to Fond du Lac "about seven years ago" and married "Miss Leona Elsie Bideler of Fond du Lac, and five years ago, they went on the farm with Mr. Rackow's father and mother." The obituary5136 for Arthur E Rackow mentions his first wife, Leona Bideler, and the date and place of their marriage.
Following the death of his first wife, Leona Bideler, Arthur married second5136 Jun 27, 1957, in Oshkosh, WI, Sophia Hielsberg.
Arthur was a farmer in the Lamartine area until he retired in 1962. He died Nov 3, 1973, in St Agnes Hosp., Fond du Lac, WI. He was survived by his widow, one daughter, Mrs Leo Jagdfeld, and two grandchildren.
In the period from May, 1929, to May, 1930, a series of articles in the Sheboygan (WI) Press, The Capital (Madison, WI) Times, and The Daily Oshkosh (WI) Northwestern (all newspaperarchive.com), related the story of the death of Leona "Elsie" (Bideler) Rackow, and the subsequent trials (plural) of her husband, Arthur E Rackow, who was charged with first degree murder in the poisoning of his wife.
On May 22, 1939, Mrs Arthur Rackow took ill at their home in Eden, WI, and was taken to a hospital in Fond du Lac. She died there the following day. An autopsy revealed that her viscera contained poison in sufficient quantity to have caused her death. Her husband, Arthur Rackow, was charged with the first degree murder of his wife, by poisoning.\
In the months that followed, testimony for the prosecution and defense was detailed in the newspapers. The jury, however, could not reach a unanimous verdict after 26 hours of deliberation, and, on Nov 23, 1929, Judge Edward Voigt discharged the circuit court jury. The judge stated the jury was "hopelessly deadlocked," after some 17 ballots were taken with various results. A mistrial was declared and Arthur Rackow was to be tried again.
During the second trial, additional evidence was presented, including information that Arthur Rackow supposedly had a relationship with a young school teacher during a several week period prior to Leona's death..He apparently had several times visited several times the young lady at a boarding house. In addition, Arthur and the young lady had rented adjacent rooms at a hotel for several days. In any case, on Jan 26, 1930, following over 28 hours of deliberation, the jury for that second trial could reach a verdict, and was dismissed by Circuit Judge E V Werner. A mistrial was declared, and Arthur was to be tried yet a third time for Leona's murder.
Children of Arthur E RACKOW and Leona May BIDELER:
| 1. | Jeanette E RACKOW5134 b. 1925 Sep 55137 at Wisconsin5134. d. 2009 Aug 175137 at Fond du Lac, WI5137. bd. Calvary Cem., Fond du Lac, WI840. | ||||
| md. Leo JAGDFELD |