The History of Bensalem Part III: Death visits a Doctor

Murder. No other crime in the state of Pennsylvania carries the death penalty. In a quiet, pre-Civil War Bucks County one murder shook the town down to its very rural core. And it was quite a murder. Even the queen of murder mystery Agatha Christie couldn't have penned a yarn quite like this slice of Bensalem history.

The victim? One Dr. William Chapman a well-educated and highly respected member of the community. Chapman ran a boarding school in Bensalem. He was 53 years of age, wealthy, and was married to a cultured woman named Lucretia, who was nine years his junior. It seems life was full of mirth and cheer for Will Chapman – until death paid the good doctor a visit at his estate Andalusia in May 1831.

Death came in the form of Lleno Amelio Nepos y Mina, a vagrant with a seedy history and an ability to weave a fine tale out of thin air; a grifter, a conman and a crook, Mina claimed to be a victim of fraud and pulled on the heartstrings of the Chapmans. They agreed to let him stay with them for the time being. But Mina wasn't looking for mere room and board; No, Mina had his sights set on wealth.

And it wasn't just Mina that wanted something. Lucretia was enthralled by the mysterious Latin stranger with a tragic backstory. They began a passionate love affair behind William's back. It was so passionate, in fact, that the duo came up with a devious plan to stay together forever: murder.

The murder of William Chapman didn't happen in mere minutes. Rather, it happened over a series of agonizing days. The weapon of choice? Arsenic. Apparently Mina had purchased the poison from a pharmacist in Philadelphia and Lucretia was spoon-feeding it to Chapman by slipping it in his meals every night. Eventually, William called a doctor and after a painful night, was found to be in relatively good health in the morning. Mrs. Chapman didn't like that and upped the dosage before going to church for the evening.

A few hours after Mrs. Chapman returned from church, William was dead. Because the death seemed without foul play, Dr. Chapman was buried shortly thereafter. And only a few scant days after the last patch of dirt was shovel over the deceased's coffin, Mrs. Chapman and Mina were married in New York. The newlyweds came back to a very angry town.

That was all fine to Mina, though. He didn't have plans to stick around. Shortly after the wedding, Mina disappeared with Mrs. Chapman's wealth and jewelery. Lucretia was alone and ruined, but the worst of her troubles were yet to come.

Someone close to Dr. Chapman became suspicious and Chapman's body was disinterred. Medical analysis revealed that it was, indeed, poison that killed Dr. Chapman. Both guilty parties, by this time, had fled. Lucretia Chapman was found not guilty and let go. Mina, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.

After evading police in Boston, he was eventually picked up and brought to the Doylestown jail. But he escaped and evaded police only to be re-captured a few days later. After three unsuccessful suicide attempts, Mina was ultimately found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.

If the term “media circus” existed back in the 1830s, it would have been a highly appropriate word to describe the execution of Lleno Amelio Nepos y Mina. The execution occurred at noon on June 23, 1832 in front of a crowd of 10,000 on-lookers. Even the military was there.

And Lucretia? She was left with nothing. No family would take her in, she lost all money and property, and died twenty years later in Florida.

Most of the information about this murder came from J.H. Battle's The History of Bucks County. Another interesting source can be found at the Bucks County History blog. A full book on the case, which gives conflicting information with Battle's account, can also be read on Google Books as well as an article on Philly.com

For the next installment, be prepared to learn about the history of Bensalem during the Civil War.