Victim: Louis Hilbert
Perpetrator: William Watkins
Date of Incident: 1886-08-19
Location of Incident: Center Township (Dearborn County)
It seemed like just another day at The Aurora Fair on August 19, 1886, with reported “thousands” of people in town for the festivities. Not everyone was free to leave work for the fair though, and construction proceeded for the business Barbara Rudolph, a widow through murder, was having constructed next door to the First National Bank on Second Street. Mrs. Rudolph had hired her son-in-law, Louis Hilbert, as the site supervisor and he traveled from his home in St. Louis, MO to complete the job.
For two weeks, a brick-layer named William Watkins had been working diligently on the construction, but today was different. Today, William arrived at the site drunk and cursed at Louis when he was instructed to start working. Louis told William he needed to leave the site and William brandished a knife, stabbing Louis repeatedly despite a fellow laborer, Valentine Grossman, attempting to hold William back.
This case, which directly preceded the events of Watkins | [Lynch Mob], is described in the book Haunted Dearborn County, Indiana by Mary Ellen Quigley and Rebecca D. Wilhelm. [Purchase on Amazon]
Sources
The Lawrenceburg Register (1886, August 26). Swift retribution. The Lawrenceburg Register, 3.
The Lawrenceburg Register (1886, September 23). Coroner’s inquest. The Lawrenceburg Register, 4.