Madge Oberholtzer

Madge Augustine Oberholtzer (November 10, 1896 – April 14, 1925) was an American woman whose rape and murder played a critical role in the demise of the second incarnation of the Ku Klux Klan. In March 1925, while working for the state of Indiana on an adult literacy campaign, she was kidnapped by D. C. Stephenson, Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan. Holding her captive in his private train car, he raped and tortured her. She died from a combination of a staphylococcal infection from her injuries and kidney failure from mercury chloride poisoning, which she took while held captive in an attempt to commit suicide.

Following the suicide attempt, Stephenson's men returned Oberholtzer to her home, assuming her injuries would soon prove fatal and believing their influential leader was immune to any prosecution. However, his victim regained consciousness long enough to give a signed statement to police. She described Stephenson's assaults which led to his conviction at trial and led to the rapid decline of KKK membership in Indiana.

Born to German-American parents, Oberholtzer grew up in Indianapolis, where her father worked as a postal clerk and her family belonged to the Irvington Methodist Church. She studied English, mathematics, zoology and logic at Butler College in Irvington, but dropped out at the end of her junior year without saying why. Through her life, Oberholtzer lived with her parents in the Irvington area of Indianapolis. By the time she met Stephenson, she was the manager of the Indiana Young People's Reading Circle, a special section of the Indiana Department of Public Instruction. However, she heard rumors that her job and the Reading Circle program were about to be eliminated due to budget cuts.

Oberholtzer met her murderer while attending Indiana Governor Edward L. Jackson's inauguration party at the Athletic Club on January 12, 1925. In her dying statement, Oberholtzer said Stephenson asked her for a date several times after the banquet, but she refused. However, she eventually agreed and they had dinner together. Following that date, Stephenson called Oberholtzer on the phone several times. She finally agreed to meet him for dinner at the Washington Hotel in Indianapolis.

...
Wikipedia