Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
The love story of Wilhelm Dengler and Emilie Stadler could easily have come straight out of a soap opera script. When the handsome goldsmith from Ludwigsburg caught sight of the young, attractive Emilie Stadler at his friend’s wedding in 1845, he was instantly smitten. Wilhelm Dengler had fallen madly in love with Emilie Stadler at first sight, and she returned his advances. Two years later, their young happiness was crowned with the birth of a child—without a marriage certificate or a shared home. Emilie Stadler continued to live in Marbach, where she worked as a seamstress, while Wilhelm Dengler lived in Ludwigsburg. But their love was strong. At least on Wilhelm Dengler’s part. However, in the spring of 1848, a theater troupe came to Marbach. Among them was a young, extremely charismatic actor named Friedrich Frick, who had taken up residence directly across from Emilie’s apartment. It wasn’t long before Emilie began a passionate affair with the young man, who was brimming with joie de vivre. Wilhelm Dengler, the father of her child, was quickly forgotten. From then on, she even performed stormy love scenes on stage with her new boyfriend until her lover was fired by the theater troupe’s director due to his affair with Emilie and banished from the city. Emilie was left alone and pregnant once again. During this time, she thought of Wilhelm Dengler, who still harbored feelings for her. Soon they became a couple again, and Wilhelm Dengler even accepted the other’s child. But Emilie missed the thrill of adventure, which is why she threw herself into affairs with other men and became pregnant again. But this time, Wilhelm Dengler refused to accept another child fathered by another man. He insisted on an abortion, which failed despite medication. While Emilie tried to keep the pregnancy a secret, Wilhelm Dengler urged her daily to kill the child after birth if she truly wanted him to stay with her. Emilie promised Wilhelm this. She carried out this promise shortly after the birth. She strangled her newborn and hid it in the closet. One evening, Wilhelm took the baby out of the closet and wrapped it in a package. With this, he went to the Ludwigsburg train station, where he took the train to Esslingen. During the ride, he hid the package under the seats. But passengers had noticed the package and informed the police. When the police opened the package, they discovered the dead baby’s body, wrapped in a beautiful piece of fabric whose edges resembled a cut pattern. This piece of fabric must have come from a seamstress. With this information, the police turned to the press. The newspaper “Schwäbische Merkur” sought witnesses. In fact, the hot lead pointed to Emilie Stadler and Wilhelm Dengler. Both confessed and were sentenced to life in prison for murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Thus ended the couple’s once-great love. As the Chinese philosopher Confucius wisely observed: “Love is the spice of life. It can sweeten it, but it can also ruin it.”
