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Deadly Intent – Season 1, Episode 10

Imagine dying of tuberculosis at 22, your body laid to rest in a mausoleum by your grieving family. Now imagine that your death wasn't the end---that a man who claimed to love you stole your body, took it home, and spent seven years replacing your decomposing flesh with wire, wax, and silk, dressing you in your wedding gown, and sleeping beside your preserved corpse. This is the true story of Elena Milagro de Hoyos and the man who couldn't let her go.

In this haunting episode of Deadly Intent, host Carman Carrion examines one of the most bizarre and disturbing cases in American true crime history: the story of Carl Tanzler, a German-born radiologist who became so obsessed with a young tuberculosis patient that he stole her corpse and lived with it for seven years in Key West, Florida. Between 1933 and 1940, Tanzler meticulously preserved Elena's body, maintaining the illusion that she was still alive, while her family searched for answers about their daughter's disturbed grave.

Through court records, medical testimony, and contemporaneous newspaper accounts, we explore how delusion, obsession, and necrophilia intersected in a case that shocked Depression-era America. We'll examine how Tanzler justified his actions through claims of supernatural romance and spiritual communication. We'll investigate the medical techniques he used to preserve Elena's body---techniques that reveal a chilling level of premeditation. And we'll confront the most disturbing question: How did he get away with it?

This is the story of a man whose obsession transcended death itself---and the young woman who became a prisoner even in her grave.

CONTENT WARNING
This episode contains discussions of death, necrophilia, body desecration, obsessive behavior, and disturbing preservation techniques. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

#TrueCrime #CarlTanzler #DeadlyIntent #Necrophilia #ObsessiveLove

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