Emeline Cigrand, a young woman born in 1868 in Lafayette, Indiana, met a tragic fate in December 1892 in Chicago, Illinois. At the time of her death, she was approximately 24 years old. Emeline was employed as a stenographer and later became the personal secretary to H. H. Holmes, a notorious figure known for his crimes during the late 19th century.
Her association with Holmes ultimately led to her presumed murder.
Holmes, infamous for his so-called 'Murder Castle,' lured Emeline to work for him with promises of a doubled salary and a bright future. However, she never escaped his grasp. Reports suggest that Holmes sealed her inside an airtight vault within his establishment. Years later, investigators discovered a footprint etched into the metal door of the vault, believed to be Emeline's. Some accounts theorize that the floor had been treated with acid, and in a desperate attempt to escape, she left the mark by kicking the door.
Following her death, Emeline's body was never recovered. Instead, it was reportedly sold to LaSalle Medical College of Chicago by Holmes, a practice he allegedly engaged in with multiple victims. Holmes later confessed to various murders, though the exact circumstances surrounding Emeline's death remain speculative. While Holmes was eventually convicted for other crimes, including the murder of Benjamin Pitezel, Emeline's case was never fully litigated in court. Her name remains among the assumed victims of Holmes, whose reign of terror left many unanswered questions.
