Anna Allas and the Munhall Insurance Poisoning Case
Overview
Anna Allas was a Pennsylvania woman who became the central figure in one of the most sensational murder investigations in western Pennsylvania during the early 1930s. Living in Munhall, near Pittsburgh, she was closely associated with her neighbor, Mary Chalfa. Prosecutors alleged that the two women worked together in a scheme to murder family members and others for life insurance money. The investigation also involved fortune teller Gizella Young, whose testimony became an important part of the prosecution's case. Newspapers of the period described the affair as an "insurance murder" conspiracy and emphasized claims of poison, superstition, and financial motive.
The Crimes
Authorities alleged that Allas and Chalfa used poison to kill or attempt to kill multiple victims in order to collect insurance proceeds. The investigation expanded after suspicions arose over the death of Andrew Allas, whose life had been insured for a substantial amount. Detectives later connected other suspicious deaths to the same group. During the highly publicized 1933 trial, prosecutors argued that the murders were carefully planned and motivated by financial gain. Testimony included claims that poison had been obtained for the purpose of eliminating unwanted relatives and that the conspirators expected to benefit from insurance policies after the victims' deaths.
Anna Allas and Mary Chalfa were ultimately convicted of the murder of Stephen Allas. Both women received life sentences. Although additional deaths were investigated and discussed during the trial, not every alleged victim resulted in a murder conviction, and some allegations remained unproven in court.
Known and Alleged Victims
- Stephen Allas – Age 12. Died on December 22, 1931 in Munhall, Pennsylvania. Anna Allas' stepson. Prosecutors alleged he was poisoned for insurance money. Anna Allas and Mary Chalfa were convicted of his murder.
- Andrew Allas – Age 16. Died on April 8, 1932 in Munhall, Pennsylvania. Anna Allas' stepson. His death triggered the major insurance investigation after authorities questioned the large amount of insurance carried on his life. His body was exhumed during the investigation, but no murder conviction was obtained for his death.
- Richard Dunyava – Approximately 20 months old. Died in March 1932 in Munhall, Pennsylvania. The child had been boarded with Mary Chalfa. Investigators alleged he was poisoned while under her care as part of the broader insurance scheme, but no conviction resulted for his death.
- Jozsef "Joseph" Mantyo – Anna Allas' first husband. Born Josephus Mantyo on March 10, 1880 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, Mantyo died 3 years before investigation in Homestead, Pennsylvania at the age of 48. Investigators later examined his death as potentially suspicious because insurance money had been collected, but his death was never the subject of a murder conviction.
Attempted Victims
- Stella Chalfa – Survived an alleged poisoning and assault on June 17, 1932 in Munhall, Pennsylvania. The incident helped launch the broader police investigation into the alleged insurance murder conspiracy.
Aftermath
The case attracted widespread newspaper coverage because of its unusual combination of alleged poisonings, insurance fraud, and testimony involving fortune telling and Old World superstitions. Anna Allas and Mary Chalfa were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Stephen Allas. Anna Allas remained incarcerated until her death in prison in 1951. The Munhall poisoning case remains one of Pennsylvania's most notable murder prosecutions of the early twentieth century because of the number of suspicious deaths investigated and the extraordinary claims presented during the trial.
