This story has a little something for everyone: whether you like stories about true crime, revenge, unrequited love, redemption, superstition, insanity, ghosts, or crazy people, there’s something here for you!

At the age of 43, Charles Wawsen decided to leave his native Poland and head across the Atlantic in search of fortune and adventure. He spent six years in Argentina working as a farmhand. At the end of that time, he decided to immigrate again to join his brothers in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania.

In Pennsylvania, Charles got work in a mine and befriended some other Polish immigrants who were living and working in the Shenandoah area. They told him of a girl they knew back in the old country by the name of Mary Bolinsky. His imagination was fired by visions of his life with this beautiful young woman and, now nearing 50, Charles rather liked the idea of bringing over a wife from Poland. He communicated with Mary through their mutual friends and arranged to pay her fare over to the United States. Charles believed they would get married. It’s less clear what Mary’s plans were but she must have been aware of Charles’ thoughts.

When Mary arrived from Poland in 1907, she met all of Charles’ expectations. She was pretty and a good deal younger than him—only 16 years old, in fact. Charles liked her enormously. Mary liked Charles, too. The problem for Charles was that Mary liked a lot of the men she met in Shenandoah. According to the Republicanand Herald, other men, including one of Wawsen’s own brothers, were “enamored of the girl, and paid attention to her.” The paper explained there was nothing unusual about it, given that men greatly outnumbered women in Shenandoah.

The picturesque town of Shenandoah, PA, circa 1900

Over time, Charles sensed Mary was becoming cooler toward him and he resented it. He was sure all of the men hanging around the girl were trying to steal her away and imagined they were putting ideas into her head that he was too old for her. On a fine day in mid-May, Charles confronted Mary and accused her of spending his money with another man. Mary had had enough of Charles’ possessiveness. She told him bluntly that she didn’t want anything more to do with him. He wasn’t to come to see her anymore.

Charles Wawsen had some admirable talents but none of them involved being able to take a hint. In response to Mary’s command that he stay away, Charles asked the girl to sign a wedding contract with him. To his great surprise, Mary refused his request definitively.

Charles frowned. He told Mary that he had paid for her to move to the United States and that he had done it so they could get married. He told her, still speaking calmly, that he would kill her if she didn’t go through with the plan and marry him that weekend.

Feeling relieved that he had cleared up any misunderstanding on Mary’s part, Charles returned home feeling buoyant and happy. As far as he was concerned, he and Mary were both eagerly anticipating their wedding that weekend. Their last conversation didn’t worry him a bit. Throughout the week, he cheerily announced to his friends that he and Miss Bolinsky would be getting married in a few days’ time. When Saturday came, he shaved, put on his best clothes, and went to Mary’s home.

Mary pulled open the door and stared at Charles in surprise. “Will you go to church with me to be married?” he asked, offering his arm to her.

The girl stared at him. She thought she had been pretty clear with Charles but it was obvious he was unwilling to accept what she had said. Feeling frustrated, she told him bluntly: “I am not going to marry you.” Mary further informed Charles that she planned to marry his brother, because he was younger and she liked him better.

Charles Wawsen stared at her, no more understanding her words that if they had been spoken in Swahili. Only after Mary repeated herself several times did it suddenly dawn on him what she was saying. “If you don’t marry me,” he said, as he pulled a revolver from his pocket, “you won’t marry anyone.”

Mary shrieked and bolted past Charles. After a moment, he began to run after her. Mary’s house was right on the main road and she ran only a few feet before turning into the saloon. Charles came in just in time see her making for the back door.

He fired his gun twice but fortunately his aim was erratic. One shot hit the chandelier, another lodged in the ceiling. Charles, still in hot pursuit, caught up to Mary just as he managed to wrench the back door open. He shot Mary in the head, fatally wounding her. Then he turned the gun on himself, but it misfired. Charles panicked and fled.

Go to Part 2