S13 E13 - MURDERESS - The 33-Year Fight to Clear Nellie Pope

In February 1895, Detroit dentist Dr. Horace Eliot Pope was brutally murdered with an axe inside his Michigan Avenue home. William Brusseau admitted wielding the weapon—but after first claiming self-defense, he changed his story and accused Horace's wife, Nellie Pope, of planning the killing for insurance money. The sensational trial transformed Nellie into one of Detroit's most infamous “murderesses” and sent her to prison for life.

After more than two decades behind bars, Nellie walked free, still insisting she had nothing to do with her husband's murder. Then, in 1928, Michigan Governor Fred W. Green granted her a full pardon.

Was Nellie Pope the mastermind behind a cold-blooded axe murder—or did unreliable testimony and sensational Victorian journalism help condemn an innocent woman?

#MaliceInTheMitten #NelliePope #MichiganTrueCrime #DetroitHistory #HistoricalTrueCrime

Hosted, edited & produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine Mulligan

Written by Tracy Preston

Original music created exclusively for Malice in the Mitten

Original artwork by Todd Preston

Sources:

Buhk, Tobin T. Wicked Women of Detroit. History Press, 2009.

Buhk, Tobin T. “So, I Married an Axe Murderer (Detroit, Michigan, 1895).” Dark Corners of History, 23 Feb. 2017.

“Confessed! Brusseau Broke Down Completely Last Night.” Detroit Free Press, 5 Feb. 1895, p. 1.

“Horrible! Dr. Horace Eliot Pope Brutally Murdered.” Detroit Free Press, 3 Feb. 1895, p. 1.

“Murderess: Mrs. Nellie Pope So Branded by a Jury of Her Peers.” Detroit Free Press, 5 June 1895, p. 1.

“She Did It! Brusseau Makes a Renewal of His Confession.” Detroit Free Press, 6 Feb. 1895, p. 1.

“The Murder of Dr. Pope.” Detroit Free Press, 4 Feb. 1895, p. 1.

“William Brusseau Dies in Prison.” Monroe Democrat, 2 Feb. 1906, p. 8.

“Innocent Woman Vindicated.” Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle, 10 Jan. 1929.

“Mrs. Nellie Pope Found Guilty.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, 5 June 1895.

“Murderess: Three Female Killers & Their Stories.” Crime Capsule, Arcadia Publishing.

Robinson, John. “Nellie Pope, the 1895 ‘Lizzie Borden’ of Detroit.” 99.1 WFMK, 13 Aug. 2021.

“Woodlawn Cemetery.” Woodlawn Cemetery Detroit, Memorial Planning, www.woodlawncemeterydetroit.com