Murder of Bertha Schippan

Murder of Bertha Schippan
	At the Towitta Inquest. Detective Fraser completing Mary Schippan's statement. The Coroner is looking tired. Time 7 p.m.
Date	1 January 1902
Location	Towitta, South Australia
Coordinates	34°30′03.3″S 139°15′45.9″E / 34.500917°S 139.262750°E
Type	Murder
Motive	Unknown
Target	Bertha Schippan
First reporter	Mary Schippan
Coroner	Mr. Miligan, J.P.
Accused	Mary Schippan
Verdict	Not guilty

The murder of Johanne Elizabeth "Bertha" Schippan (January 1888 – 1 January 1902) is an unsolved Australian murder. The victim, the youngest child in a large Wendish family, resided in the South Australian town of Towitta, located approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Sedan. She was murdered on the night of 1 January 1902, at the age of 13.^[3] Her 24-year-old sister, Maria “Mary” Auguste (10 Sept 1877 – 4 July 1919), was prosecuted for the crime but was eventually acquitted. Despite various theories, the case remains unsolved and continues to attract media attention.^[4]

Circumstances of the crime

Bertha and Mary's parents, Matthes and Johanne, had left that day to visit relatives in Eden Valley. Three other siblings were away working on other farms, and the sisters' two younger brothers had decided to sleep in a nearby barn that night, leaving Bertha and Mary alone in the house. Mary claimed she awoke at 10 pm to find a bearded man lying across her chest.^[5] After wriggling free, she escaped the house to raise the alarm with her brothers, leaving her sister Bertha behind. Her brothers raised the alarm, finally notifying the local constable, but Bertha was found the next day violently murdered, having been stabbed and slashed around 40 times.^[6]

Inquest and trial

"Miss Mary Augustus Schippan, charged with the murder of her sister, Bertha". (Mary's middle name was actually "Auguste". This was likely a typo made by the writer.)

The inquest into Bertha's death, headed by the local Coroner, Dr Ramsey Smith,^[7] was held shortly afterwards, with suspicion quickly falling on Mary.^[5] Given the lack of contrary evidence, she was committed to stand trial in Adelaide.^[8]

At the trial before Chief Justice Sir Samuel Way, which commenced in March 1902, Mary was represented by Sir Josiah Symon K.C.^[9] The case was reported on extensively in the newspapers.^[10] Mary, who had been remanded in Adelaide Gaol,^[11] was finally acquitted, due to there only being circumstantial evidence of her guilt.^[12]

The nature of the case, and the lack of a conviction, led to media speculation that Mary’s father, who had a history of violence, or her boyfriend, 21-year-old Gustav Nitschke,^[13]^[14] could have been responsible.^[15] While both of them had possible motives in preventing Bertha from revealing incriminating evidence, Nitschke had an alibi that he was in Adelaide, and it was deemed unlikely that Matthes could have ridden to the scene of the crime and back again in the dark.

Media

In 1984, a film about the murder called The Schippan Mystery, was released. Directed by Di Drew, it was the last of four telemovies called Verdict produced by the ABC dramatising real Australian cases. A number of books and documentaries covering the case were later produced.

References

^ "Police Map" showing relevant sites in the Towitta area (Map). The Towitta Tragedy. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
^ "Photo from the Mary Schippan trial". State Library of South Australia. B 75311. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
^ Royal, Simon (19 February 2017). "'Sensational' Towitta murder mystery of 1902 keeping residents guessing to this day". Retrieved 25 September 2018.
^ O'Rielly, Michelle (6 October 2017). "Murder tale resurfaces". Barossa & Light Herald. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Towitta Murder". The Telegraph. No. 9, 099. Queensland, Australia. 18 January 1902. p. 9. Retrieved 25 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Royal, Simon (19 February 2017). "'Sensational' Towitta murder mystery of 1902 as compelling as ever". ABC News. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
^ Bertha Schippan's Head Never in Dr. Smith's Possession, The Advertiser, (Monday, 24 August 1903), p.4.
^ "MARY SCHIPPAN A PRISONER". The Express and Telegraph. Vol. XXXIX, no. 11, 475. South Australia. 11 January 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 26 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "THE TOWITTA TRAGEDY". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXVII, no. 17, 260. South Australia. 10 March 1902. p. 6. Retrieved 26 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "The Towitta Tragedy - Trial of Mary Schippan". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXVII, no. 17, 260. South Australia. 10 March 1902. p. 6. Retrieved 26 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Mary Schippan". ADELAIDE GAOL HERITAGE. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
^ "MARY SCHIPPAN ACQUITTED!". Adelaide Observer. Vol. LIX, no. 3, 154. South Australia. 15 March 1902. p. 24. Retrieved 26 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "THE SCHIPPAN CASE". Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931). 2 May 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
^ "THE SCHIPPAN CASE". Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931). 7 May 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
^ Pocius, Daina (11 April 2018). "South Australian True Crime: Unsolved murder mystery solved". Archived from the original on 12 March 2021.