Sunderland Murder: The Trial of Jacob Frederich Ehlert, For the..

1839. Murder at Sea [Trial]. Ehlert, Jacob Frederich, Defendant. Sunderland Murder. The Trial of Jacob Frederich Ehlert, For the Murder of Capt. Johan Fredrick Berkholdz, Of the Ship Phoenix, While Asleep in his Cabin, On the Night of the 12th of June, 1839. Convicted on the Evidence of his Accomplice, Daniel Fredrick Muller. With an Account of His Execution. &c. Durham: Printed by George Walker, 1839. 24 pp. Octavo (6-3/4" x 3-3/4"). Unsewn pamphlet, edges untrimmed. Light toning, light foxing in a few places, light soiling to edges, light edgewear to bottom edge, fold line to bottom right corner of final leaf, which is starting to separate at ends but secure. $450. * Only edition. Ehlert, a sailor on the Norwegian brigantine Phoenix, murdered the ship's captain, Johann Friedrich Berkholdz, while he was sleeping and threw the body overboard. The apparent motive was robbery, as Muller, his accomplice and a witness to the event, later testified. Our account concerns Ehlert's trial and execution and ends with a poignant description of Captain Berkholdz's tombstone and the epitaph there. OCLC locates 8 copies, 4 in North America (Harvard, Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, Princeton).