The Haunted Graves of Andrew Hellman’s Victims

Huntsville, Ohio

Harrod Cemetery is located off a quiet road in Logan County, Ohio. Addresses place it in both Huntsville, Ohio and Bellefontaine, Ohio, but what matters are the graves that lie within it. Despite the year ‘1898″ on the sign at the entrance to the cemetery, many of the burials took place decades before, including a series of Hellmans who died tragically in 1839.

It’s said that their spirits, as well as the ghost of their murderer still walk the cemetery at night.

Andrew Hellman Starts His Family

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In the days before mental health care (or any kind of modern health care at all, really) it’s hard to say what was wrong with Andrew Hellman and what led him to poison his children, take an axe to his first wife, and smother his second spouse, but the word “evil” comes to mind.

It all started in 1820. After immigrating to the United States from Germany in 1817, Hellman spent some time in Baltimore before finding himself boarding at a farm in Loudoun County, Virginia. The owner of the farm, George Abel, had a 20-year-old daughter named Mary. Andrew, in his late 20s at the time, met Mary and you know how that went. The two married in 1821, despite the soon-to-be-obvious red flags: Andrew’s immense hatred towards women and his unstable mental state.

Mary and Andrew quickly had two children, a girl, Louisa, born in 1822, and a son, Henry, in 1823. Andrew hated Louisa, probably because she was a girl, and he accused his wife of cheating on him, stating that Henry was fathered by another man, despite having no proof of the infidelity. He called Mary a “harlot” and claimed to disown his son.

Things spiraled further in 1827, when the couple had another child, John. For some reason, this incensed Andrew even more, and he threatened to kill his wife if she had another child. Thankfully, this period included Andrew spending months away from home, allowing the family to live in peace and quiet until his inevitable return.

The 1839 Murders by Andrew Hellman

Things got worse for the Hellman family in 1836 when they moved to Logan County, Ohio. Andrew’s moods got worse and, three years later, a tragedy befell the family when all three of their children suddenly became sick. Henry survived, but Louisa and John did not. Mary accused Andrew of poisoning them. He denied it, but his next action destroyed his credibility even further.

In September of 1839, Andrew sent his surviving child, Henry over to a farm owned by Mary’s brother George. Several days later, George’s wife, Rachel went over to visit her sister-in-law, only to find a gruesome scene: Mary, dead and lying in a pool of her own blood, and Andrew, alive with blood smeared all over him.

The coroner’s jury determined that Andrew killed his wife with an axe, almost severing her head from her body, before covering himself with her blood to make the scene look as though someone had attacked him as well. However, he didn’t have any visible wounds, so he was (rightfully) charged with her murder.

Andrew Hellman spent fourteen months in a Belfont, Ohio jail before escaping through an unlocked door. He fled to Baltimore County, Maryland, changed his name to Adam Horn, and married a teenager, Melinda Horn. His new identity seemed to work until he fell back into his murderous habits.

Andrew Hellman Becomes Adam Horn

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His actions in April 1843 proved to be his final downfall. He claimed that his new wife, Melinda, vanished one night in her nightgown. Looking for her, Melinda’s sister made a horrible discovery: her sister’s dismembered body in a cloth sack that had been discarded in a ditch about a half mile from the Horn home.

By that time, Andrew Hellman/Adam Horn had fled to Philadelphia. The police caught up with him and alerted the Logan County sheriff as well as the Baltimore authorities. Hellman was found guilty of the murder of Melinda Horn and then put to death by hanging the following year. He never made it to trial in Ohio.

Final Resting Places

Mary Hellman, as well as her children, Louisa and John, are buried close together in Harrod Cemetery. According to rumors, Andrew Hellman is buried there, too, and has a headstone that eerily glows at night. However, there are no corresponding cemetery records for him. The only Andrew Hellman on that list is one who died in 1882 at age 69 and was married to an Elizabeth Hellman. Those dates don’t add up. It’s possible he was buried in Ohio, but his body might be in Maryland where he was put to death. Either way, he left behind a horrible legacy as a family annihilator.