Urban Napoleon Stanger was a successful baker, an industrious German man, and married to a woman who was the source of rumours and gossip along the streets of Whitechapel. And then he disappeared.
Urban and his wife Elizabeth were German immigrants who ran a successful bakery in the Whitechapel area of London, moving there in 1880. Their friend, Christian Zengler was also a baker, though his business hadn’t been doing so well. He closed up shop, and proceeded to be far more successful working alongside his friend.
It wasn’t long before another close family friend, Franz Felix Stumm, also came along to work at the bakery. Stumm was a married man. And Elizabeth a married woman. But rumours started spreading around that they were on rather intimate terms. It is unknown whether Urban knew of the affair between his wife and his friend.
On the night of November 12th, 1881, Zengler noticed Urban standing outside his shop with three other men, one of whom was Stumm. It was the last time he saw Urban.
The following day, Elizabeth Stanger told customers at the bakery that her husband had gone away on urgent business. She told them that he had returned to Germany. Customers and gossips alike seemed to think that Elizabeth wasn’t really missing her husband very much.
Tongues really started to wag when neighbours noticed that Stumm had moved in with Elizabeth. They were often seen walking arm-in-arm to and from the bakery, which was still thriving in Urban’s absence. Elizabeth didn’t seem to think that her husband would be coming back at all. The sign on the shop proclaiming ownership soon changed from U. N. Stanger to F. F. Stumm.
In April of 1882, some people were getting suspicious. There was a notice going around, offering a reward for information. The notice was asking for information pertaining to the whereabouts of Urban Napoleon Stanger, who had “mysteriously disappeared” in November.
Elizabeth and Stumm weren’t about to get off without repercussions. In October of 1882, Elizabeth was arrested on fraud and forgery charges. It was found that Urban, in his will, had left everything to Elizabeth. But there was a stipulation – she wasn’t to remarry. Though not strictly disregarding her husband’s words, Elizabeth’s involvement with Stumm was a clear violation of the will. Stumm was also arrested and charged.
During the trial, Elizabeth did her best to tarnish her husband’s good name. She claimed that she had no idea where he was. She told the court that he’d left the house after they’d had a fight, and she hadn’t seen him since, which was quite different to the story she told customers at the bakery.
Elizabeth also stated that Stumm had been a good family friend, and he was simply supporting her during these dark times. He was helping her through her mourning period. She missed her husband dearly – but business had to go on, and Stumm was good for business. The courts must had bought the act, because the charges against her were dropped.
Stumm, on the other hand, still faced trial. He was found guilty of fraud and forgery charges in regards to the bakery’s transfer of ownership, and the courts sentenced him to 10 years of hard labour.
Elizabeth was not a popular woman when she returned to the streets of Whitechapel. She was hissed at by passersby, and rumours ran rampant. Urban Napoleon Stanger hadn’t been seen since the night of November 12th, 1881. His body has never been found.
In a Sweeney Todd twist, the rumour mill around Whitechapel believed that Elizabeth had asked Stumm to help her dispatch her husband. He was then used as filling for meat pies sold in the bakery.
Whether the rumours are fact or fiction, the disappearance of Urban Napoleon Stanger remains a Whitechapel mystery.
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Sources:
The Mammoth Book of Bizarre Crimes – Robin Odell