On this day, March 15, in 1925, D.C. Stephenson, a wealthy political figure in Indiana and a high-ranking member of the Ku Klux Klan, kidnapped and raped schoolteacher Madge Oberholtzer. It all led to her suicide attempt and eventual death. Oberholtzer achieved national attention by naming Stephenson as her attacker before she died.
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In the 1920s, the Klan was at its height, with as many as 250,000 members in Indiana. Stephenson, the Grand Dragon for 23 northern states, met Oberholtzer through the governor he helped elect.
Stephenson took her into his private train car and repeatedly raped her, leaving bite marks all over her body. When Oberholtzer protested, Stephenson replied, “I am the law!”
He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life. The publicity from the case led a crackdown on the Klan.
– Scott McCabe
