Lovers and Liars: Liilie Duer and Ella Hearn

Tea Time Crimes

In Maryland 1878, Lillie Duer was reported to have accidentally shot her best friend and lover, Ella Hearn. As Ella fought for her life, the story of an accident quickly devolved into a suspicion of murder. Follow along as we pull apart the pieces of this love story gone wrong.

The Anti-Violence Project: serves people who are LGBTQ; Hotline [phone], Bilingual 24/7

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800.799.SAFE (7233)

Tea of the Day: Chai Imperial

Theme Music by Brad Frank

This episode was sponsored by Apex Magazine

Sources:

• “Maryland Items.” The Baltimore Sun, Tue, Nov 12, 1878, Page 3, https://www.newspapers.com/image/374433821/
• “The Peril of Playing with a Pistol.” Richmond Dispatch (From the Baltimore Evening Bulletin,Nov 11th), Wed, Nov 13, 1878, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/466177517/
• “A Young Girl Shoots Her Lady Friend.” The New York Times (From the Baltimore Bulletin, Dec 7), Mon, Dec 09, 1878, Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/20379374/
• “A Shooting Case.” The Daily Gazette (From the Phila Time to-day), Mon, Dec 09, 1878, Page 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/466227782/
• “Fatal Result of Shooting in Pocomoke City.” Smyrna Times (Balt. Sun), Wed, Dec 11, 1878, Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/882249754/
• “The Duer-Hearn Shooting Case in Worcester County, MD.” The Baltimore Sun, Wed, Dec 11, 1878, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/374434110/
• “A Girl’s Abnormal Passion.” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Fri, Dec 13, 1878, Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/50424222/
• Vassar, LGBTQ Studies, https://library.vassar.edu/lgbt/smashing
• “Remarkable Tragedy.” The Daily Gazette, Fri, Dec 13, 1878, Page 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/466227881/
• “Shooting the Girl She Loved.” Intelligencer Journal, Fri, Dec 13, 1878, Page 3, https://www.newspapers.com/image/557099808/
• “The Hearn-Duer Mystery.” The Morning Herald, Fri, Dec 13, 1878, Page 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/466248158/
• “The Duer-Hearn Tragedy.” The New York Times. Thu, May 15, 1879,Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/20360812/
• Human Rights Campaign, “Common Myths about LGBTQ Domestic Violence.” by HRC Staff, October 18, 2017, https://www.hrc.org/news/common-myths-about-lgbtq-domestic-violence
• BBC News, “Is violence more common in same-sex relationships?” By Joanna Jolly, BBC News Washington, November 18th, 2014, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29994648
• “Miss Duer Indicted.” The News Journal, Thu, May 22, 1879, Page 3, https://www.newspapers.com/image/153959110/
• “Miss Duer Indicted.” Daily Republican (Snow Hill, MD), Fri, May 23, 1879, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/466346186/
• “The Duer-Hearn Tragedy.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, Thu, May 29, 1879, Page 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/167863491/
• “The Pocomoke City Tragedy.” The Baltimore Sun, Fri, May 30, 1879, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/372015387/
• “The Pocomoke Tragedy.” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sun, Jun 01, 1879, Page 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/50349774/
• “Miss Duer’s Trial.” The Philadelphia Times, Sun, Jun 01, 1879, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/52216542/
• “That Strange Tragedy.” Democrat and Chronicle, Mon, Jun 02, 1879, Page 3, https://www.newspapers.com/image/135237305/
• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Tue, Jun 03, 1879, Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/50349793/
• “The Pocomoke City Tragedy.” The Baltimore Sun, Wed, Jun 04, 1879, Page 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/372016807/
• “Pocomoke Tragedy.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sat, Jun 07, 1879, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/167864518/
• “Did the Doctors Kill Her.” The Philadelphia Times, Mon, Jun 16, 1879, Page 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/52216783/
• “Pocomoke.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, Tue, Jun 17, 1879, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/167865564/
• “The Duer Trial.” The Philadelphia Times, Thu, Jun 19, 1879, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/52216813/
• “Lilly Duer’s Crime.”The Daily Memphis Avalanche, Fri, Jun 20, 1879, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/587089362/
• “Miss Duer At Home.” The Baltimore Sun, Mon, Jun 23, 1879,Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/372022692/
• “Sentence of Lillie Duer.” Staunton Spectator, Tue, Jun 24, 1879, Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/72176960/
• “Lillie Duer Finds a Husband.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, Tue, Nov 15, 1881, Page 8, https://www.newspapers.com/image/247854551/
• “Pocomoke City Jottings.” Democratic Messenger, Sat, Nov 19, 1881 ·Page 3, https://www.newspapers.com/image/623918645/
• Reading Times, Wed, Jul 02, 1879, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/46437112/
• Detroit Free Press, Sun, Jul 20, 1879 ·Page 5, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1049404622/
• “Lillie Duer’s Story.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sat, Jun 14, 1879, Page 1, https://philly.newspapers.com/image/167865277/
• Forgotten Stories, “Lillie’s and Ella’s Tragic Lover’s Quarrel.” by ROGERSACHAR on FEBRUARY 24, 2013, https://forgottenstories.net/2013/02/24/lillie-and-ellas-tragic-lovers-quarrel/