Murder in Victorian Dayton: The Tragic Story of Bessie Little

A sad and shocking story of love betrayed

The murder of Bessie Little and the trial of her murderer rocked Victorian Dayton. Believing herself pregnant and desperate to save her reputation, young Bessie tried to force her boyfriend, Albert Frantz, to marry her quickly. Instead, he took her out for a buggy ride, shot her twice in the head and dumped her body in the river. When she was discovered, he tried to convince everyone that she committed suicide. The dramatic trial brought to light details of Bessie and Albert’s secret trysts, and Albert’s sanity became a point of contention.

In her third historical book about Dayton, Sara Kaushal delves into a tale of scandal and betrayal to discover the truth.

Sara Kaushal is a Dayton historian, the author of Murder & Mayhem in Dayton and the Miami Valley and Dayton Ghosts & Legends and the primary author of the blog Dayton Unknown. She loves historic true crime, mysteries and ghost stories and can’t drive through Dayton without pointing out at least one haunted place. She has a bookshelf full of books she intends to read one day, when she’s not researching or writing. Sara can be contacted for events and questions at authorsarakaushal@gmail.com.