Erroneously Identified Elsewhere as an Abortion Death

On February 1, 1896, the headless body of a young pregnant woman was found on a farm near Ft. Thomas, Kentucky. At first, authorities believed that since she was found so near the fort, the victim must be a prostitute or dance hall girl killed by one of the soldiers.
Like Cinderella, though, the dead woman’s identity was pinpointed by her tiny and unusual footwear. In this case, the shoes were not glass slippers, but cloth-topped little boots in a size three. A local shoe store owner contacted the manufacturer and found that there had been only one pair of size three boots in that lot. Those boots had been purchased in Greencastle, Indiana, by Pearl Bryan.

My original research indicated suspicions that Pearl had died from an attempt at an abortion, but subsequent resources that have become available indicate that she was murdered, possibly due to the pregnancy.