The Opera House Murder // 141

Going West: True Crime

In 1980, a 31-year-old violinist performed the first act of a ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House before disappearing during intermission. When the show came to a close and all that was left of her was her instrument, police scoured the dark and seemingly never-ending theater until she was found murdered. Between suspicious stage hands, a ballerina undergoing hypnosis for investigators, and newspaper headlines that read “The Real Life Phantom of the Opera”, this baffling murder mystery shocked New York City to its core. This is the story of Helen Hagnes, also known as The Opera House Murder.

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CASE SOURCES

https://www.newspapers.com/image/114285078/?terms=Helen%20hagnes%20canada&match=1

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/07/26/death-of-a-violinist/4b994824-5132-4700-8b51-0dc40151664e/

https://www.thestrad.com/playing-and-teaching/remembering-helen-hagnes-after-40-years/10938.article

https://www.geni.com/people/Helen-Karin-Mintiks/6000000031016587092

https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1981/6/15/true-confessions

https://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/crimmins-craig.htm

https://www.facebook.com/PLMCentrs/photos/janis-mintiks-sculptures-prints-and-installations-on-view-at-the-global-center-f/2383988201885454/

https://www.abbynews.com/obituaries/mauritz-hagnes/

https://casetext.com/case/mintiks-v-metropolitan-opera

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