I am an avid genealogist. The past is very important to me. I spend a lot of time in cemeteries photographing tombstones to upload on website the FindAGrave.
I enjoy recognizing long dead people by putting memorials to them online. However, every once and a while something grabs me about a specific grave. It could be the name, or the dates or a ceramic photo. In those cases, I feel compelled to dig a little deeper. That's what this series of blogs is about: The tales behind those graves. Some of my subjects will be heroes. Some will be villains. Some will be victims. And some will linger in between, like most of us. However, don't be surprised if the tales are inherently tragic. These are grave tales. They all end in death.
My friend Kathleen Glancy Milstein asked me to research Regina Marie LaBanz Milewski. She went down the rabbit hole called Findagrave and discovered Regina and her sons. She knew it was a tale of madness and murder and she wanted more details. She thought I would be interested since Regina and her family lived at 6009 Hamilton Avenue and I live in Hamilton -- not too far from Hamilton Avenue itself. However, the Mileskis lived at the far end of Hamilton Avenue in Fullerton, but I still investigated and found the most tragic of my grave tales.
 |
| Regina Marie LaBanz Milewski* |
I quickly found Regina on Findagrave.com. Her memorial was very complete. There were photos of the grave and the occupant herself. She looked happy enough. She was born on 13 October 1931 and died on 18 August 1984. I looked Regina up at Newspapers.com in August of 1984. I couldn't find anything. Not even a simple death notice. Obviously, there was nothing tragic about her death or there would have been a story. So I turned to her children who were connected to her on Findagrave. Seven-year-old Richard Michael Milewski died on 3 November 1964. His four-year-old brother Charles Brian Milewski died on the same day. That was the tragedy.
I looked the boys up on 3 November 1964. Nothing. I looked them up on 4 November 1964. I found their death notice:
Suddenly.... Always a bad word to see in a death notice. But what happened? If you only searched using the Milewski name, you would have never found the next story. I only found it tucked away in the back because I went through that issue of the paper page by page. Here's what happened.
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 4 Nov 1964, Wed:
MOTHER HELD
IN 2 DEATHS
----
Sons Found Strangled In
Fullerton Area Home
-----
Two small children were strangled to death in their homes in the Fullerton area of Baltimore county yesterday and police arrested their 33-year-old mother, a former mental patient.
County police at Fullerton said that a 7-year-old and his 4-year-old brother were found dead in a bed in their home.
"I've Done Something Terrible"
The boys' father returned from work at the Martin Company's plant and was told by his wife, "I've done something terrible."
She took him upstairs to where the bodies of the children lay.
Police said the mother had been released on October 9 from Seton Psychiatric Institution on Reisterstown road.
Police were called by neighbors after the father, in near-hysterics, had run to them.
Dr. John Hyle, Baltimore county medical examiner, said the boys were killed around noon. The couple had no other children.
What a horrible crime. To me, the most sacred relationship between human beings is the one between a mother andher minor children. Regina said she had done something terrible. That was a gross understatement. Those poor, innocent boys....
 |
| Richard Michael Milewski |
Charles Brian Milewski
And, talk about understatement, look at the completely discrete newspaper story. At another time, this would have been a front page story with a screaming headline and loaded with all of the lurid details. This time the Baltimore Sun was unbelievably restrained, probably due to concern about the mental health of the family. They didn't even give Regina's name, or the names of the victims.
Despite the horrible nature of the crime, there seemed to be no rush to demonize Regina. Re-read the death notice. the victims are listed as the sons of Casimir and Regina Milewski. They included Regina! Trust me, as a genealogist, I have read hundreds of death notices and I have seen parents, spouses, siblings or children excluded for considerably less than the murder of the deceased.
This same attitude can be seen on the graves of the sons. Richard's grave is inscribed with the words: "Our First Son." Charles' grave is inscribed with the words: "Our Little Son." The plural of the word "our" includes Regina, the mother, in the grief. I might be incorrectly reading between the lines, but it appears that her husband Casimir was blaming the mental illness, not Regina herself, for the deaths.
There were no further stories about the deaths. No stories about an arraignment or sentencing, or eventual release. Nothing. However, there was an earlier story detailing Regina's marriage to Casimir.
 |
| Regina & Casimir Milewski |
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 2 Oct 1955, Sun:
Milewski-Labanz
The wedding of Miss Jean Labanz, daughter of Mrs. Clara R. Labanz, of 740 Melville avenue, to Mr. Casimir Milewski, son of Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Milewski, of 4904 Pennington avenue, took place September 18.
The ceremony was at St. Bernard's Church. A reception was held at Cameo Hall.
Miss Nelva Labanz was the maid of honor for her sister. The bridesmaids were Miss Rita Labanz, another sister, and Mrs. Betty Butkus. Christine Matanoski was the flower girl.
Mr. Eugene Milewski was best man for his brother. The ushers were Mr. Vincent Milewski, brother of the bridegroom, and Mr. Charles Wiseman. Walter Korzybski was the ring bearer,The marriage did not survive the tragedy. Casimir would divorce Regina in June of 1966. That same year he would change his name to Christopher Charles Miller and leave Maryland. He would marry Edith Mae Parks on 12 December 1968. They would have two children. Christopher and Edith would later divorce and he would finally marry Jeanette Luker. He would die in Picayune, Mississippi on 4 May 2016.
Here's his obituary from his Findagrave memorial:
Mass of Christian Burial for Christopher Charles Miller, age 88, of Picayune, MS, who passed away Tuesday, May 24, 2016 will be held Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 11:00 am at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church. Visitation will be Tuesday, May 31, 2016 from 10:00 am until 11:00 am at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.
Burial will be in Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery at 2:00 pm under the direction of McDonald Funeral Home.
Father John Noone will officiate the service.
Originally known as Casimir Milewski, Chris was born in Curtis Bay, Maryland on August 18, 1927. In 1945, he enlisted for four years in the U. S. Navy, training at the Bainbridge, MD and Gulfport, MS Naval Stations as Quartermaster/Navigator. After assisting the Bikini Operation he was assigned to the Navy's amphibian fleet. Upon service discharge, he attended and graduated from the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore) with a degree in Civil Engineering. This led to a forty year employment with Lockheed-Martin as a Heat Shield Materials Engineer at their Baltimore, Denver, and New Orleans facilities.
Mr. Miller was a devout member of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Picayune and a faithful participant in it's Perpetual Adoration Program. On retirement, he also increased his attention on art (multi-medium painting), puzzles, and wood crafting.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Vincent Milewski and Carrie Korzybski Milewski; sons, Richard M. Milewski, Charles B. Milewski, Joe Russell Jr.; daughter, Sandra K. Kinder; brother, Eugene P. Miles.
Survivors include his wife, Jeanette Luker Miller; children, Christopher Paul Miller, Daniel Clayton Miller, Janet L. Richard, and James B. Russell; 10 grandchildren; numerous great grandchildren; brother, Vincent John Milewski; many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and loved ones.I said there were no further newspaper stories concerning Regina and the crime. However, she was mentioned in the death notices of her family members.
Obviously, her family members continued to honor her as a member of their family despite her crime.
I have more questions than answers about this story. Was Regina incarcerated or institutionalized for this crime? Was she ever released? How did she die? But it seems that her family offered her some measure of mercy or forgiveness. Remember the inscription on her grave: "In Loving Memory." I'm sure she didn't write that herself. She was still loved....
Still, no amount of forgiveness could undo what happened and that is evident from the family plot. Beside Regina there is an empty grave between her and her two boys. That space was obviously intended for her husband, but he was no longer her husband and he was eventually buried hundreds of miles away. The family was broken forever. I only hope that they all found a way to rest in peace. Having just unexpectedly lost a eight-year-old granddaughter myself, I know peace will be hard to find. (Read about my granddaughter here: Emma Renee Schwalm)
 |
Regina with Richard,
in happier days. |
Remember, there is a story behind every grave. You never know what you're missing when you walk past one....
*All photographs of the people come from the family tree of Christopher Miller on Ancestry.com. Used without permission.
Grave Tales:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
Learn more about the book, click
Here.
Listen to me read some chapters here:
Read about the true haunting that inspired the novel here:
The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 1, An IntroductionThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 2, The HouseThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 3, This Is UsThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 4, ArrivalThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 5, MethodologyThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 6, Clara's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 7, Clara's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 8, My Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 9, My Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 10, My Tale, Pt. 3The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 11, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 12, Natalia's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 13, John's Tale, Pt. 1 The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 14, John's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 15, Come Inside!The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 16, Marion's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 17, Marion's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 18, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 19, Jeanne's Tale, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 20, Lisa's TaleThe Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 21, Recap, Pt. 1The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 22, Recap, Pt. 2The Haunting of 21 St. Helens Avenue, Part 23, Recap, Pt. 3
Let's stay in touch:
