Suvechha Sarkar
The residents of Chicago, Illinois, were left completely stunned when 26-year-old Harry T. Kalstedt/Harry T. Kalsted was found dead inside an apartment in April 1924. What followed was a complex investigation in which officials discovered an affair and a string of betrayal. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Deadly Women: Beauty and the Beastly’ delves deeper into the case and how the suspect’s shifting accounts affected the trial. The episode also features interviews with experts who provide insights into the case.
Harry Kalstedt Was Found Dead From a Gunshot Wound in a Chicago Apartment
On August 17, 1897, Harry T. Kalstedt arrived as a blessing in the lives of August Kallstedt and Mary Sophia Carlson Lindgren in Hempstead, Texas. Before he was born, his family had suffered a profound tragedy when his brother, David A. Kellstedt, passed away around the age of 1 on January 22, 1887. As Harry grew up, he developed an unbreakable connection with his older brothers, Richard David and Charles Henry Kallstedt. According to a report, Harry unfortunately had a run-in with the law, which even led him to serve a sentence in prison for a statutory crime.
It is essential to note that public reports do not provide further information about his sentence or the charge. By 1924, Harry had been working at Tennant’s Model Laundry and living in Chicago, Illinois. However, his life turned upside down on April 3, 1924. On that fateful day, authorities were contacted at around 5 pm from an apartment complex in Chicago’s North Kenwood neighborhood. In one of the apartments, officials found Harry dead from a gunshot wound.
Investigators noted empty liquor bottles scattered around the apartment, and a phonograph was playing the song “Hula Lou.” Upon further inspection of the scene, the experts believed that he was shot sometime around 2 pm. The autopsy revealed that the bullet had gone through his torso, but the experts were unable to determine his position when he was shot. They also believed that he died almost instantaneously. Harry’s cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound.
Officials Arrested Beulah Annan Based on Her Confession to Being the Shooter
Officials were initially informed about Harry’s murder by a man named Albert “Al” Annan, who was present at the scene with his wife, Beulah May Annan. They quickly learned that the apartment belonged to Albert and Beulah, and he had informed the authorities after returning home around 5 pm after his wife called him, saying that she had shot a man, as per the records. Further reports suggest that when Beulah was questioned, she initially alleged that he had attempted to sexually assault her.
In her statements, Beulah claimed that she then went to the bedroom where Albert kept his gun and shot him as he approached her. When she was interrogated at the police station, she confessed that she first met Harry at her workplace, following which they had an affair, according to reports. In her statements, she admitted to often meeting him at her apartment when Albert was at work. She went on to confess that on April 3, 1924, she and Harry had been drinking and then got into a fiery argument.
Official reports indicate that Beulah claimed that both of them reached for the firearm on the bed simultaneously, but she took it first and admittedly shot him. She went on to say that she then listened to “Hula Lou” on the phonograph before informing Albert. She was arrested on April 3 and charged with the murder of Harry. Reports suggest that the officials theorized the 26-year-old was trying to end his affair with Beulah when, during the heated argument, she shot him.
Beulah Annan Passed Away Almost 4 Years After Her Acquittal
The jury trial of Beulah Annan took place in Chicago in 1925. During the trial, the prosecution alleged that she deliberately shot Harry because she became angry when he intended to end their affair. They also pointed out that the defendant had changed her accounts several times. On the other hand, the defense acknowledged that Beulah had shot the 26-year-old but argued that it was in self-defense. They maintained that Harry allegedly entered the apartment and confronted her, and she shot him because she believed she was in danger. Ultimately, the jury acquitted Beulah on May 25, 1925, and she walked away a free woman.
Just a day after her acquittal, Beulah announced her separation from her husband, Albert, stating, “I am not going to waste the rest of my life with him—he’s too slow.” Her divorce from him was ultimately finalized in 1926, after she claimed that he had left her. Not long after, she got another chance at love when she met a boxer, Edward Harlib. As their connection blossomed, it paved the way for their union. Sadly, their marriage was short-lived, and they soon went their separate ways. Following that, Beulah had reportedly been involved with another man, leading her to tie the knot once again. Unfortunately, on March 10, 1928, she passed away from tuberculosis at the age of 28.
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