Ira Einhorn

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Ira Einhorn
Einhorn's 1979 mugshot and a 2001 mugshot taken upon his return to the U.S.
Born
Ira Samuel Einhorn

(1940-05-15)May 15, 1940
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedApril 3, 2020(2020-04-03) (aged 79)
State Correctional Institution – Laurel Highlands, Somerset Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other namesThe Unicorn Killer, The Unicorn
OccupationEnvironmental activist
Criminal statusDeceased
Criminal chargeMurder
PenaltyLife imprisonment

Ira Samuel Einhorn (May 15, 1940 – April 3, 2020), known as "The Unicorn Killer", was an American environmental activist and convicted murderer. His moniker, "the Unicorn", was derived from his surname; Einhorn means "unicorn" in German. As an environmental activist, Einhorn was a speaker at the first Earth Day event in Philadelphia in 1970.[1] On September 9, 1977, Einhorn's ex-girlfriend Holly Maddux disappeared following a trip to collect her belongings from the apartment she and Einhorn had shared in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eighteen months later, police found her partially decomposed body in a trunk in Einhorn's closet.[2]

After his arrest, Einhorn fled the country and spent twenty-three years in Europe before being extradited to the United States. He took the stand in his own defense, claiming his ex-girlfriend had been killed by CIA agents who had framed him for the crime because he knew too much about the agency's paranormal military research. He was convicted of murdering Holly Maddox and served a life sentence until his death in prison on April 3, 2020.[2][3]

Early life and education

Ira Einhorn was born in

anti-war movements of the 1960s and 1970s.[2]

Career and activism

Einhorn was a speaker at the first Earth Day event in Philadelphia in 1970[1] and later claimed to have been instrumental in creating and launching the event,[2] but event organizers dispute his account.[7][8]

Einhorn served as an instructor of English at Temple University during the 1964–1965 academic year, although his contract was not renewed after he conceded his "contempt for the academic world" and boasted of proffering "straight answers about the delights and dangers" of cannabis and LSD to students in an interview.[9] He also was a resident fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics during the autumn 1978 semester.[6][10][11]

Murder of Holly Maddux

Einhorn had a five-year relationship with Holly Maddux, a graduate of

sprouts
, and never returned.

Einhorn's initial

decomposing corpse was found by police in a trunk stored in Einhorn's closet. After finding the body, a police officer reportedly said to Einhorn, "It looks like we found Holly," to which he reportedly replied, "You found what you found." Einhorn's lawyer, Arlen Specter, negotiated bail of $40,000; he was released from custody after posting a bond of $4,000, or 10% of the $40,000. This was paid by Barbara Bronfman (née Baerwald), a Montreal socialite who married into the wealthy Bronfman family and met Einhorn through a shared interest in the paranormal.[6] During Einhorn's flight he was again aided by Bronfman, who continued to support him financially until 1988, when she read Steven Levy's damning book on Einhorn, The Unicorn's Secret.[6][14]

In 1981, just days before his murder trial was to begin, Einhorn skipped bail and fled to Europe. He lived there for the next seventeen years and married a Swedish woman named Annika Flodin. In Pennsylvania, as Einhorn had already been arraigned, the state convicted him in absentia of Maddux's murder in 1996. Einhorn was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Extradition

In 1997, Einhorn was arrested in Champagne-Mouton, France, where he had been living under the name "Eugène Mallon". The extradition process, however, proved more complex than initially envisioned. Under the extradition treaty between France and the United States, either country may refuse extradition under certain circumstances, and Einhorn used multiple avenues to avoid extradition.

Although Einhorn was not

defense. On this basis, the court of appeals of Bordeaux
rejected the extradition request.

Following the court's decision, thirty-five members of

remand
, the imprisonment of suspects awaiting trial. Einhorn then became the focus of intense surveillance by French police.

The matter went before

Conseil d'État, which ruled against him; again, the Council declined to review the constitutionality of foreign law.[16] He then attempted to slit his own throat to avoid imprisonment[17] and eventually litigated his case before the European Court of Human Rights, which also ruled against him. On July 20, 2001, Einhorn was extradited to the United States.[18]

Trial and sentencing

Taking the stand in his own defense, Einhorn claimed that Maddux was murdered by CIA agents, who attempted to frame him due to his investigations into the Cold War and psychotronics.[19]

After two hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Einhorn on October 17, 2002, concluding the month-long trial.[5] The following day, he was sentenced to a mandatory life term without the possibility of parole.[20] Einhorn began serving his sentence at Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution (SCI) Houtzdale. In November 2006, Einhorn's sentence was unanimously affirmed by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.[21]

Death

On April 3, 2020, Einhorn died in the Pennsylvania SCI Laurel Highlands.[22] His death was reported to be of natural causes.[23]

See also

Citations

  1. ^ a b "Behind the Photo That Made People Think Earth Day Was Founded by a Convicted Killer". Time. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Melina, Remy (April 21, 2011). "Earth Day co-founder killed, composted girlfriend". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  3. ^ ""Unicorn Killer" Ira Einhorn Dies in Prison". 6abc.com. April 3, 2020. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  4. ^ Cohen, Anne (April 22, 2015). "When Jewish Earth Day Co-Founder Killed, Composted Girlfriend". The Schmooze. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Ex-Fugitive Convicted in 25-Year-Old Murder", The New York Times, October 18, 2002, archived from the original on August 31, 2018, retrieved February 19, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d Lopez, Steve (July 20, 2001). "The Ira Einhorn Case". Time. Archived from the original on February 24, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2020. Einhorn won a teaching fellowship at Harvard
  7. ^ Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia. "Einhorn" (Letter). AMGOT. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  8. ^ "No, Ira Einhorn Didn't Found Earth Day". phillymag.com. April 22, 2015. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  9. ISBN 978-1-5040-4213-0. Archived
    from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  10. The Crimson. Archived from the original
    on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020. He is a fellow at the Institute of Politics and sleeps in a sleeping bag on the floor of his room in North House. He is Ira Einhorn
  11. ^ "Ira Einhorn". The Institute of Politics at Harvard University. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  12. ^ Geringer, Joseph. "Ira Einhorn: The Unicorn Killer". crimelibrary.org.
  13. ^ Breda, Alix (November 29, 2017). "Cecelia Condit's Body of Becoming: Women and the Dark Forest of Dreams". Another Gaze: A Feminist Film Journal. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  14. ^ "He was a guru like there never have been gurus". The Guardian. April 11, 1999. Archived from the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  15. ^ "Ira Einhorn extradé" (in French). Les Verts. July 20, 2001. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  16. ^ "Council of State Ruling" (in French). Revue de l'actualité juridique française. July 12, 2001. Archived from the original on September 29, 2002. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  17. ^ "France Agrees to Extradition Of Culprit in Killing in U.S." The New York Times. July 13, 2001. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  18. ^ "Ex-Fugitive Convicted in 25-Year-Old Murder". AP. October 18, 2002. Archived from the original on April 9, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2017 – via The New York Times.
  19. ^ "Dave Lindorff's 2002 article on the Einhorn trial in Salon". October 18, 2002. Archived from the original on August 31, 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
  20. ^ Steward, Stephanie (October 18, 2002). "Einhorn sentenced to life in prison". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  21. ^ Commonwealth v. Einhorn, 911 A.2d 960 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2006).
  22. ^ Seelye, Katharine Q. (April 7, 2020). "Ira Einhorn, Counterculture Guru and Murderer, Dies in Prison at 79". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  23. ^ "Ira Einhorn, 1970s Pa. killer who fled to Europe for decades, dies in prison". pennlive. Associated Press. April 4, 2020. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.

General and cited references

External links
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