Madge Oberholtzer: more than victim of a shocking crime in 1925

<p dir="ltr">She was the victim of one of the most lurid crimes in Indiana history, the brutal rape in March 1925 by <strong><a href= "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/murder-wasnt-very-pretty-the-rise-and-fall-of-dc-stephenson-18935042/">D.C. Stephenson</a></strong>, Grand Dragon of the <strong>Ku Klux Klan</strong>, that led to her eventual death after a suicide attempt.  The deathbed testimony of <strong>Madge Oberholtzer</strong>, a resident of the <strong>Irvington</strong> neighborhood of Indianapolis, resulted in the eventual conviction of Stephenson of second degree murder, a pivotal episode in the downfall of the Klan in Indiana during the 1920s.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Charlotte-Ottinger-2021.JPG" alt="Charlotte Ottinger" width="206" height="298" align= "right" />For several years, <strong>Charlotte Ottinger</strong>, a registered nurse who has lived in Irvington for more than 20 years, has been working on a biography of Madge, digging up new information about the 28-year-old state employee and former teacher. Madge Oberholtzer was raped during a train trip to Chicago with Stephenson, who also lived in Irvington. One of his associates accompanied them on the trip.</p> <p dir="ltr">Charlotte, who is convinced Madge did not willingly go on the train trip, will be Nelson's guest to discuss her extensive research. She has interviewed four grandchildren of Madge's brother, who have given her family documents, photos and other artifacts never seen by the general public or used by other researchers. Some of the material is now in the archives of the <strong><a href= "http://www.irvingtonhistorical.info/">Irvington Historical Society</a></strong>; Charlotte is a former board member.</p> <p dir="ltr">There's even a <strong><a href= "https://womenshistorymonth.gov/">Women's History Month</a></strong> aspect for our show. According to Charlotte's research into Madge's youth, she was mentored by several <strong><a href= "https://hoosierhistorylive.org/mail/2020-08-22.h