Bio

Martha Jule Seabrook was born on May 6, 1919, in Milton, Florida. As a child she had a glandular problem that caused her to mature early and become overweight. Classmates teased her, and her mother was strict and often critical. At about age ten she was sexually assaulted by her brother, and when she told her mother she was beaten and blamed.

After finishing school she trained as a nurse in Pensacola. She had trouble finding nursing work because of her appearance. For a time she worked as an undertaker’s assistant preparing female bodies for burial. In 1942 she moved to California and took a job at an Army hospital as a nurse.

While in California she socialized in bars and had occasional relations with soldiers. One such relationship resulted in a pregnancy. The soldier reacted badly and later tried to kill himself, and Martha never saw him again. Her daughter, Willa Dean, was born in 1944. A few months later she became pregnant by a Pensacola bus driver, Alfred Beck. They married, then divorced about six months later, and she gave birth to a son, Anthony.

Back in Pensacola and short of steady income, Martha read romance magazines and saw romantic movies. In 1946 she found work at the Pensacola Hospital for Children and was promoted to nurse superintendent. In 1947 she placed a lonely-hearts ad, and a man named Raymond Fernandez answered.

Murder Story

Martha Beck was known as "The Lonely Hearts Killer." She was classified as a serial killer. Her crimes included robberies. She is linked to at least four victims and possibly more.

The murders took place in 1948 and 1949. She was arrested on February 28, 1949. Authorities connected cases in Illinois, New York, and Michigan. Investigators said she and her partner met victims through lonely hearts ads.

Named victims in the reports include Myrtle Young, Janet Fay (age 66), Delphine Downing (age 41), and Delphine’s two-year-old daughter, Rainelle. Some sources say the pair were believed to have killed as many as twenty women between 1947 and 1949. Beck and her partner were convicted of three murders.

Reported methods listed in the research include overdose of drugs, strangulation, shooting, and drowning. After their arrest in Michigan, they were extradited to New York to face charges there. The trial received heavy media attention and sensational coverage.

Martha Beck was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. She was executed by electrocution at Sing Sing prison in New York on March 8, 1951. She died the same day as her partner, Raymond Fernandez.

Records note her date of birth as May 6, 1919. Her last breakfast was recorded as ham, eggs, and coffee. Her last requested meal was fried chicken (no wings), french fries, and a lettuce and tomato salad. Her final statement, recorded in the archives, included the line: "My story is a love story...but only those tortured with love, can understand what I mean."