In May of 1857, Michael Branard, a ten year old boy died and was buried near Leroy, IL. A few days after his burial, his father was visiting the grave and became suspicious that the grave had been disturbed. The father dug down into the grave and discovered that the body of his son was missing!
Why was the father suspicious that the grave was robbed? Wouldn't this seem far too improbable in the small village of Leroy? Grave robbing, or body snatching, occurred in the 1700's, in larger cities where there were medical schools. "Anatomists" or medical students stole bodies in order to study anatomy. But why a doctor or druggist in McLean County would be stealing a body as late as 1857 is truly a mystery.
The father, also named Michael, returned to Leroy and shared his horrific news with friends and neighbors. A large contingent of citizens began an investigation and suspicions quickly settled on a young man named George Howard, who had been studying with Rev. Dr. James Knapp. Confronted with the crowd's suspicions, Howard quickly confessed and pointed to the location of the body -- It would be found in the basement of the building where Dr. Knapp and Dr. Benny had a pharmacy.
Dr. Benny told authorities that Dr. Knapp had come to him and told him that he was going to do a "resurrection." Benny subsequently found the body behind a counter in the shop. When the body was retrieved by the father, it had been horribly mangled by the resurrectionists.
Dr. Knapp was arrested and a bond paid for his release. Within days Knapp had jumped bail and could not be found. Charges were brought against Howard, (but not Dr. Benny, who had aided and abetted after the fact) and during the fall term the case came before the court. By December of that year the Branard family had decided to cease pursuing the case, and Howard was released.
Census records do not disclose where James Knapp might have run. George Howard, it appears, remained in McLean County. He was just 22 years old at the time of this incident. Census records indicate that George Howard lived in Towanda, where he worked as a druggist and grocery store operator until about 1900. He died in Los Angeles, California in 1914.