The Hanging of Paula Angel. Las Vegas, New Mexico, 1861.

The Hanging of Paula Angel. Las Vegas, New Mexico, 1861.


Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: The victim refused to leave his wife for her
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: March 23, 1861
Date of arrest: Next day
Date of birth: 1842 ?
Victim: Juan Miguel Martin (her married lover)
Method of murder: Stabbing with knife
Location: San Miguel County, New Mexico, USA
Status: Executed by hanging at Las Vegas, New Mexico on April 26, 1861.

On the 26th of April 1861 - Paula Angel, a 19 year old Hispanic girl, was hanged by Sheriff Herrera in San Miguel County, New Mexico for the murder of her married boyfriend, whom she had stabbed to death when he refused to leave his wife for her.

She was taken from the jail in a wagon to a suitable tree from which she was to hang. 

When they arrived at the place of execution, Paula put up such a fight with the sheriff as she stood on the back of the wagon, that he had to start over and get her properly tied up before he could draw the wagon from under her.

Further notes: *GRAPHIC* — This hanging went unnoticed for a very long time as the Civil War had just begun. The newspaper article is old, but she was hanged in 1861. It was a truly horrific execution, made worse by a cruel, sadistic sheriff. He would pass by her cell daily, taunting her by counting her days until execution. She weighed about 80 lbs due to starvation during her incarceration.

The execution was an event similar to a picnic in town with plenty of spectators. When she didn’t die the first time — due to the sheriff’s botched attempt as he didn’t tie her hands together — the crowd tried to save her. The sheriff pulled on her body in an attempt to break her neck. When that failed, the sheriff insisted on hanging her a second time immediately. There was potential for a riot, as some in the crowd believed that she was entitled to be released, but order was maintained and the second attempt was successful.

As typical for the era, women were acquitted or served very little time for these crimes of passion. The ONLY thing a lady had at the time was her virtue and this was widely accepted, but not in her case as her lover’s family had ties to the judge who sentenced her to death.

Legends of Angel’s hanging lingered in the area. Alice Bullock printed one such legend in her book The Squaw Tree: “The tree did not forget. When fall came, it too changed to the gold of the summer sun, except for the one limb. It turned scarlet, as red as the blood of the faithless lover. Each year as long as the tree lived the phenomenon was repeated.”

—Photo on newspaper article is possibly a depiction of Paula Angel.

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