12/05/2026
The Three Emmas: Millionaire Murder Shocks San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO, November 13, 1914 — On a brisk November afternoon just before 4 p.m., Otto Koehler, 59, CEO of the Pearl Brewery and one of the Southwest’s wealthiest men, climbed into his horse and buggy and drove south along Hunstock Street, near South Presa. By nightfall, Koehler would be dead, the victim of a murder that has riveted the nation.
Koehler, a German immigrant married for 22 years to Emma Koehler, had secretly maintained relationships with two other women, both nurses and both named Emma. Historians refer to them as Emma #2, Emma Dumpke (“Emmi”), and Emma #3, Emma Burgemeister (“Hedda”).
The story begins in 1910. Emma Koehler had been injured in an automobile accident and required constant care. Koehler hired Emma #2, a petite, brunette German nurse, to tend to his wife. But the nurse soon became more than an employee.
Koehler and Emma #2 embarked on a passionate affair. In time, Koehler purchased a small home on Hunstock Street for her and paid her $125 monthly.
Life grew stranger. Emma #2 befriended Emma #3, a tall, blonde German nurse with striking gray eyes.
Emma #2 invited her friend to move into the Hunstock house. Koehler financially supported both women, paying Emma #3 $50 monthly and adding her to the property deed. For years, the wealthy brewer maintained this secretive love triangle, returning home to his wife while keeping two mistresses across the river.
The situation began to unravel when Emma #2 fell in love, found a suitor, and eloped. Koehler, distraught, proposed to Emma #3, now his sole mistress. He showered her with gifts, money, and trips to Germany, paying her $125 a week and showing her off at elite San Antonio events. He dressed her in the latest fashions and paraded her as a trophy for the city’s high society.
But by late 1914, the fairy tale had turned sour. Emma #3 suspected Koehler of yet another affair and hired a private detective. When Koehler returned from Germany without her, he arranged a meeting with Emma #3 at their Hunstock cottage. Emma #3, uneasy and fearing for her life, enlisted Emma #2 to negotiate the meeting.
On November 12, the scene was set. Emma #2 occupied the front room while Emma #3 rested in the bedroom with a headache. Koehler arrived, brushed past Emma #2, and confronted Emma #3. According to testimony, he attempted to kiss her, and a heated quarrel erupted. Neighbor Mrs. Neil Campbell recalled hearing frantic screams: “Help! Help! Hedda! Hedda!” Moments later, three gunshots shattered the tense quiet.
Police arrived to a scene of chaos. Blood soaked the floor. Witnesses’ accounts varied: some saw Emma #3 lying atop Koehler’s body, others described her sitting alone or cradling her head in a neighbor’s lap. A .32 caliber automatic, still warm from firing, lay on the floor. A .25 revolver rested on a sideboard. A case knife was left open nearby. Bruises and cuts on Emma #3 were reported, though later disputed.
The coroner confirmed Koehler’s death. One bullet fractured his neck, another penetrated his brain above the eye, and a third struck his chest. Years later, during the trial, the judge remarked on the precision of the so-called “hitman-type” shots.
Otto Koehler, the multi-millionaire head of the San Antonio Brewing Association, had been killed by a woman he had secretly loved in a cozy Hunstock Street love nest.
Headline, San Antonio Newspaper, November 13, 1914:
"Millionaire Businessman Shot to Death by a Pretty Nurse!”
