Ernest Burkhart’s mug shot Credit 57On June 21, 1926, Burkhart was sentenced to life imprisonment
and hard labor. Even so, the people around him detected relief on
his face. A prosecutor said that he was now someone “whose mind
is at ease because he has relieved his tortured soul of a terrible
secret and now seeks repentance and forgiveness.” Before being
led away in irons to the state penitentiary, Burkhart turned and
smiled wanly at Mollie. But her expression remained impassive,
perhaps even cold.