BROTHERLY LOVE: Zappe Brothers Executed for Murder in Pittsburgh’s East End

In the sweltering summer of 1892, a bloody brawl on the Fourth of July in Pittsburgh’s East End left one man dead and two brothers to face the gallows. Angelo and Joseph Zappe, Italian immigrants, were convicted of murder in the first degree for the fatal stabbing of 26-year-old Frank Helmstetter. The tragic event unfolded during a heated argument between families, with Helmstetter intervening on behalf of his wife, Ida. As the quarrel escalated, Joseph Zappe entered the fray, and his brother Angelo soon followed, drawing a large crowd and sparking a violent melee. Knives, pistols, and glasses became the deadly weapons of choice, and Helmstetter received mortal wounds. The brothers’ poverty-stricken lives were marked by a struggle to make ends meet, but their involvement in the murder would ultimately seal their fate. Despite their efforts to garner support from the local Italian community, led by interpreter M.D. Rose and other prominent Italians, the Zappe brothers were sentenced to death in November 1893. This morning, December 14, 1893, Angelo Zappe was hanged at 10:55 a.m. for his role in the senseless murder.