Vanished mid-performance at New York's Met Opera House, a heart-rending disappearance of a distinguished violinist
On the night of 23 July 1980, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York was bustling with activity. A 30-year-old violinist named Helen Hagnes Mintiks was part of the orchestra that night, performing a series of four pieces: Stravinsky's The Firebird, Piazzolla's Five Tangos, Ludwig Minkus's Don Quixote, and Miss Julie by Ture Rangström.
However, the evening took a tragic turn when, at 11.30pm, as the show had ended, Mintiks was still missing. The performance was concluded, and the orchestra was dismissed, but Mintiks was nowhere to be found.
The police's theory was that the killer was familiar with the Met's maze-like backstage area. As the investigation unfolded, a stagehand, Craig Crimmins, was found to be a person of interest. Crimmins was missing for his cue when Mintiks failed to return to her seat, and he was later seen telling Mintiks that a dancer she was looking for was on the fourth floor, which was untrue.
The following morning, at 8.30am, Mintiks's body was found. She had fallen from the Met's sixth-story roof into a ventilation shaft. The New York chief medical examiner concluded that Mintiks's death was a result of a fall from the Met's sixth-story roof. Mintiks was found bound and blindfolded, and the knots used were linked to the Met's stagehands.
Crimmins confessed to the murder of Mintiks and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder and attempted rape. He was released on parole in August 2021 after being denied parole for over 20 years.
Mintiks was a Juilliard graduate and an award-winning performer. She was survived by her husband, the late sculptor Janis Mintiks. After her death, her husband sued the Met Opera. When the orchestra was summoned back at 9.30pm to perform Don Quixote, there was an empty chair in the violin section, belonging to Helen Hagnes Mintiks.
It is worth noting that a former conductor of the orchestra at the Metropolitan Opera House who was questioned in connection with Mintiks's disappearance is not mentioned in the provided search results.
The case of Helen Hagnes Mintiks remains a tragic reminder of the dangers that can lurk behind the glamour of the opera world. Her memory continues to live on in the hearts of those who knew her and in the music she left behind.
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