Unsolved The Villisca Axe Murders

[grizzlym]

i stumbled on this crime when trawling through a list of the most haunted places in America.

I guess, given the brutal nature of the crime - 8 people bludgeoned to death with an axe while they slept by an unknown killer - is going to spur the whole 'spirits not at rest' thing.

Anyway, the crime itself is horrible. And unsolved. Also, like all those brutal cold cases from yesteryear, the list of compelling suspects seems to grow by the year. And only recently it has been postulated that it was in fact the work of one of America's earliest serial killers.

Here's the abstract from a particularly good site. Which has a bunch of details from the crime scene I couldn;t find anywhere else - like the bacon left propped up near the axe.

Sometime past midnight on Sunday, June 9, 1912, a person or persons entered a modest house in Villisca, Iowa, and bludgeoned to death eight people sleeping there, including two adults and six children aged 5 through 12. The killings became known as the “Villisca Axe Murders,” and are easily the most notorious murders in Iowa history.
The murders spawned nearly ten years of investigations, repeated grand jury hearings, a spectacular slander suit and murder trial, and numerous minor litigations and trials. The horrific crime made and broke political careers.

http://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/villisca-axe-murders/

And from wiki:

The Villisca Axe Murders occurred during the night of June 9–10, 1912 in the southwestern Iowa town of Villisca. The six members of the Moore family and two house guests were found bludgeoned in the Moore residence. All eight victims, including six children, had severe head wounds from an axe. A lengthy investigation yielded several suspects, one of which was tried twice and acquitted. The crime remains unsolved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villisca_Axe_Murders

And here's the official site. because it seems in America every site of a crime or alleged haunting is turned into some sort of ghoulish attraction.

http://www.villiscaiowa.com/the-suspects.php

And here's a few videos from one of the sites:







lastly, this snippet which a new documentary is claiming I found particularly chilling:

"During a two-year period (1911-1912), a rash of eerily similar ax murders swept across the Midwest. Leaving unique crime scene signatures in his wake, it is believed the “Ax Man” may have been responsible for at least two-dozen murders, said Wahlin. No one was ever brought to justice."

 

[torq]

There is an excellent documentary about this case called 'Villisca - Living With A Mystery' (2004).
Once upon a time it was available here.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I've only read the Wikipedia entry so far, but my first thought is that it must have been someone who knew the family well, given that the weapon was Josiah Moore's own axe. To me, it seems unlikely that a stranger went to the house unarmed and just stumbled across the axe.

 

[beta_condition]

I've only read the Wikipedia entry so far, but my first thought is that it must have been someone who knew the family well, given that the weapon was Josiah Moore's own axe. To me, it seems unlikely that a stranger went to the house unarmed and just stumbled across the axe.

I assumed the same thing, he also killed the adults first in their room so he knew his way around the house (maybe). Didn't take the weapon which to me at least doen't link with other axe murders which apparently happened.

 

[Lady O]

The murder of the Min Lin Family is very similar to this murder. The family who were in the house at the time were all murdered, including the children and his wife's sister. One of the children, Brenda 15, was not home at the time.

"The faces of the victims were so disfigured that forensic analysis had to be used to identify them.[4] There was no evidence of a break-in, suggesting the use of a key. Nothing had been ransacked or stolen. It was clear that the killer had known the layout of the house, the location of the circuit breaker, and the fact that Brenda Lin was not home, as it appeared that the attacker did not enter her room.[1] Forensic analysts also determined that the killings had been started with a hammer-like object, alleged at trial to have been bought from a discount store,[2] and four of the five victims had additional signs of asphyxia."


Min Lin's brother-in-law, the husband of his sister, was convicted on the murders. The motive seems to have been jealousy that Min Lin was the favoured child and the young girl was also the object of her uncle's lust.

I think that the murderer of the Moores was also a close family member.