Villisca Murder Essay

A Mysterious Murder
On a quiet June night tragedy struck the small town of Villisca, Iowa (“8 People Murdered in Their Beds in Villisca”). A tragedy that later became known as the most notorious murder in Iowa history. The random crime left the whole community shocked. With many strange twists and turns in the case it remains unsolved. It has forever changed the nice town of Villisca.
The year is 1912, Villisca, Iowa (“8 People Murdered in Their Beds in Villisca”). A family of six plus two friends of the family’s kids were attended a Children’s Program at their church on the evening of June 9. After the event was over the Moore family and the Stillinger sisters walked home and then went to bed just like any other night. The next morning the

He told Mary Peckham to call the sheriff after he discovered the dead bodies of Lena and Ina Stillinger. When the sheriff arrived he discovered the whole Moore family dead. All eight people were murdered with an ax.
After the bodies were discovered there were a couple different people suspected of the crime. One of those suspect was Frank Jones, Josiah Moore’s former employer (“Suspects in the Villisca Axe Murders”). Jones was furious that Moore left his franchise and some think that he hired William Mansfield to kill him and his family (“Suspects in the Villisca Axe Murders). Mansfield was also thought to have been responsible for several other murders in Illinois and Kansas that were oddly similar to the murders in Villisca. Mansfield was arrested, but later released when an alibi was provided.
Another suspect in the case was Reverend George Kelly (“Suspects in the Villisca Axe Murders”). He was at the Children’s day activities that the Moore’s attended and quickly left the next morning which seemed suspicious. He was also arrested and then later released. The last main suspect was a serial killer named Henry Moore; not related to Josiah Moore (“Suspects in the Villisca Axe Murders”). Henry was found guilty of killing his mother and grandmother with an ax a few months after the Villisca murders. Though there are many different theories about who the murderer is, to this day the case remains