The Villisca Axe Murders (1912)

At about 7am on the 10th June 1912 in Villisca, Iowa, a woman named Mary Peckham was doing her chores when she noticed an “odd stillness”. By this time, Mary’s neighbours would be bustling too; however their house was silent besides the impatient mooing of their cows. The house next door belonged to the Moore family – parents Josiah B. and Sarah and their four young children all between the ages of 5 and 11 years-old. With this many young children, the house was rarely quiet. Mary decided to call Josiah’s brother who used his key to get inside the Moore’s home. He was met with the sight of blood and asked for the town marshal to be called.

Marshal Henry “Hank” Horton was similarly shaken after walking through the silent house. Dr J. Clark Cooper was the first physician to examine the scene. Each of the Moore’s family members had been murdered in each of their beds, with two young friends of the family murdered in a room downstairs. The killer had wielded an axe, used the blade to kill his victims and the handle to bludgeon their faces, before covering their heads with bed-sheets. The mutilations were that severe that the Stillinger girls had originally been mistaken for another pair by an Iowa newspaper.

The night before the deaths, the family had attended the local church, the Moore children and the two girls had performed Children’s Day activities, after which Lena and Ina were invited to spend the night at the Moore’s home. Investigators determined that the two girls, Lena and Ina, were the first victims of this brutal attack and that one of them had awoken judging by a defensive wound. The wound seemed to be the result of her throwing her arm up to ward off a blow from the murderer. It was possible that Sarah was also awoken during the attack, as one of the neighbours claimed to hear her voice during the night.

It appears that the murderer had taken steps to prevent his identity being revealed. Blinds had been closed over the windows; glass doors had been covered by clothes; even the mirrors inside the house had been covered. The attack appeared not to be a robbery, as nothing valuable was taken or even disturbed. From the undisturbed setting and the effort taken to conceal their identity, it appeared that the culprit was not in any rush as they had even taken the time to clean the weapon, which was propped up against the wall of the downstairs bedroom. The crime scene had some odd elements that still puzzle researchers today. A slab of bacon had been left resting next to the axe, while another piece of bacon was found on the piano, in the parlour just next to the downstairs bedroom. On the kitchen table was a plate of uneaten food and a bowl of bloody water. It is possibly worth noting that Lena’s nightdress had been pushed up leaving her exposed, although there was no sign of sexual assault.

The police made a crucial error by not securing the crime scene immediately which allowed numerous people to trample through the murder house. One suspect claimed to have a piece of Josiah’s skull in his possession. However, this man was able to plausibly explain that he had simply picked up the piece of skull from the floor of the crime scene before it was closed off. The investigators’ best guess was that the killer must have been a relative and they soon chucked out some names: Samuel Moyer, a brother-in-law of Josiah, and John Van Gilder, a former brother-in-law of Sarah. The community tried to remember anything which would help the investigation and alerted the police to every stranger they’d seen or bizarre scenario they’d witnessed. Unfortunately most of the information, from the community, proved useless. Since the murders there have been numerous suspects and conspiracy theories, however the case still remains unsolved to this day.

You can read more about The Villisca Axe Murders by following the link to The Villisca Axe Murders – the suspects and trail (https://talesofluminol.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/the-villisca-axe-murders-1912-the-suspects-and-trial/)

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