Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
In 1912, in the sleepy town of Villisca, Iowa, with a population of 2,000, a crime occurred that shook the nation and remains unsolved to this day. On the fateful night of June 9-10, a family of six and two neighboring girls who were visiting were brutally murdered with an axe. Despite numerous suspects and two trials, the case remained unsolved, making it one of the most mysterious criminal cases in American history. The family that was wiped out consisted of 43-year-old Josiah Moore, his 39-year-old wife Sarah, their four children, and two neighbor girls. On the afternoon of the day of the murders, 10-year-old Katherine Moore invited her two friends Lena and Ina Stillinger to her home to spend the night. Together they attended church in the evening and returned home around 10 p.m. What followed was a gruesome act that is difficult to put into words. All eight people in the Moore house were brutally murdered with an axe. The strange thing about the murders was that after killing all eight people, the murderer dismembered the heads of the six-member Moore family beyond recognition before covering all the bodies and mirrors in the house with clothing and lighting a candle at the foot of each bed. The next morning, when neighbor Mary Peckham noticed the eerie silence in the Moore house while hanging laundry, she decided to check on them. She went to the Moores’ house between 7 and 8 a.m. and knocked on their door, but no one answered. Finding the door locked, she called Josiah’s brother Ross in great concern, who finally opened the house with a spare key and found the two bodies of the neighbor girls Lena and Ina Stillinger in the guest room. He immediately alerted the police, who discovered the other bodies in the house. The investigation revealed that the murders took place between midnight and 5 a.m. Two lit cigarettes were found in the attic, suggesting that the perpetrator may have been hiding there. With the exception of Lena Stillinger, who showed signs of struggling, the victims had been taken by surprise in their sleep – a gruesome scene, surpassed only by the brutality inflicted on Josiah Moore, who had been murdered with the blade of the axe, while the others had been killed with the back of the axe. The murders had been carefully executed. The murder weapon was an axe belonging to Josiah, which had been thoroughly cleaned after the murders. In addition, after the murders, the perpetrator had not only washed thoroughly in the kitchen, but had also taken a piece of raw ham from the refrigerator and eaten it calmly. The axe murderer then left the house shortly before 5 a.m. He took the house keys and carefully locked the house. Due to the fact that hundreds of onlookers swarmed the crime scene after the police arrived, there were no usable fingerprints or other usable evidence. Over the years, numerous men have been identified as possible perpetrators, but none of the charges have led to a conviction. Among the suspects was Andy Sawyer, a construction worker whose nervous behavior and eerie interest in the case made investigators suspicious, but who had a watertight alibi. George Kelly, an English minister who led Children’s Day on June 9, 1912, which the Moores also attended, and who did not leave Villisca until around 5 a.m. the next morning, was also considered a suspect. The itinerant preacher was described as a “peculiar character” who later made a confusing confession about the axe murders, which he later recanted. While the first trial ended in a hung jury, as the jury was unable to agree on a verdict despite intensive deliberation, he was acquitted in the second trial. Frank Fernando Jones, who had a conflict-ridden relationship with Josiah Moore, was also suspected. Frank was a tough businessman and state senator from the community where Josiah had once worked. Josiah was a successful salesman in Frank’s agricultural machinery business until he started his own business and snatched the lucrative “John Deere major customer” away from Frank. Since then, Josiah had been considered his rival, and not just in business. Josiah was rumored to have had an affair with Frank’s daughter-in-law, Dona, which is why Frank allegedly hired a hitman named William Mansfield to wipe out Josiah and his family. More than a century later, the Villisca axe murders remain a fascinating and tragic example of the dark shadows that can lurk within human nature. Despite the many theories, suspects, and speculative narratives, there is still no definitive answer to the question: Who was the murderer? The Moore house is now a historic landmark and continues to attract curious visitors who come together to explore the spectacular and eerie stories surrounding these tragic events. The mystery of Villisca remains alive, reminding us of the horrors of the past that often remain hidden in the shadows of our cities.
