Monday, May 23, 2016

What Happened in 1912 Villisca, Iowa?

     Before Ed Gein, Ronald DeFeo, and Charles Manson, there was Villisca.  The difference is  that, in one night, eight people were killed by an ax-murder, and the killer was never found.   An entire family of five and two young girls were killed, in 1912 that sort of thing just didn't happen.  This first article is quite repetitive, probably to take up lots of room and sell papers, but its informative.

Evening Times-Republican., June 10, 1912, Iowa
EIGHT PEOPLE SLAIN BY WIELDER OF AX
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Family of Herman Moore and Two Misses Spillinger Slain in Moore Home at Villisca, Iowa.
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MYSTERIOUS, DIABOLICAL CRIME
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VICTIMS KILLED WHILE THEY SLEPT AND HEADS ARE CRUSHED TO PULP - ENTIRE MOORE FAMILY OF FATHER, MOTHER AND FOUR CHILDREN SLAUGHTERED BY UNKNOWN FIEND - NO MOTIVE FOR CRIME BUT RELATIVE IS BEING SOUGHT - ENTIRE COUNTRYSIDE AND STATE MILITIA JOINS IN SEARCH - MOORE LEADING MERCHANT AND SPILLINGER GIRLS MEMBERS OF WEALTHY AND PROMINENT FAMILY.
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Special to Times-Republican.
     Villisca, June 10. - Joseph Moore, a prominent Villisca citizen and business man, his wife and four children and two women, supposed to be Mrs. Van Gilder and her daughter, relatives of the Moores, were found murdered this morning in the Moore home.  Their heads had been mashed to a pulp, and an axe covered with blood and human hair was found in the house and is supposed to have been the instrument with which the crime was committed.
Murdered in Beds.
     All were murdered in their beds.  There is no definite clue to the murderers altho search has been made, it is said, for one person suspected by the authorities.
    Owing to the terrible mutilation, the identity of the two women could not be absolutely established this morning, but the Van Gilders, who lived a few miles from Villisca, are known to have been visiting the Moores yesterday, and last night all attended an entertainment, so it is felt certain the victims are the women named.
No Motive Known.
     No robbery was committed, and it seems clear that only a desire for revenge could have prompted the murder, unless the work was done by a madman.
List of Victims
     JOSEPH MOORE and wife.
     HERMAN MOORE, 11 years old.
     CATHERINE MOORE, 9 years old.
     BOYD MOORE, 7 years old.
     PAUL MOORE, 6 years old.
     MISS EDITH SPILLINGER, 20 years old.
     MISS BLANCHE SPILLINGER, 18 years old.
     
     Owing to the terrible mutilation the identity of the two women could not at first be established.  They were believed to be Mrs. Von Gilder and her daughter, relatives of the Moores, but later they were positively identified as the Spillinger sisters, daughters of a wealthy farmer living a few miles from Villisca.
Horses' Neigh Gives Alarm.
     Horses neighing in the barns at the Moore home caused a woman neighbor to notice that no member of the family appeared to be up and about the house.  She investigated and after failing to make an entrance to the front door, called her husband, who also failed.  The city marshal was summoned and the doors forced.
     Moore and his wife were the first to be discovered.  They were lying in their bed ina front room.  Then came the finding of the bodies of the two guests and later those of the children in a third room.  The oldest of the children, a boy, was only 12 years old.
Most Diabolical Crime.
     The entire absence of a known motive for the crime makes it one of the most peculiar and diabolical ever committed in the state.  Showing the terrible execution wrought the person who committed the wholesale crime, early identification of the two young women was that they were Mrs. Von Gilder and her daughter, who were in Villisca last night and were understood to have remained at the Moore home all night.  Mrs. Von Gilder is a sister of Mrs. Moore.
Two Killed Upstairs
     The two Spillinger girls were daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Spillinger, wealthy people residing near town.  Mr. and Mrs. Moore and their four children, were found dead in their beds on the first floor of the house and the Spillinger girls murdered in their beds in an upper room.  All were clothed in their nightgowns and were undoubtedly slain in their sleep, and all had their heads crushed.
Moore Leading Merchant.
     Mr. Moore was one of the leading business men of the town and was engaged of the implement trade.  The family is one of the most prominent in that section of the state.
     Last night the Moores attended a church entertainment in which their children took part.  They were accompanied home part of the distance after the close of the program by neighbors.  The Spillinger girls had remained with them rather than return to their homes late at night.  There are several homes located close by the Moore home and great wonder is expressed that the murderer could  could have entered the place, killed the eight people and escaped without an outcry being heard.
Von Gilder is Sought.
     Mrs. Von Gilder is a divorced woman who resides with her father near town.  She and her husband have been separated about nine years and Von Gilder's place of residence has not been known publicly, at least, for many years.  It is now rumored that he was seen in town Saturday.
Whole Country Aroused. [Insert dirty joke here.]
     Company F of the National Guard, and hundreds of citizens, armed, are scouring the county in search of the assassin.  People from long distances are coming to town and at noon there were 5,000 here.
     The most intense excitement prevails here and people from all parts of Montgomery county are flocking to Villisca.  The victims of the tragedy were widely known in this section, and commanded the highest respect.  Not one of the victims is known to have had an enemy.
Leaves Finger Prints.
     The bodies of the eight, with one exception, one of the Spillinger girls, lay in their beds as tho asleep, with the bed clothes not even disarranged.  
     Blood spots on the front door near the knob shows how the murdered left the house, altho the door was locked and the keys missing.  The murderer left finger prints which are certain to identify him with the crime is [sic] he is ever apprehended.  These prints are being carefully guarded.
     The blinds in the house were all carefully drawn and a lighted lamp was found in the center of the room occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Moore.
Parents Prostrated.
     The parents of the Spillinger girls are prostrated and have not been able yet to leave their home to come into town to care for the bodies of their children, and the scenes at the Spillinger home have been most distressing.  None of the bodies has yet been removed from the house, pending the visit of the coroner's jury.        

     The next article is from the same paper, the next day.
TWO SOUGHT FOR VILLISCA MURDERS
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RELATIVES OF MOORE FAMILY SUSPECTED OF POSSIBLE CONNECTION WITH CRIME.
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BLOODHOUNDS LOSE TRAIL AT BANKS OF RIVER
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   Detective Who Worked on Ellsworth, Kan., Murder Finds Similarity in Crimes - Finger Prints to Be Compared - McClaughrey, Expert on Finger Prints, Summoned.
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      Villisca, June 11 - No positive clues are said to have been brought to light as the result of the work of the detectives in Sunday night's murder case, wherein Joseph Moore and family and two visitors met death at the hands of an assassin who murdered them with an ax as they slept.
     The theory upon which authorities are working now involve two men, relatives of the murdered family, both of whom are said to have held deep grudges against Moore and his wife as a result of domestic troubles.  One of these men, it is said, is known to have been in Villisca recently, and it is rumored that the other has been here also.
Bloodhounds Lose Trail.
     The bloodhounds which followed a trail from the Moore home to the river last night, losing it soon afterwards, were again used today.
     One of the detectives working on this case also helped in investigation of the mysterious murder at Ellsworth, Kan.  He knows several points of similarity in the two cases.  One of these is the use of a kerosene lamp.  In each case one was found burning in the room where the crime was committed.  The Ellsworth murderer's finger prints have been preserved and will be compared by experts with those of the Villisca assassin.
Funeral of Victims Held.
     It was planned to hold the funeral of the eight victims of the tragedy this afternoon.
     Mrs. Clifford Stillinger, mother of the two Moore girls, who were guests in the Moore home, is still in a serious condition, from the effects of the shock.
     The only thing found during the trial of bloodhounds this morning was a bloody handkerchief.  The officers do not regard the find as valuable in the work of unraveling the mystery.
     The county attorney has sent for William McClaughrey, a son of Warden McClaughrey of the federal prison of Leavenworth, Kan., who is a finger-print expert, and he is expected here today.
Two Suspects Seen.
     Word comes from New Market, about fifteen miles southeast of here, that two strange men who were there when the news of the tragedy reached that place hurriedly left in the direction of Clarinda.
     Orders for their arrest have been sent to the latter place but nothing further has been heard.
Bloodhounds Secured.
     Thousands of Montgomery county residents were in Villisca at 9:30 o'clock last nioght when two bloodhounds took up the possible trail of the murderer of the J.B. Moore family and the two daughters of Joseph Stillinger.  In less than five minutes after the dogs were taken to the scene of the crime they made a break for the door of the house.  Since that time they have been tugging on the chains of the men following them.  The trail led to the timber lands at the forks of the west and middle Nodaway rivers, of the town.
     When O.E. Jackson, sheriff of Montgomery county, arrived here at noon yesterday he ordered the Moore home closed to all persons.  Up to that time only a few persons had been permitted to view the bodies of the eight murdered persons, as the city marshal believed it best to keep the place clear of visitors.  A guard of citizens was stationed near the house and later militiamen were put on guard.
     The arrival of the bloodhounds from Beatrice, Neb., was anxiously awaited.  They came on the scheduled train.  Sheriff Jackson piloted the crowd to the house at once.  The dogs were taken in at the front door.  In a few minutes after they had been given a chance two smell the handle of an ax used by the murderer they came out the front door, turned around the porch and took a northerly direction to Second street.  The [sic] followed this path to First avenue, then they went south on First avenue to the John Green farm.  From this farm they advanced southwest to the Neilsson farm.  Then they took to the river and followed it to the forks of the two rivers.
Think Slayer a Maniac.
     That the slayer was a maniac, or an enemy of the Moores, who was seeking revenge are the most probable theories  entertained.  Efforts are being made to locate the four negroes, who were strangers here, and the conviction is growing that they may be the guilty ones.  No negroes are living in Villisca, and their unexplained presence here for several days and their sudden departure last night or early yesterday morning causes much speculation.     

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      According to wikipedia, the victims were:


Josiah B. Moore (43)
Sarah Moore (nee Montgomery, 39)
Herman Montgomery Moore (11)
Mary Katherine Moore (10)
Arthur Boyd Moore (7)
Paul Vernon Moore (5)
Ina Mae Stillinger (8)
Lena Gertrude Stillinger (12)    

A bit different from the newspaper reports, but not bad.  

     The police thought the killer hid in the attic until everyone was asleep, because of two cigarette butts they found in the attic.  Doctors said they were killed between 12am and 5amLena was the only one who had defensive wounds, and is thought to be the only one to wake up and fight back.  It's also believed that she may have been sexually assaulted because she had no underwear on and her nightgown was pulled up.
     Several people were suspects, but only George Kelly was actually tried... twice.  
     Andrew Sawyer  was a transient who asked for a job the morning after/of the murders.  He was hired by Thomas Dyer, a bridge foreman for the Burlington Railroad, S.A., because he was short on men.  The rest of the crew thought he was strange - he slept with his clothes on, next to an ax - and he was a bit too interested in the murders.  One day, Dyer would later testify, Sawyer threatened, "I will cut your god damn heads off," and began hitting things with the ax.  J.R. Dyer (Thomas' son) testified that Sawyer showed him how the man who killed the Moore family got out of town... in great detail.  Dyer decided to turn Sawyer over to the sheriff, but the man had an alibi.  It turned out he had been arrested for vagrancy in another town at the time, and the sheriff there was putting him on a train.
     Reverend George Kelly was a traveling minister, and an accused peeper/pervert.  He was pretty obsessed with the murders, and wrote letters to practically everyone involved.  Police didn't think much of it at the time because he was thought to be a bit "nutty" after a mental breakdown when he was a kid, though.  Two years after the murders, he was in trouble for sending sexually harassing material by mail to a prospective secretary - after that he was sent to the looney bin.  In 1917 he was arrested for the murders, and confessed after many hours of interrogation.  He took back the confession, was tried twice anyway, and ended up being acquitted.
     Frank F. Jones was a State Senator, lived at and owned a store in Villisca.  Josiah Moore worked for him for a long time, but decided to leave and start his own store.  It's thought that Jones was upset because his business was being taken by Moores.  People also thought that Josiah was messing around with Franks daughter-in-law, but it was probably just a rumor.  
     William "Blackie" Mansfield was supposedly a hired gun for Frank Jones, specifically for the ax murders.  More than that, though, he was believed to be a serial killer.  Two years after Villisca, he murdered his wife, infant, and in-laws with an axe.  Many, nearly identical crimes were committed in the days, weeks and months around Villisca, and many thought Blackie was responsible.  He was arrested at one point, but he had a strong alibi and was never brought to trial.  His alibi may have looked good on paper, but a restaurant owner said he was sure that he saw Mansfield getting on a train.  
     Henry Lee Moore, wasn't related to the victims, but was a suspect in their murders.  He murdered his mom and grandma months after the Villisca killings - with an ax.  He is also suspected of the serial killings that Blackie is a suspect of committing.  
     Sam Moyer, Josiah's brother-in-law, threatened to kill him on numerous occasions.  He had an alibi, though.      
     This brutal crime is still unsolved, and the house where it occurred still standsYou can visit the house and even spend the night there, I think.  Here's a link to their website: http://www.villiscaiowa.com/  Check it out, it's quite interesting.  Until next time, stay curious!