The 1912 Villisca Axe Murders Blog

"Morning Ran Red" Villisca Ax Murder Novelist Investigated by SEC

Villisca: Living with a Mystery director Kelly Rundle (right) chats with Morning Ran Red author Stephen Bowman in Bowman's Omaha home in 1994.

The Omaha World Herald is reporting that Morning Ran Red novelist Stephen Bowman is being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Bowman's controversial novel based on the 1912 Villisca, Iowa axe murders was published in 1986 and Bowman was interviewed for the historical documentary film Villisca: Living with a Mystery in 1994.  Bowman's comments and the story behind his novel are featured in the film.

The SEC investigation apparently stems from alleged investment activities by Bowman and a Texas man that took place in 2006 and 2007.

Read the Omaha World Herald article below by clicking on the link below:

http://www.omaha.com/article/20090621/NEWS01/706219902/0/FRONTPAGE

 

Jessie Moore's Role in the Villisca, Iowa Axe Murder Story

Jessie Moore - Exclusive photo courtesy Robert Moore.

We recently received inquiries from a reader who wanted to know more about the undertakers involved in the 1912 Villisca, Iowa ax murder case.  The answer is quite complex because several area undertakers were involved and some were called and questioned before the 1917 grand jury in the court house in Red Oak, Iowa.

To access a copy of the 1917 grand jury, one has to either visit the Villisca Public Library or the State Historical Society in Des Moines.  However, there are two documents in publication that shed light on the early and final investigation of this notorious true crime.

The first is the Coroner's Inquest (Fourth Wall Films, 2003), and the second is the 1917 Grand Jury Signed Statements (Fourth Wall Films, 2003).  Both are available via the Villisca Emporium and Amazon.com (links below).

Jessie Moore was the wife of victim Josiah Moore's brother Ross.  In 1912 it was not uncommon for family members to assist in the preparation of bodies for burial, and that was Jessie's primary role in the axe murder mystery.

As you will see, the bulk of the interrogation focused on her knowledge of early suspects.  Although the other family members were not allowed to view the bodies due to the mutilation, Joe Moore's mother did spend some time in the firehouse with Joe's covered body, holding his hand.

Editor's notes/corrections are in [brackets].

Having first been duly sworn, on oath testified as follows, upon examination,

BY MR RATCLIFF:

Q    What is your FULL NAME, Mrs Moore?

A    Jessie.

Q    Mrs Jessie. You are the wife of Ross Moore?

A    Yes, sir.

Q    And Ross Moore is a Brother of Joe Moore?

A    Yes, sir.

Q    You may first, in your own words tell about this Monday morning, --last Monday morning, June 10^th about discovering something?

A    Why, Mrs Peckhan [Peckham], a neighbor of theirs called me and wanted to know if there was anything that happened down at Mr Moore's father, he was in poor health, and I told her, I did not believe there was because they would have called up, and so I told her then that I would call up his store, and I did, and Mr Selley said, he was not able to get the people nor get his home, and he come down to the store finally and said that he would call up at her peoples. Mr. Montgomery, or at Mr Moores, and he called up and told me that the [they] had been neither place, and then I said, well I think perhaps I better go down, so I did, and he called up in a little while, and said that he could not find them, by that time I had got there, and I think perhaps after a little while they called up and told me not to go to Creston, I was just ready to go to Creston, and they told me not to go, and in just a few minutes one of the neighbors come over and told me what had happened. I think perhaps that is all I know.

Q    Did you go to the house?

A    Yesterday?

Q    Yes.

A    I was there just a little bit, I was in one of the rooms for some pictures, that they wanted for print.

BY THE CORONER:

Q    That was afterwards, --that was sometime after they had entered?

A    Oh, yes.

Q    Hour or two afterwards? A Yes.

Q    You have not heard anything about the family affairs that would lead you to believe, --

A    No, --no one else knows.

Q    Got any enemies?

A    No, No, I never knew, I never knew he had any enemies. None whatsoever.

Q    Was you to their church Sunday evening?

A    No, I was not. I did not go, I wasn't here in the evening.

BY MR RATCLIFF:

Q    Do you know of any matter of business, or otherwise wherein he was in trouble with any one?

A    No, sir, not a one.

Q    Did you ever hear him speak of having any enemies?

A    No, sir, I had not. I never heard him speak ill of any one.

Q    You ever hear him speak of any one else?

A    No.

BY DR LOMAS:

Q    Mrs Moore, do you know when was the last time any of the Moores every [ever] heard from Sam Moyer?

A    Well, Fern, that is the second girl, you know, had a letter from him, and I can't tell you the date, it has been over two weeks.

Q    Two weeks since?

A    Yes, and he told her he was in Oregon.

Q    Where in Oregon?

A    He told her he would go and visist [visit] this Harry Moore, that is the other brother, Ross's brother, thought he would visit him, but I don't know here he is, what town or anything more, I could not say how long it has been.

Q    How long has it been since you say?

A    That little boy has been gone, well really I could not tell you.

Q    Is the little boy with him at the present time?

A    No, the little boy is with his son, this child's half brother at, I believe, Newhawak, Nebr.

Q    What town?

A    Newhawka, down by Nebraska City.

Q    Were you acquainted with Sam Moyer?

A    Was I acquainted with him. Yes, I visisted [visited] his home.

Q    What was his disposition?

A    Well, he was a free man, was very kind to his family, when he was with them, they really had more than they should have had, he did not deny them anything. He was a xxx xxxx man, that xxxxxxxxxxxx said very little, and always seemed very pleasant in his home, or while I was there, I don't know what it would be, I was just a visitor.

Q    He had left his family once before this?

A    Yes.

Q    You know how long he was away at that time?

A    He was away a year, he came back on Old Settlers day.

Q    Just disappeared, did not hear anything further from him until he came back again?

A    No, never heard a word, except once his wife did, and he just came here old settlers day.

Q    To your knowledge did Sam Moyer and Joe Moore ever have any trouble?

A    No, not that I ever knew of.

Q    How long has it been since Sam Moyer left his family this last time?

A    Well, let me see, I know it was in the spring, I can't tell you whether it was April or May?

Q    One or Two years since?

A    Yes, sir.

Q    He left his family and heard nothing of him?

A    They say he send them a letter and sent them some money to pay his lodge dues, and I believe paid them, and told them not to write that he would write to them, he was going west, he was with the railroad company of some kind, on carptenter [carpenter] work, and he would write them again and they never heard from him again from that time until just lately, you know, when the girl has had letter from his occasionally.

Q    Sam Moyer has one brother here?

A    He has one brother and one sister living out south of town?

Q    What is the sister's name?

A    Cora.

Q    Is she married?

A    No, the brother, that is he, she keeps house for him.

BY THE CORONER:

Q    What is the man's name?

A    I believe his name is Gum Moyer, or something. I just heard of it, Gum, or Gun. I just heard it they just called him that.

BY MR RATCLIFF:

Q    You know what place in Oregon this letter is from?

A    No, I do not, --I do not know hat place.

Q    Did you see that letter?

A    No.

DR LOMAS:

Q    Is it true that he has been roaming a good deal?

A    Yes, he has been in Dakota, I can't tell you the name of the town. He has been having contract work, he has been building the bridges, taken out, work of that kind you know. I can't remember the name because I did not pay no attention.

Q    Do you know anything this Van Gilder?

A    No, I just knew him, my friends, Mrs Moore this lady that was mudered [murdered], were very close friends, when she was sick, and of course I think he says that he thought I was there, and she just told me that he was a mean man, that he was a drinking man and this time she would never go back, that is the only conversation that ever passed between us.

Q    You don't know of him being here?

A    No, I do not know anything of it. I never saw the man to know anything of it.

Q    Never mentioned it to you?

A    No.

MR RATCLIFF:

Q    As far as you can remember what was the nature of his last visit here?

A    Of whom?

Q    Sam Moyer?

A    Well, let me see. Well, I could not give it at all, I can't remember.

Q    You said it was on an old settlers day?

A    Well, he has been here since that.

BY A JUROR:

Q    Has he been here since the death of his wife?

A    No, they never heard of him.

Q    Until the children have been hearing from him?

A    I think this oldest girl, that went to Sioux Rapids, or Sioux Falls, he came to see her. They had evidently heard from him, and he never even asked for the rest of the family or the wife, and when she mentioned it, he never paid any attention.

BY ANOTHER JUROR:

Q    Was he of a rather surely disposition?

A    Yes, he was very quite [quiet], he always seemed to be as though he would be a surely man, if he got mad. Of course I don't know. I never saw him angry, and I was not so very weel [well] acquainted with him, only just meeting him, but he was always very pleasant when I knew him, but seemed to be that kind of a man if he would get mad, he could be.

Q    Now Mrs Moore, do you know whether he has ever visited with Joe or not, --whether he has ever been in their house?

A    I do not know.

Q    Is it not true, Mrs Moore, at the time of Mrs Moyer's sickness and death that Joe took an active part in protecting for the expense of her sickness and death and was in a measure assisting in establishing to care for the family?

A    Well, I could not say as to that. Of course all the boys, you know, expected a great deal, but I rather think when the sister died that he naturally paid this time I know my husband settled when the baby died. He had all that time attended to the business part of it, and I rather think that Joe attended to it.

Q    Is it not true that at the time Sam Moyer deserted his family, that there was well, five children in his family and another arrival expected shortly?

A    Yes.

Q    That he left the family and after sending them back this letter, never paid any further attention to them until after the wife and baby died, and were burried [buried] and never even inquired xx into the place of the death, or nature of the death?

A    I never heard as to that.

Q    And had, --that at the time that he deserted his family that his wife was not only, --but was also suffering from a kidney disease?

A    I don't know, --he surely knew that, --he must have known her condition of course, but I don't know as to that. Other.

Q    Is his daughter who had the letter from him reside in town at the present time?

A    Yes, it was Fern, the biggest child, she was at home, she told me she got a letter from him, and seeing it was from Oregon?

Q    You don't know whether he gave her an address to write to or anything?

A    No, I do not.

More on the Signed Statements in a future post.

This online version of the Coroner's Inquest is Copyright 2003, Fourth Wall Films, All Rights Reserved.  Intentional minor typographical errors, that do not alter the content, have been added so we can track unauthorized use.  Please ask permission if you wish to repost this material.  Thank you.

Ask Ed: How did the Villisca Axe Murderer Light His Way?

The Villisca murder ax and a lamp taken from the crime scene on June 10, 1912 as evidence.  This is the only Villisca "crime scene" photo known to exist.

We recently received the following query via VilliscaMovie.com for Villisca axe murder historian Dr. Edgar V. Epperly.  We have our own thoughts regarding the theory/questions below, and we will share those in a future post. --Kelly Rundle, Director, Villisca: Living with a Mystery

Dr. Epperly:

 

I am new to the [1912 Villisca axe murder] case but have already got a few questions for you.

 

First off, is it plausible that the killer's way was lighted, not by his own hand, but by Mrs. Moore? It may be that she left lights burning at the foot of the beds so that the children, if need be, could use the chamber pot without doing so in the dark. The killer may have blown the lamps out when the deed was done, in the process of leaving the dark bedroom upstairs, kicked the glass chimney causing it to roll under the dresser.

 

Secondly, do you believe the killer closed all the windows after the fact, or the Moores?  Why would the windows be closed by the family, being June, would it not have been too hot for the windows to be closed?  And why would the killer close the windows after the killings?  It seems the fear of being heard or discovered would have passed by then.  It seems rather odd that he closed the windows after the killings.

 

Next, I am curious as to why the body of Mrs. Moore was not examined for signs of sexual assault, or was it? It would seem that she would have been the intended target of such an assault rather than the Stillinger child, if indeed such an assault was premeditated at all.

 

Do you believe the murderer even knew the two Stillinger girls were downstairs at the instant of the attacks upstairs?

 

In my line of thinking, it would seem that the killer had chosen this house at random. He would have been a drifter, unable to maintain a steady job, thus traveling much. He would have watched the house from an outbuilding, and probably thought there was only the Moore family to contend with. He observed them leave for the Church function, and made his way into the house to find food, not to murder.

 

He would have taken the ax for protection in case he was discovered. He would have made a plate of food, and prepared to eat, when, he heard the children coming up the steps on the porch. He would have dashed upstairs to the attic to hide.

 

The Moores never even saw the plate of food sitting out. He heard them settle in for the night, then crept out and killed in order to not be caught or killed for the burglary.  He made his way back to the kitchen, where he thought it too risky to eat the plate of food, and decided to grab a slab of bacon on his way out.

 

The eldest guest had heard the event upstairs, and heard the killer come down to the kitchen.  She got out of bed to investigate, and startled the intruder in the kitchen.  He swung the ax hitting her arm, and she ran back to the bed, where he caught her as she tried to slide down under the covers, and dashed her.

 

He returned to grab his food, and became curious as to whether this victim was an adult or child, returned to the room with the bacon and ax, then examined her genitals.  He wiped the ax, not to remove prints, but because it had become slick from blood, and nearly came out of his hands during the initial mayhem.

 

Once it was wiped down, he returned to each victim to ensure he wouldn't be startled again, bashing again and again. This being done, he merely wiped the ax off in case he needed it again.  He was in the home when he heard the neighbor tussling about preparing to do her wash.

 

In a hurry, he left through the door once he thought it safe.  He entered the Moore house to scavenge for food, and left empty handed, empty bellied, and having committed eight killings just to keep from going to prison again.

 

Please let me know your thoughts on this sir.

 

Thank You,

Troy

 

 

Dr. Epperly's response:

 

Troy:

 

Officials first on the scene in Villisca, reported a lamp in the downstairs bedroom and another upstairs in Joe and Sara's room.  Downstairs the lamp, whose chimney had been removed, was sitting on the floor at the foot of the Stillinger girls bed.  Upstairs the lamp was also unlit and most observers reported it was on a lamp stand, although at least one person remembered it being on the floor.

 

I am very doubtful the Moore's would have left a burning lamp on the floor.  Newspapers of that day were full of tragic stories of death, injuries, and fires resulting from mishandled lamps.  I do suspect the family might have left a burning lamp on a table in another room, to reassure the young girls sleeping downstairs.

 

Consequently, I believe the killer placed the lamp on the floor, after the Stillinger girls had been killer.  It was to conceal this light that the murderer went to such pains to cover all windows, including the glass in the front doors.  It was also from this light that he was able to gaze at the semi-nude Lena Stillinger in her final repose.

 

All of this is of course speculation, but I am quite sure the killer needed some light to move through the house on what was a very dark night in Villisca.  If the parents hadn't left a lamp burning I am confident the killer found and lit one before he struck.

 

Turning to your question regarding who closed the windows?  I suspect the windows were closed by the family when they went to bed, if they had been open that day.  It was quite cool that night and there was a threat of rain.

 

Reports from the U.S. weather station in Corning Iowa, some 20 miles east of Villisca reported a high of 64 degrees and a low of 52 with a trace of rain on June 9,1912.  The Moore's also did not have screens on their windows.  Therefore I suspect it was only the hottest weather that caused them to open their windows to the insects outside.

 

If they had not closed their windows to the chill the killer did so when he was drawing the shades.  We know that all but two windows were locked when the murder was discovered.  We also know that neither of these two unlocked windows could have been used by the killer for entrance or exit.  One had an intact spider web that would have been broken had the window been opened.  The other was blocked by a sewing machine.

 

Thank you for the interesting questions.  I hope this information helps.

 

Ed Epperly

Sickened by the Sight: Crime Scene Clean-up at the Villisca Ax Murder House

Carl A. Peterson: Immortality and Iowa's Most Infamous True Crime
By Edgar V. Epperly, historian

In 1912 Villisca, Iowa if you wanted a foundation dug, a shed roofed, or a barn painted, Carl Peterson was your man.  Like dozens, if not hundreds, of other Montgomery County men, Carl was a day laborer.

He didn't work on the railroad, clerk in a store, or hire out to a farmer.  Instead, each day would find him at the Green Bay lumber yard or Bert McCaull's pool hall or Nelson's garage waiting for anyone who needed unskilled labor that day.

Then, one day in June, 1912, fate reached down and plucked Carl from the anonymous crowd, bestowing on him the tiniest bit of immortality.  Montgomery County sheriff Owen Jackson was charged with the onerous duty of seeing that little house was cleaned and fumigated after the 1912 Villisca axe murders of eight victims that included Joe and Sara Moore, their four children and two Stillinger sisters.

Such an assignment was beneath a sheriff's dignity so he directed Villisca's Marshall Hank Horton to see that the task was done.  Marshall Horton hired Sylvester (Ves) Cooney for the job who in turn hired Carl Peterson as his helper.

On Wednesday following the Sunday night murder, Ves and Carl went down to the Moore house to inspect the scene.   The printed record is unclear whether they did the actual cleaning that day or returned on Thursday to complete the job.

Whatever the day, it proved too much for Carl.  Shortly after he and Ves entered the Stillinger girls' bedroom downstairs, Carl got sick.  Protesting, "I can't stand it," he fled to the front yard where he lost his breakfast and was hors de combat for the day.

Ves, made of sterner stuff, set about the grisly business of removing stained bedding.  He found a "...double handful of clotted blood and brains on every pillow in the house."  There were bits of bone in each bed with by far the largest number of bone fragments in the parents' room upstairs.

Ves also found a pool of dried blood under every bed.

This bloody residue prevented Cooney from picking up the soiled bedding and carrying it outdoors.  Instead he decided to roll each mattress with its bed clothing inside.  The Bible's King David had his five smooth stones and Ves Cooney had his five pieces of wire.  He cut them from the wire that surrounded the house with each being some eight feet in length.

He then dragged the rolled bedding out to "Kettle" Overman's dray wagon in front of the house.  The crooked stairway leading down from the upstairs proved too narrow to accommodate the rolled mattresses so he was forced to remove the south windows upstairs and push the bloody bundles through the opening.

One of the bloody bundles stained the house siding as it slid to the ground.

Carl who had remained in the yard throughout Ves' efforts now felt sufficiently recovered to lend a hand.  While Ves and "Kettle" took the bedding to the city dump where they burned it, Carl went to fetch some whitewash.  Brush in hand, he mounted a ladder and painted over the bloody stain the mattress had left on the house.

The next day, Ves and Carl mopped the floor and Carl helped Dr. Loomis fumigate the house.  Finally, Carl papered and painted the upstairs rooms.

Now, after only two days, fate was through with Carl and returned him to his anonymous life.  This is not to say he didn't enjoy a happy productive life, but next to nothing is known about him. He lived until 1959 and we may assume his years were filled with the joys and pains that come to everyone.

But happy or sad, Carl is only remembered for two days in June 1912 when he had the human decency to be sickened by the sight of the Villisca Axe Murder crime scene.  Throughout all the years of his life it is only those two days spent cleaning a house that left a trace of him in the historical record.

Carl A. Peterson, 1870-1959

"Villisca: Living with Mystery" Documentary to Air on PBS Station in Illinois

America's Greatest Unsolved Mystery

The award-winning and critically-acclaimed historical documentary feature film Villisca: Living with a Mystery will air at 8:00 pm on Sunday, April 12, 2009 on WQPT-PBS Channel 24 in the Quad-Cities area.

The true crime film by Kelly and Tammy Rundle tells the story of the still-unsolved 1912 Villisca, Iowa axe murders and their lingering effects.  Villisca has been previously broadcast on PBS stations in Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri--all states with connections to the story.

Monmouth, Illinois was the site of a similar murder in 1911.  The Villisca crime may have been connected to the Monmouth crime and similar murders in several Midwestern locations.

Villisca qualified for the 2005 Academy Award competition in the Documentary Feature category.

SYNOPSIS

REVIEWS

The Rundles are co-producing a series with WQPT on Midwestern independent filmmaking that will air in 2009.

Villisca's Struggle with Town's Image in Wake of Murders the Focus of Iowa History Forum Event

A crowd gathers for a 2008 Villisca murders presentation at DMACC.

Join us on Friday, April 3, 2009 at the DMACC Ankeny Campus for three Iowa History Forum presentations:

Heritage and Homicide: Living with the Axe Murder Mystery
Villisca, Iowa isn’t known as the birthplace of a president.  Instead, history handed it the Iowa’s worst mass murder.  How does a community define itself in the wake of a tragedy?  Documentary filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle discuss the town’s efforts to both avoid and acknowledge the axe murders of 1912.

The Forgotten Nation: Rediscovering the Story of the Ioway
172 years after their forced removal, the Ioway Tribe and their dramatic story have returned to the state that bears their name.  This journey through a forgotten chapter of Iowa's Native American history is explored through documentary filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle’s experiences in making and distributing Lost Nation: The Ioway.

Preserving the Past: One Hour Documentary Film School
Award-winning filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle use examples from their own historical documentary films to describe the filmmaking process.  This “one-hour film school” will show you how to get your Iowa history story from an idea to the silver screen.

Part of a day-long series of over 30 Iowa history presentations, the sessions are free to students and $25 (all-day pass) for others.  The event has been organized by Dr. Lisa Ossian.

The link below leads to a Des Moines Register article:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090331/NEWS/90330041/1025/COMM01&community=Ankeny

Collateral Damage: Another Victim of the 1912 Villisca Axe Murders

Villisca, Iowa Cemetery.

Frank Robinson: The Wronged Man
By Edgar V. Epperly, historian

We do not know who destroyed the lives of the eight victims of the 1912 Villisca axe murder, but we do know who destroyed Frank Robinson's life.

Burns detective James Newton Wilkerson proved quite willing to ignore the truth, bend the truth, and break the truth in his quest for power, prestige, and money.  The Villisca murder meant nothing but personal gain to Wilkerson.  This was clearly demonstrated by his treatment of Frank Robinson.

As his witch hunt developed, Wilkerson had only to look accusingly in your direction to convict you in the eyes of his supporters.  When Wilkerson pointed his boney finger at Frank Robinson, he branded him a co-conspirator with the Joneses, even though a casual look at the evidence demolishes the charges Wilkerson's leveled against Frank.

Before the murder Frank was a small town entrepreneur.  Born in 1868, 15 miles south of Villisca in Page County, he qualified as an early settler.  In the 1890s he moved to Galveston, Texas where he met his wife Lillie. They had the good sense to return to Iowa just months before Galveston was flattened by the 1900 hurricane.

Photo courtesy Dan Smith. 

Back in Iowa he bought a farm some 10 miles south of Villisca, but he proved too restless to stay down on the farm.   In the years before the 1912 murder he moved to Villisca where he opened a cigar factory.  Perhaps a cigar factory in a small Iowa town seems incongruous, but in those years before 1920 cigars were the dominant smoke.

Cigars are not machine-made at the turn of the 20th century, so many small towns had their own factory with their own brands.  Robinson in partnership with a young fellow E. N. Myers marketed four 5-cent varieties:  Black Squirrels; Golden Dreams; Mooses; and Father George, and a top of the line 10-cent cigar, Don Cassio.

By June of 1912 the ever restless Robinson had closed his cigar factory and was trying his hand at selling cars.  That enterprise led him to a fateful mistake.  In an attempt to collect some old bills left over from the cigar venture and to twist the arm of a potential car buyer, he and his wife drove to Hawleyville, Iowa on Monday morning June 10, 1912.

Hawleyville, a tiny village 15 miles Southeast of Villisca, was the childhood home of Dona Jones, Albert's indiscreet wife.  Her trysts with local men were the hottest gossip around Villisca during the months leading up to the murder.  Consequently anyone who traveled to Hawleyville that tragic morning inevitably attracted Detective Wilkerson's attention.

Dona Bentley Jones.

Frank complicated his life further by being one of the several men about town to have had telephone conversations with Dona during the months preceding the murder.  Finally, during the years between the murder and the grand jury investigation of 1916, Frank and his wife became personal friends of Albert and Dona Jones.

For Wilkerson these three missteps constituted a damning indictment of Frank Robinson as a co-conspirator in the axe murders of the entire Josiah B. Moore family and two Stillinger girls.  The tale Wilkerson spun labeled Frank as another of Dona's lovers who had been chosen to carry the news of the murder to her family.

Wilkerson further speculated that Albert and Dona had been on the verge of separation during the days preceding the murder and Frank was sent to Hawleyville to insure that the Bentleys didn't reveal the schism to any murder investigators.  The telephone calls were self explanatory, as everyone in town knew why the local Lotharios were calling Dona.

Finally, the Robinsons were a full generation older than Albert and Dona and Wilkerson thought it most peculiar that two families so distant in age would form so close a friendship.  Consequently, Frank Robinson was, by 1916 a prime suspect in the eyes of the anti-Jones crowd.

Detective James Newton Wilkerson.

Such is the way conspiracy theories grow.  Wilkerson's statements and speculation regarding Frank Robinson's behavior was taken as fact when even a cursory investigation would prove them false.  It is true Frank telephoned Albert and Dona's home before the murder, but the telephone operators were clear in their testimony that his calls differed from the others Dona received.

He never arranged a private meeting and was happy to talk to Albert if he should answer.  The content of their calls also differed.  He phrased his conversations more as a friend with a bit of "Dutch uncle" advice thrown in from time to time.

Regarding the friendship that grew between the two families, their age difference was mildly unusual but in no way sinister.  They were quite open in their relationship with absolutely no evidence that it was more than an occasional meeting of friends for social contact.   Had it not been for Wilkerson's innuendos, not an eyebrow would have been raised in Villisca.

Finally, Frank was able to clearly show by eyewitness testimony that his trip to Hawleyville on Monday, June 10, 1912, was entirely business in nature.  He and his wife left Villisca around 7:00 a.m. driving south to their farm where they stopped for a talk with their son and hired man.  From there they completed the 16 mile drive to Hawleyville.

While in town they tried to collect debts left over from the cigar factory days.  While on the street, Ben Kendall shouted from his general store that a call had just come in announcing a big murder in Villisca.  Ben thought it was about 10:00 a.m. when he received the news.  Frank and Lillie debated returning to Villisca straight away, but decided to continue with the morning's plans.

They drove north of town to Ernest Strong's farm where Frank tried to sell him a Ford car.  Ernest wouldn't buy so the Robinsons left for Clarinda, Iowa  a few miles further south to have dinner with Frank's mother.  They tried to telephone Villisca but found the lines jammed.  Too excited to eat, they bid a hurried good-bye and returned to Villisca.

There is absolutely no evidence they spoke to any member of the Bentley family while in Hawleyville and, if Wilkerson was even an average investigator, he knew that.  But since it suited his case to picture Frank Robinson as a go-between to keep Dona's family informed and under control, he was perfectly willing to defame Frank's character to strengthen his case against F. F. Jones.  Such was Wilkerson's method.

There is one last element to the Frank Robinson story that needs to be told.  Frank was the first of Wilkerson's suspects to die so he became the first victim of death bed confession rumors.  As it became less and less likely that the court system would ever indict, let alone convict F. F. Jones of the murder, a death bed confessions became the great hope of many Wilkerson supporters.

Surely someone among the substantial body of conspirators Wilkerson had identified would confess on their death bed rather than face God unrepentant.  As death came near each of those individuals, Villisca would quiet down waiting to hear any whispered confession that might drift out of the death chamber.

All ears strained when Albert and F. F. died as they had earlier when Harry Whipple, who Wilkerson claimed was in the house during the murder, succumbed to cancer.  Frank Robinson was the first suspect to garner such attention when he died in October of 1916.

Rumors spread among Wilkerson's supporters that he had made such a confession to Dr. Lomas.   Testifying before the 1917 grand jury, Dr. Lomas quashed such rumors.  Frank, Dr. Lomas said, died of Bright's Disease, slipping into a coma nearly a month before he finally died and was unable to speak even if he had anything to say.  Earlier Robinson and Lomas had talked about the murder, but Lomas testified Frank only protested the methods being used against him and expressed his belief that Jones was innocent.

Frank Robinson is one of many innocent Villisca citizens who were badly damaged not by the murder but by Detective Wilkerson's exploiting the anguish of the victims' friends and relatives for personal gain.

Wilkerson lived a long life so justice was not served in this world, but if there is another, I am confident his soul is barking in hell this very day for what he did to Frank Robinson and several other innocent citizens of Villisca.

Frank L. Robinson, 1868-1916

Red Oak Echo Windows Plant Closes Leaving 100 Jobless - Villisca Residents Also Affected

Echo Windows has closed it's doors in Red Oak, Iowa on Monday February 23, 2009, leaving 100 Montgomery County residents without jobs.  Echo purchased Traco windows in Red Oak just two months ago with stated plans for expansion.

The situation echoes a similar closing and subsequent protest and reopening of Chicago-based Republic Windows in December 2008.  Republic is owned by Rich Gillman.  His wife Sharon Gillman owns Echo.  Mr. Gillman is the president of both companies.

As locals scramble to locate an investor to keep the Echo plant open, our hearts go out to our friends in Red Oak, Villisca, and Montgomery County who are affected by this closure.

The published unemployment rate in Montgomery County in November 2008 was 6.4%.

Villisca, Iowa was the site of the 1912 axe murders and Red Oak the scene of the slander and murder trials of 1916 and 1917.

Marengo, Iowa Library will Feature 1912 Villisca Axe Murder Presentation

Edgar Epperly reviews a portion of an early edit of "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" in Los Angeles.

Villisca axe murder historian Dr. Edgar V. Epperly is scheduled to appear at the Marengo, Iowa public library on October 19, 2009 to do a special presentation.

Details will be posted as they develop, but mark your calendar now!  Ed is a real stem-winder. : )

Ed has researched the still-unsolve true-crime since 1955 and is the foremost historical authority on Iowa's worst mass-murder.

Buy Villisca: Living with a Mystery on DVD here: www.VilliscaMovie.com

http://www.VilliscaMovie.com/dvd.htm

Man Who Had Key Murders Eight Iowans in Villisca - Kansas City Journal

Photo courtesy of the Villisca Review

From the June 11, 1912 edition of the Kansas City Journal (our notes in brackets):

MAN WHO HAD KEY MURDERS 8 IOWANS

JUNE 11, 1912

 

Ax Used in Killing Found,

but No Trace of Slayer.
Militia on Guard.

TWO VICTIMS GUESTS

Others Are Four Children
and Parents--Dogs Go
to River Bank.

FOOTPRINTS ARE SEEN

Sister of Dead Man Not in House as Was Thought.
She is Divorced.

 

VILLISCA, IA., June 10.--Twenty-four hours after the murder of the entire Joseph Moore [Josiah Moore] family and two young women guests, eight in all, which occurred Sunday night, the authorities have been unable to get a single trace of the murderer and have little or no clue to his identity.  The murderer killed every person in the house with an ax and escaped without discovery.  It is apparent he had a key to a door of the Moore home, because all doors and windows were found locked [grand jury testimony indicates that the Moores usually left a key on the inside of the front door--they also likely left their back door unlocked--not uncommon in those days, or even now in small communities].

 

A revised list of the victims follows:

 

JOSEPH B. MOORE [Josiah B. Moore]
MRS. JOSEPH B. MOORE [Mrs. Josiah B. Moore, or Sara Moore]
HERMAN MOORE, aged 11.
CATHERINE MOORE, aged 9. [Katherine Moore, aged 10]
BOYD MOORE, aged 7.
PAUL MOORE, aged 6. [aged 5]
LENA STILLINGS, aged 15. [Lena Stillinger, aged 11]
INA STILLINGS, aged 9. [Ina Stillinger, aged 8]

The Misses Stillings [Stillingers] were over-night guests at the Moore home.

 

Photo courtesy of the Villisca Review

 

DOGS TAKE TRAIL

 

Bloodhounds [from Beatrice, Nebraska] arrived here on a late evening train and were immediately taken to the Moore home.  Within ten minutes they found a scent which took them over a circuitous route to the edge of the town and thence to the banks of the Nodaway river.   They were followed closely by their keepers [Elmer Noffsinger].

Entering a deep woods along the river, the hounds led their followers over several miles of rough timber land in the Nodaway bottoms.

 

After an hour the hounds returned to the river where those following the dogs found fresh foot prints in the soft muddy bank and leading to the river.  Those following the trail took the hounds across the river, but were unable to find any trace of the fugitive on the other side.  At midnight the posse returned to town and will start afresh in the morning [the dogs followed the same trail the next morning with identical results].

 

The bodies of the eight murdered persons were viewed late tonight by a coroner's jury and turned over to an undertaker.  They were removed to the city hall to be prepared for burial.  A detailed [detail] of militia guarded both the Moore home and city hall all night.

 

The first intimation of the crime was given when a clerk in the implement house of Mr. Moore went to the Moore home to ascertain the cause of the employer's delay in reaching business [the first to notice an "odd stillness" in the Moore house was next-door neighbor Mary Peckham--she subsequently called Joe Moore's John Deere farm Implement dealership and spoke with his helper Ed Selley].  Finding the house locked, the window shades all down and no one about, he notified the neighbors and, with assistance, forced entrance to the house [Joe's brother Ross arrived later and used a skeleton key to open the door--it was not forced open by anyone].

 

The dead, with one exception, were found in their beds in natural attires of sleeping and until the crushed condition of their heads and the soaked pillows were discovered, it was impossible for the searchers to believe that anything was wrong.

An ax showing without doubt it was the weapon used, was found in an upstairs room where it was left by the assassin after he had completed his deadly work [the axe, according to all who viewed the crime scene was left by the killer in the downstairs bedroom occupied by the Stillinger girls].

 

 

BEDS NOT DISTURBED

 

Mr. and Mrs. Moore were in one bed, the clothing of which was not the least disturbed.  In another bed were two of the boys [the youngest boys Boyd and Paul Moore].  The sister [Katherine] occupied a third bed and the youngest boy [Herman was the oldest boy] was alone in a smaller bed.  In neither instance was the bedding of the children disarranged [the face of each victim was covered with articles of clothing and the bedclothes were drawn up over their heads].

The Misses Stillings [Stillingers] occupied a room in another part of the house.  One of the girls has a cut on an arm and was in such a position as to indicate she had awakened before the attack, and that there was a short struggle [according to witnesses and our forensic experts, Lena Stillinger's arm was raised up but not wounded--she may have raised it in defense or more likely as an involuntary response to the axe blows].

The tragedy is one of the most mysterious the officials of Iowa have ever had to deal with.  There is absolutely no clue upon which to warrant an arrest and the utter absence of a possible motive has left the authorities in a maze of perplexity and doubt [an understatement].

Early identification of the two young women who were slain, owing to the terrible condition of their faces, led to a report that they were Mrs. Van Gilder and her daughter.  Mrs. Van Gilder is a sister of Mrs. Moore.  It was understood they were to be the guests of the Moores last night [some newspaper accounts indicated that older sisters Blanche and Edith Stillinger].

Blood stains, which will require the work of experts to handle in relation with the crime, including finger prints of the murderer, are absolutely the only clew the officers have to work upon.  Blood stains were found on the front door near the knob and finger prints were found in the house [no discernible fingerprints were found by an expert from Leavenworth Penitentiary and there were no bloodstains near the front door].

LIGHTED LAMP FOUND

 

A feature of the tragedy which indicates that possibly the murderer left the house quickly, was the finding of a lighted lamp upon the floor of the Moore bed room [two lamps with chimneys removed were found--neither was lit when witnesses entered the house].   All the blinds of the house were closely drawn, the doors were all locked and all the windows locked but two opening from the room which the Spillinger [Stillinger] girls occupied.

As one of the posses were hunting in the railroad yards this evening, a tramp, becoming alarmed, gave himself up to the leaders for protection, fearing he might be a victim of the wrath of the people before they had had time to examine into his identity.  He later was identified by the railroad men and released, badly scared and quickly left town.

Feeling is high and few persons slept in Villisca tonight.  News of the crime traveled fast and there are hundreds of country people who soon came to the village.

Photo courtesy Muschamp.

 

MURDER DELIBERATE

 

One puzzling feature of the crime which serves to heighten the mystery surrounding it, is the apparent deliberation which the murderer went about committing the crime.  All indications are that he entered the house by the front door and with a key, that he left by the same way and locked the door behind him.  Dust upon the sills of the two windows left unlocked shows he did not enter that way.

After pulling down all the blinds in the house, a thing which the Moores never did, the murderer hung dress skirts, which he took from the closets, over each of the doors leading to the south side and also over windows where a flash of light might have penetrated.

VICTIM'S SISTER TALKS

 

OMAHA, NEB., June 10.--Miss Minnie Moore, sister of Joseph B. Moore [Josiah B. Moore], who, with his wife and four children and two young women, were murdered in the Moore home in Villisca, Ia., last night, is employed in a local woman's wear establishment.  She said today that John Van Gilder, who several years ago married a sister of Moore and herself, had left the city after trouble with his wife.  She said he had been gone for years.

MANY CRIMES SIMILAR

Colorado Springs Authorities Will
Investigate--Other Murders
Committed With Axes.

 

COLORADO SPRINGS, COL., June 10.--Colorado Springs police authorities are not inclined to think that there is any connection between the murder of the Moore family at Villisca, Ia., and the Burnham-Wayne murder mystery of September 17 last in this city, in which six persons lost their lives.

It is admitted, however, that there is a striking similarity in the crimes.  In both cases the victims were killed with an ax while asleep and no apparent motive for the deed was found.  Local authorities will make a careful investigation of the Villisca mystery in the hope of finding some clew to the crime here.

 

The slayer of Rolin [Rollin] Hudson and wife at Paola, Kas., on the night of June 5, used as his weapon a pick [pick axe].  Tha Barnhart [Burnham] tragedy had for its central figures four victims of a mysterious axman.  At Ellsworth, Kas., an ax was used to slay the Showman family, the crime of which Marzck [Charles Marzyck], recently apprehended in Canada, now is charged [like Villisca, the Ellsworth crime remains unsolved].