Margaret Landers Hears a Hoot

Ed Lander's (center) mother testified she heard screams from her neighbors the Moore home the night of the murders, June 10, 1912.

By Dr. Edgar V. Epperly

Margaret Landers was a minor player in the Villisca Murder drama, but she was on stage from the opening scene until the final curtain fell.

Margaret had been a widow since 1894 and in June of 1912 was living alone less than a block from Joe Moore’s house.  On Monday June 10, she and her daughter-in-law were doing the weekly wash when they saw a crowd forming in Joe’s yard.  The crowd was in response to the murder’s discovery and Margaret’s life would never be the same.

Later that day, Margaret told her visiting children, Ed, Ethel and his 3 boys who had been staying with her for nearly a month, about hearing Sara Moore screaming during the night.  She retold that tale a thousand times over the years.

By 1917 when she was called before the grand jury, it flowed from her lips with confidence and precision.  Late in the night, she had been awakened by Sara screaming in terror, “Oh, dear, oh, dear, don’t, don’t.”  This litany was repeated several times in rapid succession. Margaret left her bed thrusting her head out the window to listen, but by then all was still at the Moore house.

By 1917 she also recalled an incident related to the murder that occurred on Sunday afternoon, June 9, 1912.  After dinner she had left her grandchildren playing and walked downtown to the post office.  As she returned she passed Joe Moore’s house, turned north and continued up the street towards her house.  As she approached Joe’s barn, she noticed two strangers standing in his back yard.  She saw one of them walk over to the wood pile, pick up an axe and run his fingers along the blade.  She thought little about this strange scene at the time, but now five years after the murder, she was convinced these strangers were testing the murder weapon’s blade for sharpness.

Not surprisingly, no official or grand jury member took Margaret’s testimony at face value.  That two thugs hired to kill Joe Moore would saunter around his back yard, testing the sharpness of his axe just hours before killing him, seemed incredible.  It was easier to believe her reports reflected the excited imagination of an old crone rather than eyewitness testimony.  Grand jury members also wondered how Margaret could have clearly heard Sara Moore’s shouts from nearly a block away when no one in the houses next door reported hearing a sound during the night.  Finally, since those first on the scene all agreed that all victims appeared to have been sleeping when struck how could Sara repeatedly cry out "Oh! dear; oh! dear; don’t , don’t?"

Whatever the reason officials and investigators clearly ignored Margaret Lander’s testimony.  Even her daughter-in-law said she was “flighty” and “not always responsible.”  Because she was old, a bit dotty and obsessed with the murder, she never enjoyed the credibility given to Alice Willard and and her son Ed Landers for their sensational eyewitness testimony.

Margaret was poor throughout her life and suffered from the loneliness that is often the widow’s lot. She died in 1921.

The search for visual material related to the Villisca murders turned up a photograph of Margaret as an old woman.  Scribbled on the back of this picture was the legend, “Driven insane by the Villisca Murders.”  While it seems doubtful the murders caused Margaret’s mental instability, it seems clear that this instability contributed to her vivid, but implausible memories.  The Villisca unsolved mystery lives on.

The award-winning "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" by Emmy-nomiated Fourth Wall Films can now be streamed via Vimeo video-on-demand at:

http://www.vimeo.com/ondemand/villisca/

Click above to view an excerpt or use the link above and select "View the Trailer" to view the excerpt.

View the entire feature-length film for just $2.99!

Purchase the award-winning feature-length Villisca Living with a Mystery on an extra-feature-packed DVD here: http://fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm

Comments

[Judie Delano]

It is very interesting, as quite as it must have been back than, she may have been able to hear something, but since it was supposed to be cool and rainy, her windows may have been shut. I have never thought eight people could have been killed in such a small space without any noise, or anyone waking up prior to being struck. I have always thought the lady next door may have heard something, as her house was very close.,

[Paula Houlden]

Very interesting article. Mrs. Landers is a very intreguing character of the whole Villisca saga. Much like the unfortunate Mrs. Mary Peckham, the next door neighbor, the brutal and senseless killings of her neighbors greatly affected Mrs. Landers. Am I correct in that Mrs. Peckham gave conflicting statements about hearing anything the night of the crime? She testified at the coroner's inquest that she did not hear anything yet if you read other accounts she supposedly told somebody she "thought she MIGHT have heard a scream" during the night of the murders. Mrs. Peckham was rushed off to Bozeman, Montana (sort of odd don't you think?) and died only 6 months later, apparently from the affects of a nervous breakdown. There could have been some other health issues going on but again this was 1912 and medical knowledge and treatment was not what it is today. Also odd that nobody bothered to question Mary's husband and son who were sleeping in the very same house at the same time. As interesting as Mrs. Landers' claim was, it seemed in the end that she and her son were just not very reliable witnesses. After all, Ed claimed he saw Albert Jones entering the Moore's house Sunday evening while they were at church. Turns out that story was completely made up and encouraged by Detective Wilkerson. It's common during traumatic or historical events for people to want to place themselves at the center of the action or story when in reality they were just common bystanders.