Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Iowa Axe Murders of 1912 by Dr. Edgar Epperly, a new true crime book decades in the writing, was officially released on November 23 and is now available in print and on Kindle at Amazon.com and in independent book stores. The book is published by Fourth Wall Press of Moline, Illinois.
Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Iowa Axe Murders of 1912 tells the story of the violent 1912 Villisca axe murder mystery, still the largest mass murder in Iowa history. Sometime during the dark early morning of June 10, 1912, a person or persons unknown bludgeoned to death Josiah B. Moore, his wife Sara, their children Herman, Katherine, Boyd and Paul, and two overnight guests, Lena and Ina Stillinger. The sensational crime led to nearly ten years of investigations and trials. The small southwest Iowa town of Villisca split over the guilt or innocence of a local businessman and State Senator. A traveling minister from England with a history of window peeping was charged and tried. Investigators and reporters across the country speculated that the violent crime was the work of an early serial killer. Similar crimes had been committed in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Ellsworth, Kansas; and Monmouth, Illinois, leading some authorities to believe the axe murders were the work of a serial killer--a phrase that had yet to be coined.
Fiend Incarnate is illustrated with over 190 photographs and diagrams.
Don Brown and Ed Epperly in 1955, just beginning their research into the 1912 Villisca, Iowa axe murders.
Dr. Epperly, considered the foremost authority on the sensational crime, spent over 60 years interviewing eyewitnesses and key figures in the axe murder case and researching the events surrounding the famous unsolved mystery. His research began in 1955 for a college research project.
“This unsolved murder mystery is a fascinating study of ordinary people dealing with an extraordinary event,” said Epperly.
Epperly was the key consultant and interview in the award-winning documentary feature Villisca: Living with a Mystery, produced by Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films.
“In the wake of the success of the documentary, we talked about publishing a companion book,” said Kelly Rundle. “Books allow for a more detailed telling of a complicated story. Fiend Incarnate is the definitive written account of America's greatest unsolved mystery.”
Epperly has written dozens of articles and blog entries, and appeared on CourtTV and other radio and television programs. He is a popular guest speaker at colleges, universities, historical societies, museums, libraries, and book stores. He resides in Decorah, Iowa. Epperly's research journey was the subject of the award-winning short documentary film AXMAN.
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