The Villisca axe murders occurred between the evening of June 9, 1912, to the early morning of June 10, 1912; in the town of Villisca, Iowa, in the United States. The six members of the Moore family and two guests were found bludgeoned in the Moore residence. All eight victims, including six children, had severe head wounds from an axe. A lengthy investigation yielded several suspects, one of whom was tried twice. The first trial ended in a hung jury and the second ended in an acquittal.
The Moore family consisted of parents Josiah B. (aged 43[1]), Sarah (née Montgomery) (39), and their four children: Herman Montgomery (11), Mary Katherine (10), Arthur Boyd (7), and Paul Vernon (5). An affluent family, the Moores were well-known and well-liked in their community. On June 9, 1912, Mary Katherine Moore invited Ina Mae (8) and Lena Gertrude Stillinger (12) to spend the night at the Moore residence. That evening, the visiting girls and the Moore family attended the Presbyterian church where they participated in the Children's Day Program, which Sarah had coordinated. After the program ended at 9:30 p.m., the Moores and the Stillinger sisters walked to the Moores' house, arriving between 9:45 and 10 p.m.
Over time, many possible suspects emerged, including Reverend George Kelly, Frank F. Jones, William Mansfield, Loving Mitchell, Paul Mueller and Henry Lee Moore (no relation). Kelly was tried twice for the murder. The first trial ended in a hung jury, while the second ended in an acquittal. Other suspects in the investigation were also acquitted.
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Great topic choice Olivia! be sure to include your thoughts within your summary. You didn't reply to any student comments which is 30 points and it is two weeks late.
I find it terrifying that people can first of all do something like this and get away with it. The fact that someone broke in to their house and murdered 8 people with an axe and there was not enough evidence to puich whoever did it, is crazy.
I have heard of this murder in Villisca Iowa. It is very scary that it happened in such a small town and that no one was every punished for it. I have been to the Vilisica Murder House many times but never inside. I think it may still be haunted.
I find it interesting to read these kinds of stories. It is very scary to think that these things have happened and could still happen today. It makes me wonder why the murderer would kill these people, especially since two of the children weren't even related to the Moore family.
I like reading these cases because they are interesting and have many theories. It sounds very scary the way this case happened, and scarier that it happened in Iowa. I've never heard of this case before but I would definitely be researching more about it.
When I first heard about this story I was both fascinated and scared. It scares me so much because Vallisca, Iowa is only about an hour away from Harlan, Iowa. I find it strange that they never actually found out who the murder was.
This stroy is terrifing. This is one of my worst fears. It is very sad to think about the people that were murdered. This is crazy how close to us these murders happened. I think that they had no reason to kill the family and the chidren. I hope that they find the murder.
Some of the things that happened in the past are scary, especially when it happened not too long ago, and in the same area as us. I can't see why someone would murder a whole family and two innocent children. The fact that they never found out who did it makes me feel bad for all the family members involved.
This is such a crazy story that it sounds more like a horror movie than real life. It's very sad and scary to think it happened so close to home. I have actually been to the house, It is very creepy and the vibes there feel very very weird.
This is horrible and I can't believe that people can do things like this. It makes me wonder if these horrible people mere molested or just brought up in a bad home. Still it's crazy to think how they could do this to children and not just older people that maybe bullied them.
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