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.
Replies
This is such a horrifying event in history, and it's even scarier that it happened in a place that isn't very far from us. I can't believe someone would just do something like this, especially to 6 children. It makes me wonder if they had a motive or if it was just random.
I think Villisca Axe Murders feels like a horror movie. I feel that this shouldn't have happened and I felt bad for the family and the 2 guests that got murdered by evil people.
This is such a crazy story that it sounds more like a horror movie than real life. It's so sad and scary that things like this happen. I don't undertstand how anyone could be willing to do something so terrible ecspecially to so many children.
Hearing stories like this always makes my skin crawl. I feel terrible for that family and their community, I can't imagine how everyone felt. I really don't understand why people just feel like killing someone. It's a crazy world and there are way too many crazy people in it. This story just makes me paranoid.
I always hear stories like this on the news, thinking it could never happen close to home. Even though it was a long time ago, I still find it creepy that something so catastrophic happened in Iowa. It is truly unfortunate that this happened to a seemingly kind family, without a clear murderer convicted.
With all of this that is telling in the story I think that nothing of this stuff should have never every happened ever and while there are just a lot of victums shouldnt even done any of this eaither they should start ding better stuff.
I think that the Villiscac Axe murders are crazy people. You are not in the right mental head space if you are going to cut people's heads off. All the victims that were involved, especially the children and the girls that were visiting the house, did not deserve what happened to him.
I think that these people are very much in the wrong because things like this should never happen to people and I think that the people who were involved in this didn't deserve what happened to them and I think that someday, hopefully, they will be able to figure out who the villian is.
I think the the Villisca axe murders are very wrong and nothing like that should ever happen. I think that the victims did not deserve what happened to them and I hope that someday we find out who the real culprit was.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next