Episode Details

On today’s episode of True Crime Time For, Woody closes out August with one of the most notorious unsolved mass murders in American history: the Villisca Axe Murders of 1912.

Before getting into the case, Woody reminds listeners to continue calling in tips at 313-RLRC-TIP on the cases Real Life Real Crime is working. Because the episode was prerecorded, he also says he is still waiting for developments he hopes he may soon be able to share.

The story begins in Villisca, Iowa, where sometime during the night of June 9 into the early morning of June 10, 1912, eight people were murdered inside the Moore family home.

The victims were Josiah B. “Joe” Moore, 43; his wife, Sarah Montgomery Moore, 39; and their four children: Herman Moore, 11; Mary Katherine Moore, 10; Boyd Moore, 7; and Paul Moore, 5. Also killed were two sisters spending the night with the Moore children: Lena Gertrude Stillinger, 12, and Ina May Stillinger, 8.

The previous evening, the Moore family and the Stillinger girls attended a Children’s Day program at the local Presbyterian church. Sarah Moore helped coordinate the event, and the family returned home around 10 p.m. Sometime after midnight, someone entered the house and used an axe to bludgeon all eight victims to death.

The following morning, neighbor Mary Peckham became concerned when the family failed to begin its usual chores. She contacted Josiah’s brother Ross Moore, who entered the home and discovered the first bodies. Villisca Marshal Henry “Hank” Horton was summoned and found what he later described as someone murdered in every bed.

The crime scene was horrific and bizarre. Investigators believed the killer may have waited inside or near the house until everyone was asleep. An axe belonging to Josiah Moore was found inside the home. Mirrors were covered, victims’ faces were concealed, food and bloody water were reportedly found in the kitchen, and investigators believed at least one victim may have been awake during the attack.

But what happened after the bodies were discovered made an already difficult investigation even worse.

Word of the murders spread rapidly through Villisca, and townspeople began entering the house. Woody describes how the crime scene became hopelessly contaminated as people walked through the rooms, handled items, and even reportedly took pieces of Josiah Moore’s skull as souvenirs. The murder weapon itself was handled by numerous people before authorities gained control of the property.

The situation became so chaotic that the Iowa National Guard was eventually brought in to establish a perimeter around the Moore home. Historical accounts confirm that National Guard troops were used to secure the scene after crowds overwhelmed local authorities.

From there, Woody examines the long list of suspects and theories that developed over the following years.

One of the most prominent was Rev. Lyn George Jacklin Kelly, an English-born traveling minister who had been in Villisca for the Children’s Day services the night of the murders. Kelly drew suspicion because of his fascination with the crime and the detailed letters he later wrote about it. On August 31, 1917, he signed a confession after lengthy interrogation, but later recanted. His first murder trial ended in a hung jury, and he was acquitted at his second trial later that year.

Woody also explores Frank Fernando Jones, a prominent Villisca businessman and former Iowa state senator. Josiah Moore had once worked for Jones before leaving to establish a competing farm-equipment business. Rumors circulated that Jones may have had a