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Villisca Axe Murders

coldUSJune 9, 1912 — June 10, 1912

4 claims

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The Moore family home in Villisca, Iowa, now known as the Villisca Axe Murder House
Josiah B. and Sara Moore House, Villisca, Iowa (NRHP) — via Wikimedia Commonsunverified

On the evening of Sunday, June 9, 1912, the Moore family of Villisca, Iowa walked home from a church children's program with eight people in their party and no reason to expect what was coming. Josiah Moore, 43, was a well-regarded businessman and deacon—a man with standing in this quiet Montgomery County town. His wife Sarah, 39, walked beside him. Their four children came along: Herman, 11; Mary Katherine, 10; Arthur, 7; and Paul, just five years old. Joining them for a sleepover were two sisters from the neighborhood: Ina May Stillinger, eight, and her sister Lena Gertrude, eleven, who had been invited by Mary Katherine to spend the night. The program had wrapped up around 9:30. By 9:45 or 10 o'clock that evening, all eight of them were inside the two-story frame house on East Second Street, doors closed against the summer dark.

None of them survived until morning.

The discovery came at approximately seven o'clock on June 10. Mary Peckham, the family's neighbor, had grown uneasy. The Moores were reliable people—up early, chores done, a household that ran on schedule. But that morning, nobody appeared. No sounds from the yard, no movement in the windows. Peckham alerted the town marshal, Henry Horton, who entered the home and moved from room to room. When Horton emerged, he reportedly told a Moore relative what he had found in plain terms: "Somebody was murdered in every bed."

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Claims

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Henry Lee Moore — unrelated to the slain Moore family — was later convicted of the axe murders of his own mother and grandmother in a separate case occurring several months after the Villisca killings, leading some investigators to suspect a connection.[1, 2]

Check the sourcesWikipedia ↗Annals of Iowa / University of Iowa ↗

origin: imported

Reverend George Kelly was the only person ever tried for the Villisca murders; his first trial ended in a hung jury and the second in an acquittal.[1, 3]

Check the sourcesWikipedia ↗Iowa Cold Cases ↗

origin: imported

Each of the eight victims was attacked while sleeping, with multiple blows delivered to their heads.[1, 3]

Check the sourcesWikipedia ↗Iowa Cold Cases ↗

origin: imported

Sources

Sources opened and checked for this issue — not exhaustive, official, or a complete record. Numbers match the citation marks above.

  1. 1.Wikipedia — Villisca axe murders
  2. 2.Annals of Iowa / University of Iowa — The Villisca Axe Murders: A Review Essay
  3. 3.Iowa Cold Cases — The Villisca Axe Murders
  4. 4.The Villisca Axe Murder House — Historical information and case details
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