Episode 26: The Villisca Axe Murders

           In Iowa, there lies a city by the name of Villisca. As of 2020, Villisca only had a population of 1,132. The community is small and tight knit and seemingly always has been. So, when a family of 6 and two additional young girls are brutally murdered on an early summer night in 1912, the community was shaken to their core. On June 10, 1912, sometime between midnight and 5am, the Moore family which consisted of Josiah and Sarah More along with their four children and with their daughter's friends, Ina and Lena Stillinger would be brutally murdered. Their murders were discovered shortly after 7AM on June 10, 1912, and after this discovery, the town would never be the same. Who could have done something this brutal? This horrific? Listen close to hear the story of the Villisca Axe Murders and even hear about some of the paranormal activity this tragedy leaves behind.

 

Sources:

The Gazette – Minister on Trial in Connection with Villisca, Iowa Murders – September 19, 1917 – Retrieved: December 9, 2024

The Evening Kansan-Republican – December 11, 1916 – Revive Villisca Axe Murder Case – Retrieved: December 9, 2024

Wikipedia – Villisca, Iowa - Villisca, Iowa - Wikipedia – Retrieved: December 9, 2024

Winston-Salem Journal – September 5, 1917 – Indict Attorney General on Charge of Oppression – Retrieved: December 9, 2024

The Herald Sun – September 13, 1917 – Sensation in a Murder Trial – Retrieved: December 9, 2024

Project Fear – Villisca Axe Murder House

Paranormal Lockdown – Villisca Axe Murder House

The News and Observer – Preacher acquitted on second trial of old murder charge – November 25, 2017 – Retrieved: December 9, 2024

El Paso Herald – September 1, 1917 – Kelly admits axe murders – Retrieved: December 9, 2024

The World News – June 24, 1927 – One is hanged and two put to death in the electric chair – December 10, 2024

The Sandusky Star-Journal – September 19, 1917 – Confession read in Kelly’s Trial – Retrieved: December 11, 2024

Wikipedia – Villisca Axe Murders – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villisca_axe_murders - Retrieved: December 11, 2024