The Villisca axe murders involved several people and a gruesome murder. The Moore family was made
The Villisca axe murders involved several people and a gruesome murder. The Moore family was made
One late night on November 19, 1986 there was an intense blizzard casting its cold winter snow over Newtown, Connecticut, but that wasn't the only thing cold brewing In Newtown that night. 'Twas the night that the famous “wood chipper murder” came to be. Richard Craft, an airplane pilot, was married to Helle Craft, a stewardess. They were married for many years, and had 3 children. Helle suspected Richard was being unfaithful so she hired someone to investigate her husband. Sure enough the private investigator was able to capture photographic evidence of richards infidelity. Helle demanded a divorce, divorces cost a pretty penny and Richard did not want to lose a cent, so that’s when he decided to kill his wife. He beat Helle with blunt object to her death, froze her, then cut her…
Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood documents the quadruple homicide of Herbert Clutter and his family in Holcomb, Kansas. It is not a true memoir, as Capote was not a part of the events that took place; he traveled to Kansas immediately following the murders to write about the ensuing investigation and fill in the blanks about the actual goings-on in Holcomb, 1959. His writing is a true account of the murder from the beginning; not only was he in Holcomb during the investigation, he spoke directly with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Finney County citizens, lawyers involved in the case, and people directly involved in the crime. His narrative is vivid, emotional, and most of all, profound. His contention with crime and violence is apparent through his powerful account of the murder and the investigation.…
The Snowtown murders, otherwise called the Bodies in Barrels killings, were the homicides of 12 individuals in South Australia, Australia between August 1992 and May 1999. The wrongdoings were revealed when the remaining parts of eight casualties were found in barrels of corrosive situated in a leased previous bank working in Snowtown, South Australia on 20 May 1999. The town of Snowtown is in the Mid North of South Australia, 145 km north of Adelaide. Despite the fact that Snowtown is every now and again connected with the wrongdoings, the bodies had been held in a progression of areas around Adelaide for quite a while, and were moved to Snowtown in mid 1999, late in the wrongdoing spree that had traversed quite a long while. Stand out casualty…
The following suspects were ‘favored’ by officers who were conducting or investigating the murders: Montague John Druitt (August 15, 1857- December 31, 1888); Seweryn Klosowski aka George Chapman (December 14, 1865- April 7, 1903); Aaron Kosminski (September 11, 1865- March 24, 1919);Michael Ostrog (1833- 1904); John Pizer (1850-1897); James Thomas Sadler; and Frances Tumblety. There is a lack of real evidence to link any of these men to the murders, but they all had extreme suspicion again the investigators after the…
Recently, an interesting case of murder involving a young married woman was unravelled by the crime scene team. The collection of evidence and laboratory examination of exhibits provided the corroborative evidence necessary to prove the victim’s in-laws were trying to mislead the Investigating Officer by fabricating a story of looting and murder…
Very few cases in American history have attracted as much attention as the hatchet murders of Andrew J. Borden and his wife, Abby Borden. The crime was that an unknown person whacked Andrew Borden in the head ten times. According to an online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Abby Borden got nineteen (“Lizzie Borden”). Up until getting murdered, Abby and Andrew lived a pleasant life. All of Massachusetts was shocked when they heard the news that the Abby and Andrew Borden had been victims of an ax murderer, according to an article written by a popular website, askmen.com. The many suspects included: John Morse, the visiting uncle of the Borden children; Lizzie and her sister Emma, a mysterious and unnamed lover of Lizzie 's; Bridget, the maid; and William Borden, Andrew 's cousin, who was said to be Andrew Borden’s own illegitimate child. (Alexander). Lizzie Borden was the guilty one.…
In the book, “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote he describes to us all the events that took place before, during, and after a murder that happened in Holcomb, Kansas. Mr. Clutter, who was the owner of River Valley Farm and husband to Bonnie Clutter, and the father of four children, two whom had survived due to them not living at the Clutter residence anymore. The fatal event of the family hit the whole town hard which led one man, detective Alvin Dewey, determined to find and take whoever did such actions to trial to be sentenced.…
When reading A Murder in Virginia many questions arise about why this book is important and even why the story about Lucy Pollard death mattered in 1895 let alone why it matters to us now in 2015. Suzanne Lebsock doesn't come right out and tell you the answers to these questions, rather she leaves subtle hints throughout the book and tells you why she thinks it is important to learn about in the last chapter of the book. I think she does it this way so you can formulate your own ideas and your own reasons on why the Lucy Pollard case is an influential piece of history.…
During the Victorian area, a shift in the way citizens consumed information occurred. At the beginning of the Nineteenth century, it was wildly popular for people to visit the body at the crime scene. British Historian Judith Flanders terms this as “murder sightseeing” in her book The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection. Going further than “murder sightseeing” people would also partake in the trial and public hanging. Although, murder sightseeing continued throughout the nineteenth century it became more prevalent for people to read about the crime rather than physically go to the crime scene.…
In the non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, Truman Capote (1965) gives his own narrative of the Holcomb tragedy in which a family of four living out on a secluded farm were slaughtered with a shotgun by the collaboration of two individuals for a seemingly few dollars. In this novel,…
“POP!” “POP!” “CRASH!” Screams of agony and terror filled the town as I sprinted out the front door just in time to see the 15- foot wave of molasses crash down onto the town bellow. Woman, children, and men were devoured by the thick wall of cement while trees and houses were ripped out of the ground and demolished. Every living thing that got in the way of that 35 mph giant was crushed and suffocated by the sticky syrup that engulfed their lungs. I then realized that the wave was raging closer like a tiger chasing for the kill. I lunged forward to move but my legs remained motionless; fear held me like a prisoner chained to the ground. Before I could blink I was hit by such a substantial force and fell to my knees landing in an ocean of…
Murder often makes a persons blood boil and ask the question, “How can someone do that to someone else?” Most of time when a gruesome act of violence happens people wonder, “What kind of human being does it take to do something like that?” Truman Capote’s book, In Cold Blood, is about such an act of violence; a murder that, when the reader walks away, only registers a banal. The killing of the Clutter family, which happened in 1959 in the town of Holcomb, Kansas, blew most people away with its senselessness and horror. Capote, however, writes the story with personal background on the killers, making them human and giving the reader, something most people do not get to hear or even care to know, a reason to the mindless murders. Evil is easily banalized when there is a story to go along with it.…
Over a year period, there were twelve crimes committed and possibly one mysterious suspect. What brought the city to their attention was the first crime made on May 23, 1918 when an Italian grocer, Joseph Maggio and his wife were butchered in their apartment during the night above the Maggio grocery store (Taylor). In the crime scene was the weapon, an axe, which seemed to have had been covered in blood. As police dug into the case, several suspects were questioned, but investigators seemed to be lacking evidence and the only clear clue seemed to be a message written in chalk near the home reading; “Mrs. Joseph Maggio will sit up tonight. Just write Mrs. Toney” (Taylor). Looking back into files, what seemed to appear was a case similar to the Maggio’s. Standing out was the use of an axe to chisel out an access way into the victim’s homes. More importantly in 1911 there were three other murders targeted towards Italian grocers (“Axeman”). There had to have been some kind of pattern forming.…
The brutal murder of the four Clutter family members was a tragedy to the “American Dream”, filled with anguish and longing. The Clutters’, known as the most secure and trusting family in their community, death caused paranoia and mistrust to spread throughout the town of Holcomb. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues. Until criminal investigator Alvin Dewey received information leading him to the suspected killers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. After much investigation, questioning, and change of heart, Perry Smith finally admits to the crime, while Dick continued to maintain his innocence. Although Perry Smith pulled the trigger that ended the Clutters’ lives, Dick is just as guilty, if not more.…
The crime scene is a home invasion robbery of victim Samuel Jones and his family. Sam, the father, was found in the kitchen, shot three times in the back.…