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Kelly signed a confession months later saying God had whispered to him to "suffer the children to come unto me." "The slaying of the entire family promises to become a mystery which will take much time to unravel," a Tribune reporter wrote at the time. Neighbors reported they did not hear any cries from the rooms of the sleeping family.
The Moore Family
Its interior still boasts the same furniture and beds in which the Moore family and Stillinger girls were cruelly slain. It wasn’t until police became aware of Kelly’s past that he became a suspect in the Villisca killings. In his teenage years, Kelly had struggled with severe mental illness and also had a history of sexual deviance. Regularly visiting churches throughout Iowa and neighboring states, Kelly had developed a reputation as something of an eccentric. Numerous suspects cropped up over the years, some of whom even confessed to the Villisca murders.
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Located in Montgomery County, Iowa, Villisca boasts a population of around 1,100 residents as of 2019. Back in the late 1890s and early 1900s, Villisca was a thriving town with a close-knit community. Although there were only 2,500 residents in Villisca, it was a hub for developing businesses and a magnet for local tycoons who were eager to capitalize on the area’s growth. In 2011, KCCI’s Keri Gavin spent a late night with a team trying to capture ghosts on video.
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Suspects and confessions have come forward, and even trials were held, but, ultimately, the person responsible for the barbaric crimes remains unknown. Now more than a hundred years later, the Villisca axe murders remain one of the most mysterious cases in history. In Mueller's suspected crimes there was often but not always a sexual motive directed towards a pubescent girl, as with Lena's being partly disrobed. Sometime after midnight on June 10th, 1912, six children and two adults were found bludgeoned to death by an axe that was left at the scene.
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In the weeks that followed, he displayed a fascination with the case and wrote many letters to the police, investigators, and family of the deceased. This aroused suspicion and a private investigator wrote back to Reverend Kelly, asking for details that the minister might know about the murders. Kelly replied with great detail, claiming to have heard sounds and possibly witnessed the murders. His known mental illness made authorities question whether he knew the details because of having committed the murders or was imagining his account. Susan Berman was an author and daughter of Davie Berman – a mobster who took the place of Bugsy Siegel at Las Vegas’ Flamingo Hotel following his murder. Berman herself was only 12-years-old when her father died under mysterious circumstances during an operation and a year later, her mother committed suicide.
The front and back porches were both closed in, plumbing and electrics were added and outbuildings were removed and replaced. The Ax Murder suspects – Frank Jones, William Mansfield, Rev Kelly, Henry Moore. Traveling minister, Reverend Lyn George Kelly was one of the main suspects.
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A second jury was immediately empanelled, but acquitted Rev. Kelly in November. The Moore-Stillinger funeral services were held in Villisca’s town square on June 12, 1912, with thousands in attendance. National Guardsmen blocked the street as a hearse moved toward the firehouse, where the eight victims lay.
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However, this house in Villisca (now known as the Villisca Ax Murder house) would become the location of one of the most brutal mass-murders in the history of the United States. Soon, reports of similar enough crimes happening throughout the country began to pop up. Though the crimes were not quite as gruesome, there were two common threads – the use of an axe as the murder weapon, and the presence of an oil lamp, set to burn extremely low, at the scene. Wilkerson managed to convince a grand jury to open an investigation in 1916, and Mansfield was arrested and brought to Montgomery County from Kansas City.
Reverend acquitted by jury for family's murder
After the Linns opened the house to the public, visitors reported all manner of unexplainable phenomena, from feelings of dread, to sounds such as footprints and children’s laughter. Some have recorded engagement with spirits and two-way communication. One man even experienced an inexplicable self-inflicted knife wound.
Moore reportedly took business away from Jones, including a very successful John Deere dealership. Moore was rumored to have had a sexual affair with Jones’ daughter-in-law, though no evidence supports this. Netflix has picked up the film adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club, the debut novel from Richard Osman. Can either be found at house parties telling everyone Charles Manson was only 5ft 2" or at home reading true crime magazines. Founder of Crime Viral community since 2015. A jury found them both guilty and they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
It wasn’t until 1917 that a Grand Jury indicted Kelly for the murder of Lena Stillinger. In August of that year, Kelly confessed to the murder, saying that God had whispered “suffer the children to come unto me” in his ear. Reportedly, he told some of the passengers that eight dead bodies were lying back in Villisca – several hours before the news had spread. Ross called the local marshall and told him that something terrible had happened. The Moore family was well-liked throughout Villisca and gained a reputation for being generous and kind. They were a church-going family who maintained strong contacts and good relationships with many in the community.
The attic in which the killer(s) are thought to have waited in for the Moore family to fall asleep. Josiah Moore and his wife Sarah Montgomery had four children, Herman (11), Mary (10), Boyd (7), and Paul (5). Josiah was a local businessman with his own hardware store in Villisca, Iowa. His wife, Sarah, when not looking after four children, was active in the local church.
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