VILLISCA, Iowa — On the night of June 10, 1912, eight people, including six children, were killed with an axe in the small Iowa town of Villisca. Though the case had many suspects, and one was even put to trial, nobody has been convicted of the murders.
The Moore family was the kind of “family from any small hometown that everyone loves and respects,” according to Villisca Murder House Tour Guide Johnny, working at the museum where the crime happened.
The father, Joe Moore was known for his business, and his wife Sarah “was a housewife who played piano for the church,” according to tour guide Johnny.
Villisca expert Ed Epperly has been studying the murder case for 60 years, and he says on that fateful night the family of six was joined by two young sisters who were having a sleepover with one of the children.
Tour Guide Johnny says that the murders are especially strange since all of the bodies were found “in bed just like they went to sleep ... Everybody loved them, and all of a sudden they wake up and everyone's dead.”
Epperly says “In the downstairs bedroom there were two victims ... both struck in the head above the neck. All Blows were struck above the neck, and [the killer had placed] a cloth over their face.”
Mysteriously, there was raw bacon found lying on the floor, mirrors were covered with sheets, and food was found sitting at the table, beside bloody water in the kitchen.
According to Johnny, the victim's families thought one man had done the killings, but meanwhile, state and local authorities are building a case against a “schizophrenic traveling Minister.”
“Reverend George Jacqueline Kelly, a Presbyterian minister, was in Villisca, the night of the murder, and he sent a bloody shirt to a laundry the week after the murder,” says Epperly.
Kelly, a man who some report had suffered a mental breakdown at some point in his life, is described as a strange man who came to Villisca a few days before the murders to teach at the children's daycare. Kelly confessed to the murders after hours of interrogation by police and later recanted.
After two separate trials, Kelly was acquitted. Epperly says “It's a viable possibility that [Kelly] was the killer, but it can't be proven today, at least to my satisfaction.”
The Villisca Axe Murders are a haunting story of American history, and it continues to be unsolved to this day.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.