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| Henry and Blanche Wayne |
Four years ago I wrote a brief summary of the murders of two
families in Colorado Springs ,
Colorado
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First and foremost, there are more photos out there. The photo on the right is the only photo I
know of the axe used at Colorado
Springs . The
washtub was hanging on the outside of the Burnham home and was taken because the
killer had touched the tub with shoe polish covered hands. Where the original photo has ended up, I
cannot say.
Perhaps more importantly is this little tidbit; the killer
at Colorado Springs
was left handed. For the record, that
makes Ardenwald, Rainier , Colorado
3 comments:
Something I found interesting in the Rainier case is that the name "Burnham" comes up there too. Maybe Burnham was a common name, so perhaps it's not surprising. It would be interesting if there was a connection between the Rainier Burnham and the Colorado Burnhams. Here's the relevant article to the Rainier case:
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085187/1911-10-14/ed-1/seq-1/
Cheers,
Chris
The guest bed and porch hammock in the Burnham house strike me as significant somehow. I understand that they were rented out, on occasion, to itinerants and railroad workers. We know of course that the intruder broke into the cottages from the outside on the night of the murders, so I'm not suggesting that he was staying on that particular night. Rather that a prior visit might have provided an opportunity not only for an overnight lodger to familiarise himself with the layout of the two rooms and the family's routines (knowing, for example, which days Mr Burnham would be away), but also for him to become fixated on either little Nellie Burnham or on pretty young Mrs Wayne next door. What are your thoughts?
I know you're not a subscriber to the 'Reverend Kelly did it' theory, but as an interesting circumstantial side-note, the First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs is a 15-20 minute walk from the two cottages, and a by-the-night guest bed like the one at the Burnham house seems like exactly the sort of place a poor travelling minister might stay. It would be good to know if there was an event similar to the Villisca Children's Day service in Colorado Springs in the days or weeks prior to the murders. There are three other churches (I believe these are of later construction, though they might have replaced earlier buildings) in the Burnham-Wayne neighbourhood - one on the very next block.
Liam - I address this very idea in my Victimology of May Burnham. May's sister was over at the house the night of the murders and was the last person to see an of them alive. A woman did drop by the house to pay May a quarter for letting her sleep in the hammock a few nights prior.
Somewhere I have a photo of the church you are mentioning. It's a cool photo showing the trolley tracks running in front of it. So far I haven't been able to find any mention of a guest preacher in town for Colorado Springs. Ed Epperly has chased Lyn Kelly all over the place. Maybe his forthcoming book will address this?
Thanks for the comment and for reading.
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