At Last The Coroner's Inquest!

Criminal investigation in 1911 was certainly not what it is today. The use of fingerprints for identification of criminals had only been introduced five years before and the practice was very slowly making its way West. For most police forces, the Bertillon method (anthropometry) was still in use. Criminal apprehension at the time was clumsy and often involved “deputized” vigilante committees who tore off into the area searching for hobos, vagabonds, lunatics, and quite often, “coloreds.” IMHO the fact that crimes were ever solved is amazing. Typically a suspect would be captured, jailed and interrogated until he finally confessed and if he didn’t confess there usually wasn’t anything else the police could do unless the case had, sometimes literally, a smoking gun.

The Coroner’s Inquest, although not as important, is still used today in many counties and municipalities around the country. It is basically a forum used to assist the county coroner in the determination of a person’s death. It usually consists of six jurors who are sworn in to hear under-oath testimony from witnesses, be presented with evidence and given a tour of the crime scene. Inquests are usually held within twenty-four hours of the victim’s discovery in order to get the freshest recollections possible. A jury was sworn in “over the bodies” of the Waynes on the night of September 21st but it was almost 240 hours later by the time El Paso County Coroner Jackson convened the Burnham-Wayne inquest. By ten ‘o clock in the morning, Saturday September 30, 1911, the Burnhams had been buried eight days and the Waynes had been shipped to Indiana. The crime scenes had been so scoured over by souvenir hunters that they were worthless and numerous “theories” had been printed for public reading in the newspapers. To say the Springs inquest was unproductive would be an understatement. Witness’ recollections began to evolve until, a full ten days after the actual murders(!), they began to “remember” hearing screams on the night of the crime. It also didn’t help that a second axe was found under the front porch of a vacant house.

After the release of Arthur Burnham and Tony Donatel, the police began to question anyone even remotely associated with the Burnhams. Hardly anybody knew the Waynes but it was believed Henry was Blanch’s second husband (not true) so they were busy looking for him. Anna Merritt’s brother, John, became a suspect after

[the police] asked him four questions and found that he was inclined to be evasive in his replies, and [they] thought [they] would put him back in jail until he would be willing to talk.

Joseph R. Evans, the one whom Blanch Wayne had borrowed the axe from, was placed under arrest after it was determined he talked too much. With the arrest of those two men it could easily be reasoned that both Mrs. Evans and Anna Merritt would be much more guarded with their testimony to the jury.  Further cause for consternation was Denver Police Chief Hamilton Armstrong's belief the crime scene indicated a female killer(!?).

To date, I have been unable to locate either the coroner’s summery or a listing of evidence presented to the jury. It is likely these documents are crumbling away in an unsorted storage box somewhere but if anybody has any idea where they might be found, it could be a warm breath on a very cold case.

The Tale of Tony Donatel

When Arthur Burnham left Michigan for Colorado Springs his health was poor and his prospects for marriage were slim. Shortly after his arrival in 1895, he became stronger and his breathing became easier. He worked various jobs as a cook and clerk in a candy store but still love evaded him. Then he met Alice May Hill and the possibility of passing on his family name, a name which went back to the Revolution, seemed closer to reality. He only needed to win her heart with a little competition from an Italian named Tony Donatel, a childhood friend of May’s and the Hill family.

Donatel was around forty years old when the murders occurred and worked as a laborer. His wife had left him eighteen years before and he had secured a divorce from her. He was said to have an eighteen year old son. He lived alone in a little, one-room cottage and frequently visited with a couple who lived nearby. Neighbors found him a bit peculiar and he reportedly owned a number of properties he rented out. He was frequently seen scrubbing the outside of his home in order to wash away “marks left by witches.” May had told Arthur that Donatel had been a suitor of hers before Arthur’s arrival in Colorado. She insisted he no longer held any affection for her outside of friendship. May’s sister, Nettie, told investigators Donatel still had feelings for her sister and overheard him saying “May had no business to marry Burnham.” By his own admission he was friendly with May, even after her marriage, although he said he hadn’t seen her “in a long time” and didn’t know where the Burnham’s lived. The week before the murders, Donatel was working digging a sewer line within a half a block of the Burnham and Wayne homes but claimed he only knew Burnham’s house was in the vicinity. Further throwing suspicion on Donatel was an unnamed incident that happened the year before which gave cause for a judgment of sanity to be called. He was ruled sane and released.

Arthur Burnham expressed surprise that Donatel had been arrested even though it was him who had given Sheriff Birdsall the name. During his own interrogation Burnham must have been asked about any men May might have “entertained” during his frequent absences. In light of the defense of Donatel that Arthur would give in the newspaper later, it seems particularly odd he would even have mentioned this incident. Apparently one day when Burnham returned home early and unannounced, he found his wife and Tony “in a questionable attitude.” May had hurt her chest while climbing through a wire fence near the house and Tony was helping to relieve the pain. Later Burnham would say he thought nothing of the incident and accepted that Tony was trying to help since was “a sort of a doctor.”

Donatel could not sufficiently account for his whereabouts on the night of the murders. He ate dinner with his neighbors and stayed until around 9:30 p.m. He then went home and went to bed where he stayed until morning. He visited his neighbors on Monday and Tuesday and was said to be acting normally and he never mentioned the Burnhams once.

Donatel was released after a Bertillon expert cleared him.

There was a lot of circumstantial evidence here to point the police at Donatel and there may even be some people who rightfully do not trust the Bertillon method that may think he is a good suspect. I admit his relationship with Mrs. Burnham seems a bit seedier than the explanations given but there isn't much more to go on than that. The whole scrubbing the witch symbols thing indicates some paranoia and the judgment of sanity is tantalizing but there's nothing to indicate he was a psychotic axe murderer. His post offense behavior doesn't mesh up with a man who just murdered three adults and three children in a particularly grizzly manner. My guess is he would have practically set fire to his house in order to remove the perceived symbols of witchcraft if he had been the perp. Eccentric and a bit wishful of the family he couldn't have is a possibility but he certainly wasn't capable of this. I continue to dig for more on Tony Donatel and appreciate any comments. 

Make Your Vote Count!

If you haven't seen Villisca: Living with a Mystery yet, you need to rent it or buy it and see it.  It is a superb documentry by Kelly and Tammy Rundle.  I was able to rent it through Netflicks but if you live in Iowa and some of it's surrounding states, you may be able to rent it at the local video store.

Once you've seen it you should consider voting for it as The Best True Crime Documentary for the Capote Awards.  Vote for it here.

Kelly Rundle has no shame in promoting it and I don't blame him.  It is an excellent film.

We've Killed 'Em

Arthur J. Burnham

In cases such as the Burnham-Wayne murders there are always people who imagine they heard something or saw someone. At almost the very hour of discovery the crime became a sensation and the investigators were forced to run down each and every “clue” in order to satisfy the press and by default, the public. That there wasn’t a logical connection between the victims and the alleged suspects made no difference at all. Likewise the police felt pressure to get the “madman” responsible off the streets ASAP so they began rounding up any poor schmuck who had a wild look in his eye and grilled them for hours before they were released.

The best suspect authorities could come up with in the beginning was Arthur Burnham, the only surviving member of either household. He had an iron-clad alibi and would have been released immediately in today’s criminal justice system but the police weren’t taking any chances with him. Burnham’s alibi was his health. He was confirmed by his doctor and by his roommate to have been twelve miles away from the crime scene with a severe case of tubercular cough. Despite this fact, and the fact that he wasn’t healthy enough to swing an axe with enough force and as many times as needed to kill three adults, Burnham was held for two days. He attended the funeral of his family on September 22nd and was returned to his cell. Later that evening he was released and allowed to stay with his in-laws.

After Burnham’s release the prevailing theory was the murders were an act of revenge on Henry Wayne. Remember the argument he was seen having the week before his death? The theory went something like this: Henry Wayne was a gambler and the fifty-five dollars he had deposited in the bank were from playing cards and not from the sale of furniture back in Indiana. Argument-guy was a fellow card player who felt slighted by Henry’s good “luck” and so he confronted him. When Wayne refused to acknowledge Argument-guy’s (AG) hurt feelings, AG had no choice but to kill Henry and his family. So why were the Burnham’s killed you might ask? That’s easy. May Burnham was awakened by the noises next door and caught AG in the act so he had to kill her too. This of course completely ignores the fact May Burnham was killed while sleeping which meant she would have had to take the rather unorthodox action of going back to bed after discovering her neighbors being beaten to death by an axe wielding lunatic.

While this “theory” was discussed only briefly it is a great example of the imaginative nature of wannabe witnesses when it comes to high profile crimes (see also “The Idiot Who Confessed to Killing JonBenet”). I am reasonably certain this story came about due to the imagination of two teenage girls who lived on the north side of town. A seventeen year old girl told police she heard a man, known only as “John,” tell another man “We’ve killed ‘em.” This “evidence” was backed up by a friend of the girl’s, another teenaged girl. At any rate, the man the police believed to be Argument-guy turned himself in and it was quickly established he had never met nor heard of Henry Wayne before the crime was discovered.

Tomorrows post will go into the second suspect, Anthony “Tony” Donatel, a former suitor of Alice May Hill who may have kept in closer contact with May than Arthur Burnham realized.

Blogging Villisca!

Douglas Burns, reporter and blogger for the Iowa Independent, has a new entry up that talks about the Rev. Lyn Kelly, the crazy old preacher who stands as the only man to be put on trial for the Villisca crime.  It's an interesting read if you have some time.

For the record and in the interest of full disclosure -- IMHO Rev. Kelly so did NOT do it.  Crazy little perve? Hell yes!  Homicidal maniace? Nope.  As excitable as he became over little things, he could never have pulled that off.

The 1912 Villisca Axe Murder Blog

The folks over at the 1912 Villisca Axe Murder Blog have a feature called "Ask Ed."  Essentially you send them a question you have about the Villisca crime and then Dr. Ed Epperly, the foremost expert on the case, will answer it!  I've had some confusion about the Villisca crime scene pertaining to the method of entry.  Did the UNSUB walk in the open back door or did he "break in" more traditionally (like in Colorado Springs fer example).  I sent my question to the fine folks at 1912VAMB and although they forgot my name, Dr. Epperly answered the question!  See it here.