101 years ago today: Irony

Monmouth 101: Inside

I've posted SketchUp models of the crime scenes before.  I have a couple of different layouts for the Dawson's house in Monmouth, IL.  This one is incomplete, intended to be a top down model of the house.  I say it's incomplete because I haven't added most of the interior doors nor are there any windows.  There are other things "wrong" with it, likely, so if you have knowledge let me know.

The back door is in the kitchen, where the stove is sitting.  William and Charity Dawson's room was the small room in the north.  Georgia Dawson was in the larger room to the south.  The front door was found locked but the back door was unlocked.  According to reports, those who discovered the bodies walked through the kitchen into the parlor and discovered Georgia in her bedroom first.  I post this on the 101st anniversary of the murders in Monmouth.

Unjustified: George Wilson Part 2 or If the Boot Don’t Fit, You Must Acquit

Archie & Nettie Coble Slept Here

Part 1 can be found here - I could go into a lengthy discussion about the events leading up to George Wilson’s arrest but I would be distracted from the meat of the post and the awesome title I came up with for it.  So to save you all the suspense, George Wilson was jailed, “confessed,” and arrested, in that order.  In fact Wilson was held in a jail cell without a warrant or access to council for five days before the alleged confession.  Found in the Wilson’s tent was a piece of paper, believed to be soaked with blood.  The Thurston County Sheriff, George Gaston also took measurements of Wilson’s boots.  This was in order to match up to the boot prints found outside the Coble’s cottage window.  Another bit of “evidence” was an alleged conversation between Mrs. Coble and a neighbor about George Wilson’s behavior toward Mrs. Coble.  But the most damning evidence the prosecution would produce, indeed the entire case hinged on it, was the alleged confession of George Wilson.

Colorado Springs – 101

Henry and Blanche Wayne

Four years ago I wrote a brief summary of the murders of two families in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  These crimes are now one-hundred-one years old this week and as far as I know, no one is any closer to naming a possible suspect then they were over a century ago.  I certainly haven’t got any answers but I still dig.  I have corresponded with relatives of the victims as well as other researchers.  I have had promising leads disintegrate into nothing, pleasant surprises from vague guesswork and countless dead ends.  By focusing on then entirety of the series of crimes I have created a lot of work for myself.  The number of facts and fantasies I can delve into on just one of these crimes is enough to bore people (or scare) people over conversations at parties.  Yet, I feel like I am missing something.  Just one more bit of evidence that can snap everything into focus.  Allow me to give a brief update of some things I now know.

The Smithsonian...Wow! Has the Inspector arrived!?

Look what I found completely by accident today!  Smithsonian.com linked to my (as well as the excellent Villisca Ax Murders Blog) little ol' blog.  It would have been nice if they'd let me know but I'm quite happy anyway.  Ahh...the internet.  This makes me wish I'd stuck with journalism.

The Sinister Left Hand or Damn Lies and Statistics

Analysis at the crime scene in Villisca by special agent and "fingerprint expert" M. W. McClaughry of Leavenworth Prison indicated the killer was left handed.  Later, upon observing George Kelly chop wood, it was found that the reverend was left handed as well.  I bring this up because the investigators on both the Ardenwald and Rainier crimes scenes came to the conclusion the killer (or killers) was left handed.  There are many things you have to worry about as a lefty.  Manual can openers are an affront to your existence, golf clubs cost double and you're only allowed to play 1st base or pitcher in baseball.  But those are minor complaints really.