Descending from Evil: The Story of Herman Webster Mudgett

Descending from Evil: The Story of Herman Webster Mudgett:

I found this article and interview very interesting.  This is the kind of story I'm after with regard to the Midwest Axeman.  To date I have found only a handful of descendants/relatives of victims and unfortunately, very few of them really know anything about the crimes.  I'm still convinced, that somewhere in the U.S. is a person, or persons, with a family story of a kind of strange uncle or cousin who collected odd nick-knacks like old keys or earrings.  Maybe a hair pin or broken key chain.  A guy who was shy around women and restless at night, possibly pacing around the house.  Anybody have a family story like that, from around the 1920's?

Other Axe Murders – The Axeman of New Orleans

I have received a few emails asking about other, possibly related crimes.  The two most spoken about are the Louisiana-Texas Axe murders and the Axeman of New Orleans.  Now I have some thoughts on both of these subjects but I’m going to address the New Orleans case for now.  For those of you who might be unfamiliar with it, during the years of 1918 and 1919 an unknown assailant was breaking into peoples houses in New Orleans and assaulting them. Usually the weapon, an hatchet or axe, belonged to the victim.  This case is made colorful by the inclusion of a strange letter sent to the Times-Picayune for publication.  The header is an obvious reference to the Whitechapel ripper murders of 1888 and the notorious “Lusk Letter” which was addressed “From Hell.”  The Axeman letter starts out “Hell, March 13, 1919.”  As if the Axeman was some kind of toe-tapping "Angel of Death" on Passover (which was a month away FWIW) the letter demanded the citizens of New Orleans to play jazz music in their homes on the night of March 19^th in order to avoid a visit from the Axeman.  This letter lead to the writing of the song “Axeman’s Jazz.”  The majority of questions about the Axeman of New Orleans naturally are of the “Do you think they are related” variety.  So, do I think they are related?  No, I do not.

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.