On today’s episode of True Crime Time For, Woody closes out August with one of the most notorious unsolved mass murders in American history: the Villisca Axe Murders of 1912.
Before getting into the case, Woody reminds listeners to continue calling in tips at 313-RLRC-TIP on the cases Real Life Real Crime is working. Because the episode was prerecorded, he also says he is still waiting for developments he hopes he may soon be able to share.
The story begins in Villisca, Iowa, where sometime during the night of June 9 into the early morning of June 10, 1912, eight people were murdered inside the Moore family home.
The victims were Josiah B. “Joe” Moore, 43; his wife, Sarah Montgomery Moore, 39; and their four children: Herman Moore, 11; Mary Katherine Moore, 10; Boyd Moore, 7; and Paul Moore, 5. Also killed were two sisters spending the night with the Moore children: Lena Gertrude Stillinger, 12, and Ina May Stillinger, 8.
The previous evening, the Moore family and the Stillinger girls attended a Children’s Day program at the local Presbyterian church. Sarah Moore helped coordinate the event, and the family returned home around 10 p.m. Sometime after midnight, someone entered the house and used an axe to bludgeon all eight victims to death.
The following morning, neighbor Mary Peckham became concerned when the family failed to begin its usual chores. She contacted Josiah’s brother Ross Moore, who entered the home and discovered the first bodies. Villisca Marshal Henry “Hank” Horton was summoned and found what he later described as someone murdered in every bed.
The crime scene was horrific and bizarre. Investigators believed the killer may have waited inside or near the house until everyone was asleep. An axe belonging to Josiah Moore was found inside the home. Mirrors were covered, victims’ faces were concealed, food and bloody water were reportedly found in the kitchen, and investigators believed at least one victim may have been awake during the attack.
But what happened after the bodies were discovered made an already difficult investigation even worse.
Word of the murders spread rapidly through Villisca, and townspeople began entering the house. Woody describes how the crime scene became hopelessly contaminated as people walked through the rooms, handled items, and even reportedly took pieces of Josiah Moore’s skull as souvenirs. The murder weapon itself was handled by numerous people before authorities gained control of the property.
The situation became so chaotic that the Iowa National Guard was eventually brought in to establish a perimeter around the Moore home. Historical accounts confirm that National Guard troops were used to secure the scene after crowds overwhelmed local authorities.
From there, Woody examines the long list of suspects and theories that developed over the following years.
One of the most prominent was Rev. Lyn George Jacklin Kelly, an English-born traveling minister who had been in Villisca for the Children’s Day services the night of the murders. Kelly drew suspicion because of his fascination with the crime and the detailed letters he later wrote about it. On August 31, 1917, he signed a confession after lengthy interrogation, but later recanted. His first murder trial ended in a hung jury, and he was acquitted at his second trial later that year.
Woody also explores Frank Fernando Jones, a prominent Villisca businessman and former Iowa state senator. Josiah Moore had once worked for Jones before leaving to establish a competing farm-equipment business. Rumors circulated that Jones may have had a motive to want Moore dead, although no evidence ever proved that theory.
Private detective James Wilkerson promoted another theory involving William Mansfield, sometimes referred to in historical accounts as “Blackie” Mansfield. Wilkerson alleged that Jones had hired Mansfield to carry out the killings. Mansfield was arrested, but payroll records placed him in Illinois at the time of the murders, and a grand jury declined to indict him. He was eventually released and later successfully sued Wilkerson.
Other names investigated or discussed over the years included Andrew Sawyer, Henry Lee Moore—a convicted axe murderer who was not related to the Villisca victims—and Samuel Elias Moyer, Josiah Moore’s brother-in-law. None was ever convicted in connection with the murders.
Woody also discusses a much broader serial-killer theory.
In the 2017 book The Man from the Train, authors Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James argued that the Villisca murders may have been part of a larger series of similar family axe murders across the United States. Their theory points toward a German immigrant known as Paul Mueller, or Müller, as a possible serial murderer responsible for multiple attacks. It remains a theory rather than a solved identification.
More than a century later, the Moore home still stands.
The property has been restored to resemble its 1912 condition and operates today as the Villisca Axe Murder House, offering tours and overnight stays. The current attraction openly embraces the home's reputation for alleged paranormal activity.
Woody also recounts stories associated with the house’s haunted reputation, including reports of occupants leaving after allegedly experiencing unexplained events and a 2014 incident in which a paranormal investigator suffered a self-inflicted stab wound while staying overnight at the property.
Ultimately, Woody comes back to the investigation itself.
Eight people—including six children—were murdered with an axe in a small Iowa town in 1912. The crime scene was overwhelmed by curious residents. Physical evidence was handled repeatedly. Modern forensic tools did not exist. Suspects came and went, confessions were made and withdrawn, and competing theories multiplied.
More than 114 years later, no one has ever been convicted of the Villisca Axe Murders.
Woody closes by reflecting on how violence, victim posing, and attempts by killers to conceal or psychologically distance themselves from their crimes are not modern phenomena. Cases from more than a century ago contain disturbing behaviors that investigators still encounter today.
True Crime Time For, Real Life Real Crime, Woody Overton, Villisca Axe Murders, Villisca Iowa, Josiah Moore, Sarah Moore, Herman Moore, Mary Katherine Moore, Boyd Moore, Paul Moore, Lena Stillinger, Ina Stillinger, Lyn George Jacklin Kelly, George Kelly, Frank Fernando Jones, William Mansfield, Henry Lee Moore, Andrew Sawyer, Samuel Elias Moyer, Paul Mueller, Bill James, Rachel McCarthy James, The Man from the Train, unsolved murder, axe murder, mass murder, cold case, haunted house, Villisca Axe Murder House, true crime podcast
- Villisca Axe Murders
- Moore family murders
- Stillinger sisters
- 1912 Iowa mass murder
- Contaminated crime scene
- National Guard securing the murder house
- Rev. Lyn George Jacklin Kelly
- 1917 confession
- Hung jury and acquittal
- Frank Fernando Jones
- William Mansfield
- James Wilkerson
- Henry Lee Moore
- Andrew Sawyer
- Samuel Elias Moyer
- Paul Mueller serial-killer theory
- The Man from the Train
- Villisca Axe Murder House
- Paranormal claims
- Unsolved historic crimes
- The Villisca investigation was compromised almost immediately. Townspeople flooded the home, evidence was handled, and the scene was so uncontrolled that the National Guard was eventually used to secure it.
- Rev. Lyn George Jacklin Kelly remains one of the case’s most famous suspects, largely because he confessed on August 31, 1917—but he recanted, his first trial ended with a hung jury, and his second ended in acquittal.
- There has never been a proven killer. Numerous suspects and serial-killer theories have emerged, but the murders officially remain unsolved.
- The case demonstrates how dramatically forensic investigation has changed. What investigators today would treat as a tightly controlled crime scene became a gathering place for townspeople in 1912.
- More than a century later, the murder house itself has become part of the story, operating as a historical and paranormal tourism destination.
Name verification completed for this episode: the correct place is Villisca, the victims are Josiah B. “Joe” Moore, Sarah Montgomery Moore, Herman Moore, Mary Katherine Moore, Boyd Moore, Paul Moore, Lena Gertrude Stillinger, and Ina May Stillinger, and the minister’s fuller name is Rev. Lyn George Jacklin Kelly. I also checked Frank Fernando Jones, William Mansfield, Andrew Sawyer, Henry Lee Moore, Samuel Elias Moyer, Bill James, Rachel McCarthy James, and Paul Mueller before using them here.
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