The Axe Falls Again

Over several years of research into the historically bizarre, there have been many tantalizing mysteries and many unanswered questions. Many of these brought to my attention as I researched When Death Rode the Rails, Murderous Marriages, and the upcoming Into Oblivion. Some will forever remain unanswered and others, perhaps, are slowly being revealed.  Full answers to many questions may continue to be an elusive dream but there is some hope.

 

The mysterious and mostly unsolved axe murders that swept the nation in the first two decades of the 20th century are one such topic.  I have had the pleasure of being cited in two such works and am happy to say that the value of both works made me very happy to have been recognized in both.

The first is Murdered in their Beds by Troy Taylor (2012) and reviewed on my long time blog, The Paranormal Librarian from a few years back:

When the horrific and the unsolved are joined the result is sometimes too much to ignore.   Author Troy Taylor spent decades in gathering bits and pieces of information into one solid and satisfying presentation of the facts of this 1912 Villisca, Iowa ax murders.  Doggedly he hunted down other instances mirroring the details of that Iowa crime searching for answers.

 

The result of that work is a remarkable book  linking  murders spreading over at least three states and several years. Along the way a picture of the murderer is constructed with as keen an understanding of criminality as an  FBI profile.  

 

Placing all within the historical reality of the early decades of the 20th century a new understanding of the Iowa crime finally emerges.   Filled with historic images and graphic descriptions of the crimes it will be greatly sought by all true crime sleuths.

 

In presenting this high level of investigation and research, Taylor has contributed greatly to bringing these crimes to light. The reasoning is logical, the thinking as he answers some lingering issues solidly holds together.  It is entirely possible that learning the details found here may eventually lead to the discovery of a vital clue which might, just might, solve a century old series of crimes.

 

If that happens - tip the hat to author Troy Taylor and MURDERED IN THEIR BEDS (2012).

 

The second is a recent work by author Todd C. Elliot, Axes of Evil: The True Story of the Ax-Man Murders ( TrineDay, 2015).   Previously on this blog there have been numerous posts and many informative comments that provided hints, information and leads on a variety of the axe murders hidden away in the pages of small local papers or in local legend.  They have been some of the most popular posts read on this blog.  Louisiana author Elliot, living in the epicenter of one of these murders, took up the challenge to get to the core of the tales.  The result is the most detailed exploration of the murders of Louisiana and Texas circa 1910-1912 that has been produced to date.

 

So often, in exploring these oldest crimes, the researcher is confronted by lack of access to necessary newspaper, court records, and the supportive network to help drive the search. These challenges are compounded in cases where the victims are poor, minorities, or the location a 'backwater' where little remains to answer the many questions raised.

 

Elliot has accomplished in Axes of Evil a bringing together of  vital strands of information by ferreting out newspapers in his region and bringing clarity to the blood muddied waters of lore and legend.  He provides names of victims (often glossed over by mention of their race rather than name), good connections and timelines of events and potential links to similar crimes.  Don't worry, although he does provide some solid theories as to who and why, there is are enough questions raised by his information as answers. The mystery will continue and this is good.  That is the way the truth is always accessed; trial and error, questions and counter-points.  Elliot's work, however, peels back the layer of mystery created by racial bias, economic limitations, and the limitations of early 20th century criminal investigations. What is revealed is fascinating, horrifying, and gripping.

 

I recommend these works to anyone fascinated by true-crime, by enduring mysteries, and the morbidly macabre.  Read them and enjoy.

The Unsolved: A Town Where Fear Ran Wild

In the spring of 1946, the sleepy community of Texarkana would be rudely shocked awake by a series of murders.  The killer struck, usually couples who had hidden away in isolated "Lover's Lanes".  The press popularly called them the "Moonlight Murders" to have the evocative alliteration element; there was no moon when this monster walked.

Several theories have evolved about who the killer was who terrorized the community. They have ranged from a college student who committed suicide to it being the Zodiac Killer. 

 

 

A new movie revisits the 1970's cult classic, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, for its usual "let's find a popular film, remake it and use all the classic stereotypes, add some spicy elements, and have a winner!"  Many facts in the film do not reflect the facts of the cases involved, many elements of the case are still unclear, and as a result there is probably a better need for a documentary that truly explores the case, the theories, and the facts.

2000 Missing People a Day?

According to the FBI website, "during 2012, 661,593 missing person records were entered into NCIC",  and despite the fact this was a "decrease of 2.5 % from the 678,860 records entered in 2011" that is still a lot of people.

 

Explanations for the disappearance of so many fall into several categories. Some are logical and some fantastical in the extreme. Strange things do happen but it is known that very ordinary people have simply walked away one day to never be seen again.  Eliminating the non custodial parent kidnappings in most lists still leaves an impressive number of missing persons.

 

Missing persons might be missing due to -

• Intentional disappearance to begin a new life or escape an old one
• Death by gang or criminal activities in retaliation, turf war, or other rationale for violence
• Impression into the sex slavery traffic and trade
• Murder for reason of being in the wrong place at the wrong time
• Accidental death in a situation where their body might not be found for decades (hikers, travelers, etc.)
• Murder by serial killer, mass murderers, and loved ones
• Flawed data: it is apparent from records that missing reports are often issued but are not so carefully tracked to remove them if found. This could lead to double-counting or other flaws in the data or the interpretation of the data.
• Being sucked into alternate or parallel dimensions
• Death to supply food for alien reptilian overloads secretly gaining control of the planet (yes, there are some who believe this is a viable reason)

 There are always groups of people who do not report people missing.  Parents of children with a wild streak in frequent trouble with the law have been known to just assume they had bolted once more and shook their heads and just hoped they might come back.  In one case from several decades ago, the girl had been in and out of trouble with local law and authorities before she left her teens. She was sent to a state "reformatory" and soon left there to disappear.  Several years later, not yet 20 years old her body was found in a trash dump where someone had left her in sad commentary to the killers value of human life.  She was unidentified for several years until finally, her parents, filed a missing person report and the unknown female victim was discovered as a possible match.

 

In the 1960, 1970's and 1980's there was a focus on the problem of "runaway" and it was often tied to the blooming drug culture in America and some seem to believe they were the only generation to have such home wanderers.  Indeed, from the earliest years there have always been those children who either left home and found the big world so much more to their liking they never returned or once they left circumstances common to criminal served to make to forever lost to their families and friends.   It is true that in the 1960's and 1970's there were many serial killers - often called chain killers in previous generations - that seemed to have all broken loose of the constraints of normalcy to operate openly.  They often operated simultaneously as well: several of them plagued California in these decades preying on the hitchhiking 'run aways' traveling the highways.

 

Why do so many go missing? How can we solve this lasting mystery? How can we find answers to the long and sad question of unidentified bodies, "Who am I?"