Blogging Villisca

The documentary filmmakers who recently made what I regard as the the best historic true crime documentary ever, Villisca: Living With a Mystery, will now explore that mystery online in a new blog devoted to the case.

I've already added it to my list of favorite blogs in the theme (at right).

It will be interesting to follow Kelly and Tammy Rundle's updates online and to see what light can be shed down the dark trails of this most enduring and now well-known case.

Crime historian Edgar Epperley, who has studied the case for years [read the Clews interview], recently wrote an article about the murder weapon, The Odyssey of the Axe, for the Villisca Historical Society's website.

One day soon (hint, hint!) there may be a new book about the case containing all the latest theories and evidence and opinions. Meanwhile, I'll go back to the blog for more of the slow unraveling of the Villisca mystery.

Comments

[Kim]

Thanks for the heads up on the Villisca Axe Murders - I grew up near Council Bluffs, Iowa and had never heard of this! My father (a native Iowan), had heard of it and strangely enough never mentioned it, even though he knows I love to study historical crimes (we really got into Lizzie Borden together and have visited the house and historical society in Fall River, Mass. twice!). A distant relative of ours was tried and acquitted in the Jack the Ripper case (Thomas Sadler). So I thought it odd that he never mentioned Villisca - I think it shows how ashamed Iowa was of this incident. I thought the documentary "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" was very well done and highly recommend it along with CLEWS.
Thanks -

[MarkD]

I watched the documentary (borrowed from the library), per Laura's recommendation, and just received for Christmas the only non-fiction book about the case still in print: "Villisca: The true account of the unsolved mass murder that stunned the nation" by Roy Marshall. Began reading it already.

(There's also the fictionalized version of the crime: "Morning Ran Red.")

[Native]

I heard of this a few months ago because I live very close to a place here in Colorado Springs where the same type of murder was committed in 1911. Gives me the creeps everytime I go over there.
I think the 2 cases, along with others that occured like this, are linked. In fact, I'm almost positive.