Villisca: Living with a Mystery a Historical True-Crime Documentary Feature Film Exploring the 1912

Time 2021-09-24 11:13:14

Web Name: Villisca: Living with a Mystery a Historical True-Crime Documentary Feature Film Exploring the 1912

WebSite: http://www.villiscamovie.com

ID:197824

Keywords:

Crime,True,Feature,

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If you don't have time to sleuth, read the quick descriptions below for: VILLISCA Updates and Screenings, How to Buy the award-winning documentary on DVD, Books, and other DVDs about the axe murder mystery, Stores that carry VILLISCA: LIVING WITH A MYSTERY, Reviews of the indie documentary that has captured the interest of the unsolved mystery buff nationwide. Then come back later when you have time to play Detective . Copyright 2007. FWF. VILLISCA: Living with a Mystery will be broadcast on KCPT-PBS in Kansas City in the Spring 2010. It continues to air on Midwestern PBS stations. It made its broadcast debut on Iowa Public Television (IPTV) in 2007. The documentary feature film has continued to air on Public Television stations throughout the Midwest, including Kansas Public Television (KPTS), Missouri Public Television (KMOS-TV), Illinois Public Television (WQPT-TV) and more. If you haven't had a chance to see VILLISCA: LIVING WITH A MYSTERY on television, call your local public television station to request it. See why this unsolved mystery is as compelling as Lizzie Borden, and Jack the Ripper. For more information about VILLISCA screenings, CLICK HERE. Hundreds of visitors a day are keeping up with new findings, news, controversial issues, and events surrounding the tragic story of the Moore and Stillinger murders by visiting the new VILLISCA MYSTERY BLOG. To read weekly posts about one of America's greatest unsolved mysteries, and add your feedback, CLICK HERE. Psychic profiler Carla Baron, medium John J. Oliver, and paranormal investigator Patrick Burns revealed their findings, and we posted our reaction to Courttv's HAUNTING EVIDENCE where Villisca's alleged paranormal activity at the Villisca Axe Murder House was a featured story.We also responded to SCARIEST PLACES ON EARTH's Villisca axe murder segment, detailing the show's erroneous misinformation, phony photographs, and the use of actors for interviews . Copyright 2007. FWF. Villisca, Iowa town Marshall Hank Horton (far left)poses with detectives,amateur sleuths, and newspaper reporters investigating the Moore and Stillinger murders in 1912. More retail outlets are adding the VILLISCA: Living with a Mystery DVD to their shelves every day. The DVD not only contains the feature-length documentary film about the murder mystery, but also 2 separate commentary tracks, and about an hour of additional supplementary features. You can buy the critically-acclaimed documentary HERE. In addition, the DVD is now available at Borders Book Stores, Barnes and Noble, and Best Buy. If you don't see it on the shelves, ask for it at the counter, or order it online at their websites. VILLISCA is also available at Family Video, NetFlix, Amazon, and Indiedocs. For a complete list of outlets where you can pick up your copy of VILLISCA, CLICK HERE. Visit THE EMPORIUM for a complete selection of Villisca-related merchandise. Murder mystery students and true crime fans alike can purchase books like the 1912 Villisca Axe Murder CORONER'S INQUEST, DETECTIVE WILKERSON'S DOPE SHEET, THE 1912 SIGNED STATEMENTS, Roy Marshall's VILLISCA: THE TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE UNSOLVED MASS MURDER THAT STUNNED THE NATION, or Stephen Bowman's fictional MORNING RAN RED. In addition to the VILLISCA: Living with a Mystery DVD, take a tour of the Villisca Ax Murder House with Edgar Epperly featured on the DVD, EXPLORING VILLISCA'S AXE MURDER HOUSE, which includes the Reverend Kelly's infamous confession. Epperly, considered the foremost authority on the unsolved axe murder case, also gives a compelling presentation at the Rialto Theater in Villisca on the DVD, VILLISCA, IOWA'S 1912 AXE MURDERS. To peruse The Emporium , CLICK HERE. Courtesy Villisca Review. Copyright 2007. The brutal axe murders of the Josiah B. Moore family, and overnight guests Lena and Ina Stillinger, is still on the books as Iowa's worst mass murder. This photograph of what is now known as the Villisca axe murder house was taken on the day the murders were discovered--June 10, 1912. In an effort to help those interested in separatingfacts from flights of fancy regarding the Villisca axe murder case, this website offers the popular HIT AND MYTH section. Read up on interesting trivia--like how Villisca's story has a connection to the famous murder case of Lizzie Borden, and the history of the ax murder house.Other sites that offer an historical, factual approach to Villisca's tragic story are: the Villisca Historical Society's www.VilliscaHistory.org; the town's website: www.Villisca.com; and the town newspaper, the Villisca Review at www.VilliscaReview.com. VilliscaMovie.com offers murder mystery and true crime fans the opportunity to read the Coroner's Inquest pertaining to the famous unsolved murder. Dr. Edgar Epperly, who has studied the axe murders of the small Iowa village over 50 years and is considered the foremost authority on the topic, wrote in his Introduction to the publication: Sometime during the night of June 9, 1912, a killer or killers unknown entered the home of Josiah B. Moore. Bludgeoned to death were Joe, his wife Sara, their four children: Herman, Katherine, Boyd and Paul; and two visiting neighbor girls, Lena and Ina Stillinger, who were visiting overnight. Known ever since as the Villisca axe murders, this is easily the most notorious crime in Iowa history... Tuesday, June 11, 1912, a day after the discovery of the murders, the coroner's inquest began in Villisca. Recorded verbatim by a court reporter, it contains the first official testimony regarding the event... Fourteen witnesses formed their impressions of the scene before they had an opportunity to be influenced by rumor and public opinion. The murder was fresh in their minds and their tesitmony undistorted by the passage of time. The document is particularly useful in forming impressions of the scene and the condition of the victims... The Inquest transcript is a compelling document to read and certainly the starting point for anyone who would truly understand the Villisca axe murders. To read or order the rare and fascinating 1912 Villisca Axe Murder Coroner's Inquest, CLICK HERE. Copyright 2007. FWF. On Tuesday, June 11, 1912, the day after the grisly murders of the Moores and Stillinger girls were discovered, a Coroner's Jury began its investigation into the tragic case. The Coroner's Inquest is a must read. The Villisca (or incorrectly spelled in some newspaper coverage as: Vilisca, Vallisca, Vellisca, and even Valiska) axe murders is considered one of America's greatest unsolved mysteries, and stumps even the sharpest sleuther. Start with the DVD, Villisca: Living with a Mystery, to put the puzzle together. The documentary continues to receive excellent reviews and has been Officially-selected at numerous film festivals, including: The Landlocked International Film Festival, The Iowa Independent Film Festival, Max Allen Collins Film Expo, New York City Rural Route Film Festival, The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival; and in 2005 it qualified for the Academy Award Competition in the documentary feature category. Read the Reviews by CLICKING HERE. Copyright 2007. FWF Evidence photo of the actual murder weapon-- the ax used to murder Josiah B. Moore, his wife and children, and Lena and Ina Stillinger. The ax, which belonged to Joe, was placed leaning against a log in front of the Moore coal shed. We will feature national news coverage of the Villisca ax murder story regularly. Readers will find the yellow-journalism and sensational writing of the time fascinating, and Villisca ax murder experts will easily find errors and misinformation in many of the stories. Can you find the errors? We have noted obvious mistakes in brackets. From the June 11, 1912 edition of the Kansas City Journal : MAN WHO HAD KEY MURDERS 8 IOWANS JUNE 11, 1912 Ax Used in Killing Found, but No Trace of Slayer. Militia on Guard. ___ TWO VICTIMS GUESTS ___ Others Are Four Children and Parents--Dogs Go to River Bank. ___ FOOTPRINTS ARE SEEN ___ Sister of Dead Man Not in House as Was Thought. She is Divorced. ___ VILLISCA, IA., June 10.--Twenty-four hours after the murder of the entire Joseph Moore [Josiah Moore] and two young women guests, eight in all, which occurred Sunday night, the authorities have been unable to get a single trace of the murderer and have little or no clue to his identity. The murderer killed every person in the house with an ax and escaped without discovery. It is apparent he had a key to a door of the Moore home, because all doors and windows were found locked. Courtesty Robert Moore the Villisca Review. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Top row: Herman, Katherine, Boyd and Paul Moore. Bottom row: Lena and Ina Stillinger. A revised list of the victims follows: JOSEPH B. MOORE [Josiah B. Moore] MRS. JOSEPH B. MOORE [Mrs. Josiah B. Moore, or Sara Moore] HERMAN MOORE, aged 11. CATHERINE MOORE, aged 9. [Katherine Moore, aged 10] BOYD MOORE, aged 7. PAUL MOORE, aged 6. [aged 5] LENA STILLINGS, aged 15. [Lena Stillinger, aged 11] INA STILLINGS, aged 9. [Ina Stillinger, aged 8] The Misses Stillings [Stillingers] were over-night guests at the Moore home. ___ Courtesy Villisca Review. Copyright 2007. Dramatic photograph taken on June 10, 1912 by the Villisca Review of the famous Noffsinger Bloodhounds of Beatrice, Nebraska. Two bloodhounds jumped off of the Moore house porch with their handlers close behind. Hundreds of spectators followed the dogs through the streets of Villisca, across fields to the banks of the Nodaway River, while the victims' bodies lay inside the murder house awaiting official release by authorities. What did the bloodhounds find? Buy the DVD and find out! DOGS TAKE TRAIL. Bloodhounds arrived here on a late evening train and were immediately taken to the Moore home. Within ten minutes they found a scent which took them over a circuitous route to the edge of the town and thence to the banks of the Nodaway river. They were followed closely by their keepers. Entering a deep woods along the river, the hounds led their followers over several miles of rough timber land in the Nodaway bottoms. After an hour the hounds returned to the river where those following the dogs found fresh foot prints in the soft muddy bank and leading to the river. Those following the trail took the hounds across the river, but were unable to find any trace of the fugitive on the other side. At midnight the posse returned to town and will start afresh in the morning. The bodies of the eight murdered persons were viewed late tonight by a coroner's jury and turned over to an undertaker. They were removed to the city hall to be prepared for burial. A detailed [detail] of militia guarded both the Moore home and city hall all night. The first intimation of the crime was given when a clerk in the implement house of Mr. Moore went to the Moore home to ascertain the cause of the employer's delay in reaching business. Finding the house locked, the window shades all down and no one about, he notified the neighbors and, with assistance, forced entrance to the house. The dead, with one exception, were found in their beds in natural attires of sleeping and until the crushed condition of their heads and the soaked pillows were discovered, it was impossible for the searchers to believe that anything was wrong. An ax showing without doubt it was the weapon used, was found in an upstairs room where it was left by the assassin after he had completed his deadly work. ___ BEDS NOT DISTURBED Mr. and Mrs. Moore were in one bed, the clothing of which was not the least disturbed. In another bed were two of the boys. The sister occupied a third bed and the youngest boy was alone in a smaller bed. In neither instance was the bedding of the children disarranged. The Misses Stillings [Stillingers] occupied a room in another part of the house. One of the girls has a cut on an arm and was in such a position as to indicate she had awakened before the attack, and that there was a short struggle. The tragedy is one of the most mysterious the officials of Iowa have ever had to deal with. There is absolutely no clue upon which to warrant an arrest and the utter absence of a possible motive has left the authorities in a maze of perplexity and doubt. Early identification of the two young women who were slain, owing to the terrible condition of their faces, led to a report that they were Mrs. Van Gilder and her duaghter. Mrs. Van Gilder is a sister of Mrs. Moore. It was understood they were to b the guests of the Moores last night. Blood stains, which will require the work of experts to handle in relation with the crime, including finger prints of the murderer, are absolutley the only clew the officers have to work upon. Blood stains wre found on the front door near the knob and finger prints were found in the house. ___ LIGHTED LAMP FOUND A feature of the tragedy which indicates that possibly the murderer left the house quickly, was the finding of a lighted lamp upon the floor of the Moore bed room. All the blinds of the house were closely drawn, the doors were all locked and all the windows locked but two opening from the room which the Spillinger [Stillinger] girls occupied. As one of the posses were hunting in the railroad yards this evening, a tramp, becoming alarmed, gave himself up to the leaders for protection, fearing he might be a victim of the wrath of the people before they had had time to examine into his identity. He later was identified by the railroad men and released, badly scared and quickly left town. Feeling is high and few persons slept in Villisca tonight. News of the crime traveled fast and there are hundreds of country people who soon came to the village. ___ MURDER DELIBERATE One puzzling feature of the crime which serves to heighten the mystery surrounding it, is the apparent deliberatation which the murderer went about committing the crime. All indications are that he entered the house by the front door and with a key, that he left by the same way and locked the door behind him. Dust upon the sills of the two windows left unlocked shows he did not enter that way. After pulling down all the blinds in the house, a thing which the Moores never did, the murderer hung dress skirts, which he took from the closets, over each of the doors leading to the south side and also over windows where a flash of light might have penetrated. The Suspects. Courtesy Jill Goos. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Senator F.F. Jones would later become a suspect in the murder of his former implement employee Joe Moore, and his family. Moore was thought to be having an affair with Jones' daughter-in-law, Dona Bentley Jones. His son, Albert, was also accused of involvement in the horrific crime. Courtesy Edgar Epperly. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Suspect Reverend Lyn George Jacklin Kelly was tried twice for the murders of the Moore family, and the Stillinger girls. It was believed that Lena Stillinger was the motivation for the crime. In the photo, left to right: John Montgomery (Sara Moore's father), Laura Kelly (wife), Reverend Kelly, Joe Stillinger (father of Lena and Ina). ___ VICTIM'S SISTER TALKS. OMAHA, NEB., June 10.--Miss Minnie Moore, sister of Joseph B. Moore [Josiah B. Moore], who, with his wife and four children and two young women, were murdred in the Moore home in Villisca, Ia., last night, is employed in a local woman's wear establishment. She said today that John Van Gilder, who several years ago married a sister of Moore and herself, had left the city after trouble with his wife. She said he had been gone for years. ___ MANY CRIMES SIMILAR Colorado Springs Authorities Will Investigate--Other Murders Committed With Axes. ___ COLORADO SPRINGS, COL., June 10.--Colorado Springs police authorities are not inclined to think that there is any connection between the murder of the Moore family at Villisca, Ia., and the Burnham-Wayne murder mystery of September 17 last in this city, in which six persons lost their lives. It is admitted, however, that there is a striking similarity in the crimes. In both cases the victims were killed with an ax while asleep and no apparent motive for the deed was found. Local authorities will make a careful investigation of the Villisca mystery in the hope of finding some clew to the crime here. ___ The slayer of Rolin Hudson and wife at Paola, Kas., on the night of June 5, used as his weapon a pick. Tha Barnhart [Burnham] tragedy had for its central figures four victims of a mysterious axman. At Ellsworth, Kas., an ax was used to slay the Showman family, the crime of which Marzck, recently apprehended in Canada, now is charged. Courtesy The Ellsworth Historical Society. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Three of the five victims in the 1911 Showman axe murders in Ellsworth, Kanas.

TAGS:Crime True Feature 

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