Log in to become a member of Marty RicKard's Fan Club!
Villisca in southern Iowa and Skidmore in northern Missouri are 40 miles apart as the crow flies. They have one thing in common-unsolved murder cases that have received worldwide attention. However, there are two huge differences in these towns:
In Villisca, the entire community worked hard to determine who murdered eight persons with an ax one night in 1912. They failed.
In Skidmore, on July 10, 1981 , at least two dozen people watched as the town bully was gunned down in broad daylight, but these witnesses have tried to protect the killers. They have succeeded. They have kept secret the identity of the killers for more than twenty years. Even the FBI can't crack the Skidmore wall of silence.
The second difference: Villisca promotes interest in the Ax Murders as part of their history. Skidmore would be happy if everyone just left them alone.
I visited both towns recently, accompanied by a friend. We dubbed this our Murder Tour.
Our first stop was Villisca.
At Casey's General Store we got directions from a friendly clerk, and purchased a book by Roy Marshall titled, Villisca. The true account of the unsolved mass murder that stunned the nation. The book is heavy on research and photos.
Villisca is a sleepy farm town of 1300 in Montgomery County . Some say Villisca means "pretty place" or "pleasant view", others claim it comes from the Indian word "Wallisca", which means "evil spirit".
Wallisca devotees certainly won on June 10, 1912 , when the Josiah Moore family of six and two visiting Stillinger girls were found dead in the Moore home; their heads were bashed to pulp with an ax. It still ranks as one of the most grisly crimes in U.S. history.
The nation was stunned. And, as if the macabre crime itself wasn't bad enough to gain world-wide attention, interest soared when F. F. Jones the town's most prominent citizen was named as a suspect by an arrogant, hip-shooting detective imported from Texas.
Jones, a banker, businessman, state senator and Sunday School Superintendent, was implicated by detective James Wilkerson, a Texan who came to Villisca to seek his fifteen minutes of fame. A case against Jones presented to the Grand Jury failed to bring an indictment. A slander suit brought by Jones against Wilkerson also failed. The legal proceedings split the community and destroyed Jones's political future.
And if that wasn't grist enough for the headline mills, throw in Lyn George Kelly, a freaky little preacher (5'2", 120 lbs.) with shifty eyes and prior window-peeping convictions, who witnesses said told them about the murders before the bodies were discovered, but was so loony that two juries refused to believe his confession (later recanted). His first trial ended in a hung jury, his second in acquittal.
We visited the informally-managed Olson-Linn Museum , which features a lot of antique cars and scant information on the crime. We visited the murder house, which has been restored to its 1912 appearance. I must admit to feeling a chill at the thought of what happened there nearly a century ago as I photographed the house.
Villisca has some nice antique shops. In one of these shops, I visited with an elderly lump of a man who looked as if he had melted into his soft chair and would require help for extrication.
"Where you headed?" he asked.
"Skidmore." I said, explaining our Murder Tour.
"I knew that S.O.B. McElroy," he said.
"McElroy, the town bully?"
"Yes. I put hitches on his pickup trucks," he said, explaining that he had owned a garage which McElroy patronized.
"He was ornery-a big guy-bought heavy-duty hitches. He never said much; just glared, and he always paid in cash. You be careful down there."
"Why?"
"Folks in Skidmore don't take kindly to questions about that deal."
I told him about my good buddy Rod Kreykes in Rockwell City , Iowa , who also had warned me about Skidmore.
"Don't ask any questions," Kreykes had said.
The man in the easy chair nodded. "Your buddy gave you good advice."
An hour later, we pointed the car south, wondering what awaited us in Skidmore.
(To Find Out, read: MURDER TOUR TWO -- Town Bully Gunned Down On Main Street- Witnesses Refuse to Name Killers .) This story by Marty RicKard can be found elsewhere on the Search Warp site.
Marty RicKard Bio
Marty RicKard attended William Penn College , Iowa State University and University of Southern Mississippi , from which he holds a BS degree in journalism and photojournalism. He also has a Masters Degree in photography, in addition to the Craftsman, CPP, and A-ASP degrees. Marty spent two years as a technical writer for White Motor Company, and has worked for the Charles City Press, Mason City Globe-Gazette, and Davenport Times-Democrat. He was co-owner of the weekly New Sharon Star, where he was twice named Iowa Master Columnist for his article, which was syndicated in twenty Iowa newspapers. For more than a decade Marty's regular column appeared in the Professional Photographer magazine. He has been published in many other magazines and newspapers, including Writer's Digest, Writer Advice, Golf Digest, Resource Magazine, Picture, Range Finder, and Darkroom. In addition to his writing credits, Marty has won numerous photography awards, has lectured in 48 states, and has traveled internationally as lecturer, and judge. He was one of thirty from the U.S. to participate in the first cultural exchange with China in 1986. He currently is a regular columnist for Lens Magazine, and a full-time writer of fiction and poetry. He is the author of two poetry books and one volume of short stories. He is an entertaining speaker.
It seems as though many small town folks don't like to talk about things. You are very brave, should I have felt what seemed to be the presence of evil, I would have prayed and left like a bat out of 'hell'! Ineteresting articles. God bless you Marty.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
