Murder of Alice Hole

On the night of August 28, 1874, Alice Hole was sitting on her front porch of their Bristol, England home drinking and waiting for her husband William Hole. She would do this when he was home late. Sarah Cocum a life in domestic servant asked Alice to come inside to go to bed, but she refused. Sarah left Alice on the doorstep to go visit her brother.

Unfortunately, William was also blind drunk when he got home. This lead to yet another fight when he arrived home that night.

When she saw him coming up the road she went inside. Soon after he came inside the house she left and stood in the road near pavement across from their door. He soon came out. They insulted each other and called each other "blackguards". He then hit her so hard she fell to the ground. He locked the door behind him leaving her outside. She crawled to a neighbors doorsteps and sat there for a couple of minutes before going back to her own.

She told her neighbor "I shan't go in tonight." The neighbor reminded her that if the police come by she'd have to go inside.

A few minutes he asked her to come back in and her response was. "When I like." He came out another time just after 11 p.m. to ask her to come in and she also refused. He came out a third time a few minutes later. Alice was in the midst of standing up when he knocked her down. The neighbor who was out their went inside their house and locked the door scared.

Other neighbors witnessed what had happened. William fought with Alice and slit her throat. He then threw the knife against the wall and left it on the pavement when he was done. She was in the sitting position. Someone went to get the police.

William stood on the doorstep and told them that she was not to come in the house. They begged him and he stated, "I've killed her, and I shall be hung for her." A few of the neighbors went and carried Alice into her home anyway. They tried to help stop the bleeding but were unsuccessful.

One person took the knife with them to keep it from William. William followed and asked for the knife, but they refused to give it to him. Sarah returned to the Hole's home from her brothers right after the murder had occurred.

William didn't resist the arrest when they came to get him. He wanted a glass of Brandy before leaving, but the police refused.

An autopsy showed three bruises under the left collarbone, on the right shoulder and the left thigh. Her fingers on her left hand were cut to the bone. Her throat was sliced twice. One was two inches from the chin and the second was lower, deeper and hit her windpipe.

William was prosecuted and executed on April 26, 1875.

The two had been married for around 30 years and were around their 50's. They had one child together and unfortunately, he had died. They seemed to be a loving couple except when they were drinking. In which their fights would become extreme especially in the last 6 or so months. People suspected something would eventually happen.

William was suffering from chronic headaches after a head injury. Despite how he had decided to murder his wife he wasn't crazy. He was a successful businessman and employed several people. He and Alice were well liked in the area.


SOURCES:
Executed Today
The Bristol Mercury and Daily Post, Western Countries and South Wales Advertiser

Brutal Unsolved Murder of Annie Wiese

On August 26, 1893, 20-year-old Anna "Annie" Wiese was over at Aurthur Hill's home in the Vienna Township, where they both lived. The two were friends and she left the home around 10 p.m. and walked home in the bright moonlight. Someone was hiding in the shadows and took their chance to attack her. 

The person or persons who attacked her both clubbed her around the head, stabbed her several times in the breast in back, and slit her throat almost decapitating her. She fought back and was able to grab a tuft of hair from her assailant. Her screams were heard by her employer's family who lived nearby.

He and his son ran out to save whoever was screaming. When they got to the area she had stopped screaming, but she made a groan and it helped them find her. Unfortunately, she was dead by the time they found her. The killer had fled by the time they reached her.

There were a few suspects in this case. Those include her former boyfriend, her would-be boyfriend, and a woman who despised her. 

They soon arrested the young man that was seeing her. He was working as a farmhand in Pocahontas county, and there was resistance from the community he was living. He went through and they soon released him. 

Emily Bennet was a neighbor who despised Annie and believed that she was trying to seduce her husband Cyrus and son Arthur. It was known she hated her. She was taken to trial but was acquitted of the crime. It's believed that if the science for solving the crime was better that Emily would have been convicted. 

SOURCES:
Iowa Cold Cases

Find A Grave
Sioux City Journal

Interesting Deaths: The Skyway Man

The Skyway Man was a silent film from 1920 that featured plane stunts and one of the real-life deaths on the screen. According to Wikipedia the plot of the movie was as the following:

"Captain Norman Craig (Ormer Locklear) returns from the Lafayette Escadrille as a shell-shocked veteran, suffering from amnesia. Seeing him wandering around San Francisco, his girlfriend Virginia Ames (Louise Lovely), with the help of Dr. Wayne Leveridge (Sam De Grasse), devises a plan to help him restore his memory. Her family hires Craig to pursue a pair of supposed Russian thieves after the Ames jewels. The doctor, however, has plans to steal the jewels and wants Virginia for himself. An aerial chase ending with a tailspin and crash brings Craig back to his senses. He is able to thwart the doctor's schemes and finally remembers his girlfriend."

On the night of August 20, 1920, it was the last night of filming for the film Skyway Man in Los Angelos, California. They were filming a stunt scene that involved the illusion of a biplane crashing.  The stunt was to be done by Omar Locklear and Milton "Skeets" Elliot. Both were professional pilots. They were a part of the Locklear Flying Circus and had done similar stunts previously. They had flares on the wings to give the illusion of them crashing.

Things didn't go to plan this night though. The crew was supposed to turn off the lights when Omar and Skeets were close to the ground. The lights weren't turned off and this may have blinded the two and they didn't realize how close to the ground they were. The plane crashed and the two were killed immediately.

The plane crash, their deaths, and Omar's girlfriend Viola Dana's reaction were all caught on camera. The studio decided to place all of this inside the movie. They probably thought people would want to see it for the fact it had an actual death in it. They released the movie on September 5, 1920, and this makes it one of the first films with real-life deaths in it. You cannot watch the scene as the movie has been lost to time. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

IMDB

Lost Media Wiki

Murder of Irene Violet Munro

In 1920 17-year-old Irene Munro was working as a typist in London, England. She was on vacation alone in Eastbourne rather than take the yearly trip to Portobello to visit family. Her mother helped her plan everything out and Irene would leave on 16 August 1920 to the south coast. She intended to stay at 393 Seaside in Eastbourne. When she arrived she sent her mother a letter informing her of her safe arrival and her intentions to buy gifts for the family.

She would pay Mrs. Ada Wynniatt, the landlady, 30 shillings in advance for the weekly cost of the room. The landlady would state that she soon warmed up to the young woman. on 18 August 1920 Irene would send her a second letter detailing her previous day. Even though Irene seemed to have been happy initially she confided in Ada that she wished she went to Scotland with her family.

On the 19th she would encounter 19-year-old Jack Alfred Field and 29-year-old William "Billy" Thomas Gray. The two offered friendship and to show Irene some local landmarks and go to a local pub afterward. Irene would return to her hotel for lunch and then agreed to meet the two afterward at the bus stop across from Archery Tavern, close to the village of Pevensey. She would leave shortly before 3 p.m. and told the landlady of her intentions of going to Hampden Park.

At the same time, Jack and Billy as the Albermarle Hotel saloon bar knew him as they spent some time at the bar before meeting Irene. Jack would become flirtatious with one of the barmaids and after she refused to give them a free drink Jack would respond with "Very well if you wait, until the evening, we shall have more money by then." They left the bar around 2:30 p.m. and headed to the bus stop.

Irene would arrive at the bus stop first. The men would arrive and a witness stated she was talking amicably towards them as they walked towards the Crumbles (a beach). Jack would be seen walking arm in arm with each other. This friendly encounter would not last long.

Once the three came to a secluded spot of the Crumbles around 300 yds from the closest inhabited property and within sight of the Pevensey Castle. Irene stated to the duo that she was tired and was going to reach into her silk handbag for a handkerchief to dab her face. As she was doing this the duo nodded to each other and began their plan.

Jack held his walking stick to shoulder height and Billy grabbed for Irene's purse. She fought hard for her purse and began shouting "Hey, what do you think..?" Before Jack hit her in the mouth with a walking stick. This would result in two teeth dislodging and loosening others. She also fell backward from the hard hit.

Irene would scream in pain. Billy would grab a section of ironstone brick weighing 32 lbs and began hitting her among her face. She would have likely died from shock during the attack, but it was possible that she died 30 minutes later from her injuries though deeply unconscious.

Her murderers would then quickly rob her of her items. They would take her 9 ct ring and purse. They would quickly bury the teen. Her grave was only 4 ft deep and covered her body with her coat and her hat over her face. One of her feet would be above the ground.

On that same day, Jack and Billy went to the Albermarle Hotel saloon bar and seemed to be "flushed" with money even though in the weeks leading up they spent almost nothing at the bar. The two came to the bar that night also wearing nice suits. Thomas was wearing a herringbone suit and Jack was wearing a dark suit with a cloth cap.

The next day a little boy named Walter Weller was also visiting Eastbourne with his family was playing around on the beach. He was running down a steep area on the beach when he tripped over something. He would turn to see what he tripped over it was a single foot sticking out of the ground. The little boy would tell his mother and would return with their landlord and his father.

The two men were soon suspects and on the 24th they were interviewed by the police. The two men would tell police that they spent the evening with each other and ate dinner that Billy's wife made. Witnesses couldn't pinpoint the two suspects. This allowed the two to be released from custody on the 26th.

A bus driver, George Blackmer, who saw the three at the bus stop identified the two men though. He knew them both well and stated that they met a dark-haired teenage girl who greeted the two when she saw them. When shown a photo of Irene he stated that it was her he saw. A sailor would come forward after recognizing Irene from a newspaper. He came forward stating he saw two men with her. He would also positively identify the two men also. This would lead to their arrest.

It was found that the motive was robbery. After the two men were discharged from the armed forces. Neither one wanted to work and turned to crime in order to get money.

On 13 December 1920, the trial will begin. Jack and Billy would both pleaded not guilty. The trial would last only 5 days ending on 17 December. They were found guilty and given the death sentence.

Both men were executed on 4 Feb. 1921 at Wandsworth Prison.

Photo of Billy Gray and Jack Field at the trial.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia
The Guardian August 23, 1920
The Express and Telegraph October 25, 1920
Truth November 34, 1920
The Times December 15, 1920
The Time  December 16, 1920
The Daily News January 19, 1921

MISSING: Mary Margret Begay

Sometime in August of 1957 20-year-old Mary Margaret Begay was last seen at the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. She worked at the park and had left her home in Leupp, Arizona to work there. On the day she disappeared Mary and three friends left their employee housing and went to the Grand Canyon Inn to have some drinks. She got into a vehicle with two unidentified Hopi Indian Men. She was never seen again.

When she didn't return to work she was fired and they boxed up her belongings. Her family didn't realize she was missing till they went to visit and she was gone. They reported her to the Navajo Nation Authorities and the Coconino County Sheriffs' office didn't find out till a year later.

One of her friends believed she had simply run away and didn't want her family to know where she was. It's thought this was unlikely because she was in touch with her family regularly while she was working at the park.

A body was found in 1958 believed to be belonging to Mary, but no positive identification was done.

Mary is a Native American female. She was 5'2" to 5'5" and 100 to 120 lbs. She has black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a white sweater and pedal pusher pants.

SOURCES:
NamUs
Charley Project
Coconino County, Sheriff's Office

Murder of William Lewis Arwood

On August 9, 1953, 42-year-old William Arwood was inside of the bar Southside Liquors, a segregated bar, in Henderson, Kentucky.  A black man came from the black side of the bar to the white side. William and the unknown man had words with each other. The unknown man called William outside and he went out and was shot in the chest twice killing William.

On Jan. 19, 1980 a subject was called the Police Department in Sacramento, California and gave details of the murder. With a further investigation, the person believed to have made the call denied knowing anything about the murder or making a phone call. 

SOURCES:

Kentucky State Police

Murder of Lizzie Weisenberger

By the spring of 1899 13-year-old Lizzie Weisenberger was living with the Snell family in Washington, D.C. for 5 years. She was hired as a companion for their daughter Blanche. Her family knew the Snells and trusted them. But by spring of 1899, Lizzie who was previously happy with the arrangement was now unhappy. 

She would start to beg her mother to let her come home. It had turned out that 57-year-old Benjamin Snell, Blanche's father, was molesting Lizzie. She would tell her mother what he was doing to her and she let her come home. She would then try to keep Benjamin from Lizzie. It's not stated whether or not Lizzie's father, Karl, knew about what Benjamin did to her. 

Benjamin would start to beg for Lizzie to come back. 

At 6 a.m. Benjamin came to the Weisenberger home and asked for a glass of water. There was no water in the home so Karl left with a bucket to get some. Once Karl left Benjamin went into the home. Inside Lizzie was still asleep and her mother was in the kitchen cooking. When she saw him she screamed at him to leave. Instead, he rushed to Lizzie's room.

Her mother followed him but was not fast enough to stop what he planned. He would take a razor out, grab the girl by her hair waking her up, and slice the girl's throat twice. "Yes, I cut her throat, and I will cut yours, too!" He screamed at her mother. He would slash the razor at her cutting her arm before he fled the home.

A mounted police officer, Pat Creagh, would quickly find Benjamin. He had the razor in his hands and stated "I didn't mean to do it. I wouldn't be surprised if I hanged for my folly." Officer Creagh disarmed him and Benjamin would follow meekly. He was also said to be confused about why he was being arrested that he

Benjamin's defense would try to get an insanity plea for him. Stating that mental illness and alcohol was the reason for the murder. He said that a head injury that led to epilepsy was the cause and that bad blood was another as his parents were also cousins. He would then claim that he didn't remember the murder. Throughout the trial, his family stayed by his side.

The jury would find Benjamin guilty. He was set to be executed. By the time that he was executed he lost about 60 lbs and became mentally unstable. His family would beg for clemency. He would hang on June 29, 1900.

SOURCES:
Legal Executions in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia page 19
Find a Grave
New York Daily News
Horror History
Washington Times August 13, 1899
Evening Star
The Baltimore Sun June 29, 1900
The Weekley News July 3, 1900

The Kayhausen Boy

In 1922 the body of a young boy was found in a bog in Lower Saxony, Germany. He was a boy between 7 and 10-years-old and had lived and died between 300 and 400 BC. The boy had been killed and it's more than likely due to sacrificial reasons.

The young boy had been bound. Strips of woolen fabric were used to tie his arms behind his back, and a length of textile was wound around his neck, passed between his legs, and back up to his neck where the two ends were tied together. It was found that he had been stabbed 3 times in the neck and once in the left arm. It was likely killed with a dagger with a 4-centimeter blade. It's unknown if he was stabbed before or after he was bound.

It's likely he was sacrificed because he was disabled and probably considered disfavored by their gods. He had suffered from an infected socket at the top of his femur and was unable to walk without assistance. His story and identity will never be known as it was lost to history.

There is a picture of the boy, but it shows how he's tied up and to be a bit too much to post on here. Both links below do have images of this mummy though.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia
Mummipedia 

MISSING: Ione Ruth "Growt" Rehwinkle

Sometime in 1952 23-year-old Ione Rehwinkle was working at a local bar in Rochester, Minnesota. At the time she was divorced and a mother to a 1-year-old Son. Her family believes that she was abducted from her front yard or while she was working the night shift at the bar by sailors. They believe that she had been murdered.

The original records for her missing report were lost or destroyed so there is little information in this case.

Ione is a white female and was 23-years-old at the time. She's 5'4" and 115 lbs at the time.

SOURCES:
Find a Grave
NamUs
Charley Project

Murder of Reverend George C. Haddock

In 1882 a law was passed in Iowa called the "Clark Law" making Liquor illegal. The frontier city of Sioux did not take kindly to the law as they ignored it. It also turned the town from being rough straight to a lawless frontier. The town had over 75 saloons, several breweries, and gambling houses.

Many were against the law, but some were for it especially after two murders had happened in drinking establishments. There were some who wanted changes to where Sioux City would follow the law. One of these people was 56-year-old Reverend George C. Haddock.

On August 3, 1886, the Reverend was going about noting the things about liquor. That morning he was seen noting the unloading of beer from one of the brewery wagons. Fred Lerch was standing in front of his business further up the street and screamed at the Reverend that he would cut his d-d head off if he came near there.

Shortly after 10 p.m. a shot was heard on 3rd and Waters street. Reverend George Haddock had been shot and killed. The person shot him from 25 feet away. It was no secret in why he was murdered he even told someone he expected death. He was more than likely killed for his fight against liquor.

John Arensdorf was a suspect that went to trial twice. First with a hung jury and second with a not guilty. Despite there having been witnesses that night that saw John kill the Reverend. It was said that John had gone to a bar after the trial with the jurors.

Soon after the Reverend's death liquor was completely banned fron Sioux City and the businesses were moved to South Sioux City in Nebraska. But five years later Clark Law was repealed allowing liquor to be legal again.

SOURCES:
Iowa Cold Cases 

Sioux City Journal 

Sioux City History

UNIDENTIFIED: Jan. 1, 1912, Boulder, Colorado

There is little information in this case. The John Doe was found in Boulder, Colorado on Jan. 1, 1912 and was a victim of a homicide. He was a male between 55 and 65-years-old.

SOURCES: 
Doe Network
Colorado Bureau of Investigation

MISSING: Edna Anne Kaminski

Sometime in August of 1944 23-year-old Edna Anne Kaminski was last seen by her family in Maspeth, New York. She left behind her husband and 20-month-old daughter. She's a white female and was 23 at the time. She's 5'6" to 5'8" and 130 lbs. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

SOURCES:
NamUs
National Missing Person Directory