Murder of John "Henry" Bernard Nurre and attemped murder of Elizabeth Nurre

small typo on image it's 1814 not 1914

In 1890, 76-year-old John "Henry" Nurre and his third wife 57-year-old Elizabeth. The couple had been married for 20 years and lived in rural Clinton County near Brown’s Station, Iowa. The area that the couple were living in was mostly Catholic including them. They would seldom miss any meetings at the church.

Henry was also one of the richest men in their area of the state and was highly esteemed by many. He had more real estate mortgages in Jackson County than anyone else. For the last 4 years, he was a member of the Board of Supervisors of Clinton County. It was estimated that he was worth $250,000.

On March 12, 1890, Henry and Elizabeth did not show up to the 13-hour church meeting. This was concerning, however, it wasn't until they didn't show up to the Thursday meeting people got worried. Elizabeth's son-in-law Theo Hullman, and the Priest were worried because the two never showed up to the meeting. This was unusual for them. The two would go home and investigate to see why the two didn't show up.

When they went inside the house they would go into either the kitchen and find Henry dead near the table. He was in a large pool of blood and had a large gash on the back of his head and another which hit his jugular vein in his neck.

Elizabeth was found unconscious in their bedroom in the attic above the kitchen. She had been attacked with a hammer and she had nine deep scalp wounds. She would stay unconscious for several more weeks before regaining consciousness. However, she could not provide any information on what had happened.

It's believed that the attack happened on the evening of March 11th. Henry was sitting in the sitting room responding to a letter from his son. The letter was received on the 10th and the letter Henry was writing was dated the 11th. It seemed Henry was nearly finished with the letter when he was killed.

The murderer or murderers tried to clean up the pool of blood. There were clothes stained with the blood found on the teakettle. They then dragged Henry into the kitchen. It's unknown why they had done this, but maybe they were thinking of destroying the scene and never got to do it for some reason.

Elizabeth must have witnessed the murder as it seemed that she had run to their bedroom in the attic. She had tried to barricade the door, but they had broken it open with a poker. They would then attack her with the poker and then the hammer when they found it. The room was left a mess with the bestead broken to pieces, the bedding scattered and blood covered almost everything in the room. It was a miracle that she survived.

In another bedroom, a safe was found. It was unknown if the killer or killers were able to get it open, but the dial had been broken off. In the same room, there was a little satchel that Henry was known to carry money and papers. One of Elizabeth's skirts was lying over it and it wasn't seen by the killers. Inside was $1,105 and some papers indicating he was planning to go to Preston that night. Likely after he was done writing his letter and eating dinner.

Theo stated that it was not normal for Henry to have that much cash on him at once and usually only carried around $100 to $150. However, he himself had recently paid him the $1,000 on Sunday so it must have been that money in his satchel.

SOURCES:
Iowa Cold Cases

Find a Grave

Murder of Caroline Ansell

In 1899 at the Leavesden Mental Asylum in Leavesden, England 19-year-old Caroline Ansell would be staying. It's not stated why Caroline was there, but her family had a history of mental illness. 

Caroline's sister (18 or 22 years old ages vary in sources) Mary Anne was engaged to a young man. Neither were wealthy and Mary Ann worked as a maid to a wealthy family on Coram St. in the Bloomsbury area of London. Because they could not afford a marriage license (7 shillings and sixpence) let alone a wedding they had to postpone it. 

Mary Ann would devise devious a plan to get married. She would insure her sister's life for a premium of 3 old pence a week. She would get £22 when she dies. She was not going to wait for her sister to die either. 

Mary Ann would buy phosphorous-based rat poison at a local shot near her work. She would then make a cake adding the poison into the cake. On March 9th the cake would be sent to Caroline. Caroline was happy to share with friends shared the cake with them. All of them would become sick, but Caroline was worse off than the others. She had eaten more cake than the others and had more severe symptoms.

At the time there was a typhoid outbreak among the residents of the Asylum. So it took some time for her to be able to be seen by a doctor. Even though she was immediately admitted into the infirmary it was too late for her. On March 13th she would pass away. 

An autopsy would be performed and found to be phosphorous poisoning. What was left of the cake was found to have the poison. The postmark on the wrapping paper it came in came back to her sister.  This may not have been the first time she had attempted to kill Caroline either. Mary Ann had previously sent tea and sugar to her sister. Both of which seemed to have something wrong with it. The tea was weirdly bitter and had to be thrown away and the sugar had a strange dampness to it.

Caroline had also previously gotten a letter she believed was from a cousin. The letter had told her that her parents were dead. Turns out that was not true as her parents were still alive. The cousin had also claimed to have not written the letter. 

Mary Ann would be arrested and denied making and sending the poisoned cake. At one point she stated, “I know nothing whatever about it. I am as innocent a girl as ever was born”. It was pointed out that she was witnessed buying the same poison used in the cake. She would say that she bought and used the rat poison at her employer's home. However, her mistress Mrs. Maloney denied a vermin infestation and that she never asked her to buy rat poison. 

The handwriting on the parcel and a Christmas card Mary Ann wrote were found to be written by the same person.

On June 30, 1899, Mary Ann would be taken to trial. The trial would take place at Hertford Assizes in St. Albans Mr. Justice Mathew. The trial would last for two days. The prosecution would bring forth the motive of her crime which was the insurance money. Various witnesses would come forward.

Mary Ann would plead innocence but had no defense. The jury only took two hours to find her guilty and did not make a recommendation of mercy. She was sentenced to death. There was public speculation that Mary Ann was possibly insane like her sister and deserved clemency. There was a petition, but the pleas for her life were ignored. However, it was found that she was not insane and was unable to get clemency. 

The prison she was sent to did have facilities for female prisoners. However, there had not been an execution since Thomas Wheeler's execution in 1880. Since there were no gallows there her execution would happen at St. Albans prison.

To her parents their last visit to see Mary Ann was heartbreaking to them. They had already lost two daughters one to tragedy and the other to murder. Now they had to face that they would also lose their third due to her crimes. Mary would ask her father "Can you forgive me, father"? He told her he did. 

At 8 am on July 19th, a crowd of around 2,000 gathered at the main gate. Some of the people would silently pray for Mary Ann. She would be hanged, and at 10 am she would be pronounced dead. Her death had been instant as her neck had been broken. She would be buried in an unmarked grave within the prison. In 1931 her remains would be re-interred at the St. Albans City cemetary. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Murderpedia

Watford Observor 

Infanticide: Elinor Hadley (Williams) Murders her newborn

On March 2, 1739, Elinor Hadley was a single woman who gave birth to a boy in the Parish of St. Peter in Carmarthen, Wales. She would assault the child violently on the right side of his head killing him instantly. 

She would go to trial and found guilty of murder. On May 26th she would be executed at a spot near the town railway station in Carmarthenshire.

Elinor's last name may have been Williams and Hadley was an alias.

SOURCES:

British Executions

Capitol Punishment UK

Murder of Caroline Frances Ely

On February 26, 1915, 25-year-old Caroline Ely died from an illegal operation in Fulham, England. It's not stated what kind of operation it was. There is little information in this case. 

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

Murder of Saint Belina

Image created in Bing Creator

Saint Belina was a young woman who was murdered and made into a saint. In 1203 she was canonized by Pope Innocent III and was venerated in Troyes. Some of her relics were lost during the French Revolution, but some of her bone particles and her head are stored in a bust at the Mores Abbey in Launderville. Her feast day is February 19th. She is known both as Belina of Troyes, and Belina of Launderville due to the location of her murder. 

 There is little known about her life, but she was born to religious serfs of John Paterne, the Lord of Pradines and D'Arcy in Landerville, France. It was unknown when she was born. She was known as a gentle soul caring for others. In 1153 she was engaged to another young man of similar rank in the village. 

Her parents would ask Lord Paterne for his blessing. He would reject the proposal. He was also interested in having a beautiful girl. It was said that Belina rejected him and was disgusted with that idea. She wanted to marry the man she loved. She was not interested in the Lord or his position of power. 

Sometime after Belina would be tending to her father's sheep. This was when Lord Paterne would show up surprising her. He would try to force himself on her, but she would fight back and defend herself. During the struggle, Lord Paterne would bring out his sword and beheaded her. He would leave her body in the field.

It's not stated how the people knew it was known that it was him, but there was a revolt. The peasants were so outraged that they rose up against him. They would burn down his castle. He would escape with his life as he had disguised himself.

He however did not escape unfazed. Pope Anastasius IV excommunicated him and took away his titles. The king confiscated his land, and the French parliament condemned him to permanent exile.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Catholic Readings

Catholic Online

UNIDENTIFIED: February 11, 1854, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania John Doe

  On February 11, 1854, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania an unknown man died. There is little information in this case.

John Doe was a black male around 80-years-old. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

UNIDENTIFIED: February 5, 1956 Arcadia, California John Doe

 On February 5, 1956, two boys found leg bones in some brush at the Santa Anita Wash in Arcadia, California. More remains were found, but not all. It's believed that there was animal activity on his body. It's unknown how the man had died, but he may have been there for a year or more. 

John Doe was a man over 50 years old. He was 5'7" to 5'9" and around 200 lbs. He had grey or greying hair. He had Khaki trousers Penney's Big Mac with a 30" inseam x 40" waist, Blue denim trousers with a 30" inseam x 40" waist, a blue denim jacket, a brown sleeveless fleece lined leather vest, a pair of work gloves, a dark brown socks, army like work shoe, and horned rim glasses. There were also items found in the area. A bath towel, a feather pillow, a big box of matches, and a small box of matches.

It's unknown if all the items found with the body had anything to do with him. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

LA County Coroner

Unidentified Wiki

Daily News-Post and Monrovia News-Post Feb 7, 1956

UNIDENTIFIED: January 15, 1865 Nashville, Tennessee John Doe

  On January 15, 1865, in or around Nashville, Tennessee a man was killed by a shotgun blast that severed his arm. There is little information in this case.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Death of William Snyder/Bernard

On January 11, 1854, 13-year-old William Snyder went to a circus on Stockton st in San Francisco, California. There he would be grabbed by the ankles by Manuel Reyes.  He was swung by his heels by the clown and this would lead to his death. It was said the blood was coming from Williams's mouth. He would be sent to the hospital where he would die a few minutes after He would die from a rupture of the left pulmonary artery. The next day he would be buried.

Manuel was described as being a mentally handicapped clown. He was arrested for murder, but nothing came from it. Williams's cause of death was determined as accidental. Later he would be arrested for assault and battery upon an officer. During the court hearing he “commenced slapping his face as if a swarm of mosquitos were pestering him” and was muttering nonsense. 

In some articles, William's last name was Bernard instead of Snyder. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Horror History

The Dead History

Nevada Journal Jan 20, 1854

UNIDENTIFIED: January 10, 1924 Limerick, Ireland Baby Jane Doe

On January 10, 1924, an unidentified stillborn baby girl was found at Garryowen Blackboy Pike in Limerick, Ireland. She was buried in Mount St. Lawrence on the 12th.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave