August 5, 1898 Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Jane Doe

 On August 5, 1898, a woman was found washed up on the shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. She had a hitching weight such as what a drayman would use to fasten a horse's brittle. It was placed together with the body with a light chain wrapped around the body twice and fastened by prying a link open. She was partial as she was wearing a top and her underclothing it's not stated whether or not the water may have caused it to come off. She was dead for around a month. Her cause of death was undetermined, but it was believed that she was hit over the head and placed in the water alive where she drowned.

Jane Doe was around 30-years-old. She was 5'4" and around 140 lbs. She had Dark Chestnut colored hair that was dyed. The hair at the back of her neck showed light brown hair sprinkled with grey. The underclothing was of good quality and made of handmade lace. She was wearing shoes and on the leather with Harding & Todd which was a shoe manufacturing company in Rochester, New York. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

The Weekley Wisconsin August 6, 1898

Murder of Mary Jane Voller

 

On December 31, 1898 5-year-old Mary Jane Voller was sent to get a penny worth of linseed oil at a shop only across the street from her home in Barking, London, England. She left the home around 5:10 p.m. with a threepenny and was never seen alive again after that.

After 10 to 15 minutes Mrs. Voller who sent Mary on the errand got worried. The errand should have been quick and it shouldn't have taken this long. Mrs. Voller would ask Mr. Voller, but he believed she was overreacting. He didn't search for her and was trying to finish fixing Mary's shoes. 

Mrs. Voller went and looked for her herself. She asked neighbors and went to the shop to ask if they'd seen the 5-year-old. The shopkeeper could not remember the girl as the family had only moved to the area weeks before. But when Mrs. Voller asked if a young girl buying linseed came in the answer was that no one had bought any since 2 that afternoon. This meant that no one had seen Mary, she never made it to the shop and had been taken young Mary within the 10 to 15 minutes she'd been gone. The family did a search was soon done on the streets for Mary.

Mr. Voller searched the streets with his father, and after finding no sign of his daughter they went to the police station. They hoped the girl had wandered off and was lost and reported that she was a lost child.  A description of her was sent out across the country. 

Mr. Voller would continue to search unfrequented places for his daughter. They would search abandoned houses and such. Going down Barking-Lane Mr. Voller went over to inspect a shed. Near the shed was a brook and his heart dropped when he saw something floating inside of it.

When they got close to the water the lantern blew out. Knowing there was something floating in the water Mr. Voller went into the water and searched the area blind on his hands and knees where he saw something floating. In his arms was the lifeless body of his daughter.

News soon spread of the discovery. Mr. Voller initially refused to move the body until the police came, but his wife convinced him to bring her home. The police and coroner met them at their home and it was obvious that the girl was brutally murdered. 

Mary had been raped she had 2 punctures in her neck, one near her groin, and one on the inside of her left thigh. the wounds were accompanied by scratches and were believed to be done by a blunt object. These did not kill her and it was believed she drowned in the 3 feet. She did not have mud or such in her throat so it's believed she was unconscious or in shock when put in the water. 

It's unknown who did this horrific murder to the young girl and will remain unsolved. 

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

The Mirror

The Standard January 4, 1899

The Essex County Standard Ect. January 7, 1899

The Weekly Standard and Express January 7, 1899

Lloyds Weekley Newspaper January 8, 1899

The Gatton Tragedy: Murder of the Murphy Siblings

Norah              Michael                Ellen

On the night of December 26, 1898, around 8 p.m. 27-year-old Norah, 18-year-old Ellen, and 29-year-old Michael Murphy left their home at Black Fellow's Creek outside of Gatton, Australia in a two-wheeled cart. Michael was driving his sisters to a dance held at the Gatton Divisional Hall and hoped to arrive by 9.  

The trio didn't know that the dance was to be canceled due to the lack of female attendance. They arrived and realized it had been canceled and headed back home. But they were to never return. 

Their mother had gotten worried and knew something was off. She sent her son-in-law William McNeil into Gatton to see why the siblings didn't return. That morning he found them after following his Sulky's distinctive track marks (due to a wobbly wheel) on the road. He followed them and found their bodies in a horrifying sight.  The police were soon contacted. 

The scene was marked off, but townspeople hearing of the murders came to the scene. It was contaminated by onlookers. The bodies were brought to a local hotel for autopsy. 

At the scene, Ellen and Michael were laying back to back while Norah lay a few yards away on a neatly spread rug. The girls had them hands tied behind their backs with handkerchiefs. Micheal had been both beaten and shot to death. He may have had his hands tied together at one point.The girls had been sexually assaulted and then they were beaten to death. Norah may have also been strangled. Nora had a hames strap tightly wrapped around her neck. Their horse had been shot and killed and 15 shillings were missing from Michaels purse. His purse was in his hand and a breeching strap nearby. 

Some suspected maybe they were killed by family members or they had been killed by a local priest as someone heard a woman screaming "father" that night. But the police believed that it may have been a transient who was in the area who killed the three.

They had two main suspects one was man name Richard Burgess, but he had a solid alibi and the other was a man named Thomas Day. Thomas's hut was near the scene and someone claimed to see him wash the blood from a pullover days later. But there was no clear evidence of who the murderer or murders were. No one was charged with this case and will remain unsolved. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia
Gatton Murders
Western Mail
Daily News
Huff Post

Murder of James Lail

On July 1, 1898, 19-year-old John Headrick went to James Lail's home in Cape Girardeau County about 3 miles out of Jackson, Missouri. He had been recently fired as a farmhand by James for stealing a buggy.

James's wife Vernie and daughter Jessie were inside their home as he was in the barn curried the horses. They watched as John entered the barn and then heard gunshots. James had been shot four times he managed to get out of the barn and his wife threw herself over him.

John then shot her once and the gun was out of ammo so he began to beat her. Jessie screamed at John that he killed her Papa and was going to kill her Mother. Vernie then got free and started running in which John pursued and stabbed her then slit her throat.

He marched Jessie around with the threat of being shot. He tried to make her promise to not tell anyone he had done it. She wouldn't do it. He also made her clean his clothes. When they got by the area Vernie's body should have been she wasn't there. This was because she ran to her mothers-in-law's home. He soon left. Vernie survived the attack, but unfortunately, James did not.

He claimed that he just came to the residence to get the money he was owed. He said when he got into the barn James threatened to beat him with the curry comb he was using. He said he was scared for his life so he shot James and attacked Vernie from the excitement.

John was hung on June 15, 1889 outside of Cape Girardeau's courthouse.

SOURCES:
Executed Today
The Record-Union
The Democrat-Argus