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 

GHOSTS: Hairy Hands

 

Created in Imagine AI Generator

Between Postbridge and Two Bridges in Dartmoor, England there is a legend of a sector who loves to cause vehicle accidents. The story begins around 1910 and drivers and cyclists have reported that in this area their vehicle would jolt and steer off the road. The cause of it? The Hairy Hands appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the steering wheel or handlebars causing a crash. 

There would be no fatalities until 1921 when E.H. Helby would wreck his motorcycle. His two daughters who were sitting in the sidecar would survive, however. 

It's unknown who the spirit is and why they want to cause wrecks. Some suspect that it wasn't a spirit, but people unfamiliar with the area getting in accidents and knowing the legend and blaming it on that. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

ObscUrban Legends Wiki

MONSTERS: Kit Swamp Monster

 

On Thursday, August 18, 1875, Asa Grundy thought it was going to be a normal day in Kits Swamp, North Carolina. His five-year-old daughter was playing with a neighbor child in a corn crib while he was stripping fodder in the field. Then he heard the children screaming, the dogs barking, and his wife screaming. Asa stopped what he was doing and ran towards the edge of the cornfield where all the screaming was coming from. 

In front of him stood a monster that was carrying the children with one in each paw. The monster was heading towards the woods. When Asa appeared it surprised the monster making him pause for a second.

The father did what he thought fit as with all his strength he swung towards the monster. With a solid hit on the forehead, the monster fell to the ground and dropped both children. Before Asa could capture the thing it suddenly got up and ran into the woods with no trace of it being found.

Asa said that the beast had the face of a wanderoo, the body of a baboon and the arms and legs of a human. He claims that for the last few weeks a strange being had been preying upon poultry, garden vegetables and green corn in an alarming amount. 

The inhabitants of  Kits Swamp was now on edge as they kept an eye on the beast who was possibly after their children. Two particular residents were keeping a real close eye for the monster. The story goes that Eli Sparrow and Frank Hanson kept their eyes out for it determined to get it when they spot it.

The monster was lurking on the outside of a small clearing owned by Maria Harkley.  At this time Maria and her two young children were picking blackberries. The three men were sitting on a pine tree log watching as the Monster started approaching the young Maria's young boy who was 50 yards away from his mother. 

When the intruder was spotted the three men hid behind the log and kept an eye on the monster. They wanted to see what it was up to. The boy was now within range for the men to shoot if the monster came towards him. The men did not automatically shoot as they wanted to see the monsters intention, because they wanted to get it alive. But it became apparent that the monster wanted to kidnap the boy.  

When the monster came 10 feet of the boy and seemed to want to lunge at him they shot him towards his lower half. The monster fell, but the before the men could get to him it ran into the woods. It outran its hunters, but the blood trail helped them find it.

They pursued the monster for two hours before happening upon chaparral that was too thick to go through. They then saw an opening and Story volunteered to go through. It was small and dark for Story. He had eventually run into a plank that he had to remove and it let the light come in. This was when he made eye contact with the monster. 

The others followed after him. The monster seemed to have felt scared and trapped. It tried to defend itself sprung at Story and during the struggle, his gun went off. Which caused the creature to lose its life.

The three men brought it to town and many people had awwed at the monster. The skin of the monster was sent to Baltimore to be stuffed and put into an exhibit. It is unknown if it was really stuffed.

I only happened upon these articles and could not find out more about it. The story had to of been somewhat big at the time as a newspaper from London had an article about it. It is not known how much truth there is to the story.

If this story has any truth of this. Then it would mean that  Kits Swamp North Carolina had a Bigfoot-like creature terrorizing the town, and they had caught it. 

SOURCES:

Newbern Weekly Journal of Commerce August 21, 1875

Newbern Weekly Journal of Commerce September 11, 1875

The Times October 1, 1875

WITCHES: Salt Witch

 

Made on Artbreeder

In the Nebraska plains, there was a tribe that was quartered and resided near where the Saline flows into the Platte. There was one chief that had met a witch. The chief was a fierce man and was a man of blood and muscle who his people gloried. However, his dear wife was his only companion and the only one to keep him in check. He loved her deeply and was heartbroken when she died. The once active chief was now becoming a recluse never leaving his home. His mourning was lasting too long for his people and they began to talk of replacing him. They needed someone who would do their duties. 

One morning the Chief left his home wearing his wardress. Without speaking a word to anyone he strode across the plain to the west. No one hears from him for a month. He was brandishing a belt of either fresh pelts or scalps. He also came with a lump of salt and a story of how it was found. 

He told them that after traveling far over the prairie he had gone to sleep on the ground. He was awoken by wailing nearby. (some retellings he's in a canoe) In the New Moon's light, he would go and look for the cause of the sound. He would find a hideous old woman with a tomahawk about to strike a kneeling, crying, younger woman. This was a surprising sight as he was 40 miles from the village. The old woman would hold the younger one by the throat and the younger would fail to break free. He would soon run over to the women.

 The old woman was then holding the younger's hair and was raising the tomahawk to strike her by the time the chief came. The chief would then see the face of the younger woman and would be filled with rage. The younger woman looked just like his dead wife. He would then protect the younger woman by burying his own tomahawk into the old woman's head. The earth would open and both women would disappear. In their place, a pillar of salt stood where the witch was. 

For years afterward, tribes would maintain that the column was under the custody of the Salt Witch. When they went and gathered salt they would pound the ground with clubs. They believed if they did this it would keep the Salt Witch from doing Evil. 

I could not find a specific tribe this was based on. There were two different tribes referenced The Otoe and the Omaha tribes. I also could not find what year or let alone century that this had happened also. 

SOURCES:

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Myths And Legends Of Our Own Land, Complete by Charles M. Skinner
Legends of America

American Folklore

Ancient Pages

William Zinsmeister Shoots up a Picnic

 On June 23, 1923, 35-year-old William Zinsmeister would question his son-in-law. He would inquire where his daughter, 15-year-old Mamie, was attending a picnic for the St. Williams Catholic Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He would then ask who she was attending with and if it was the boy he disapproved of. He would then call a taxi to come get him at his soft drink stand at 1:30 p.m. 

Before leaving he would tell his son-in-law that he "I'm going to kill 5 kids this afternoon". His son-in-law would try to make it to the river before him. He left in the taxi with two revolvers and over 75 rounds. The taxi would bring him to the picnic area of the Ohio River. There was nothing unusual about how William was acting in the taxi.

When they arrived William would leave the vehicle and walk towards the river. The Taxi driver would stay and chat with someone. He would then walk down to his daughter who was sitting on a log next to the water. 18-year-old Thomas Mullaney and 16-year-old Sarah Connolly were in the water near her. 

William would be greeted by Mamie saying "Hello Daddy." He would then ask his daughter "What are you doing out her Mamie?". She responded with something along the line of to have a good time and her father's response was "Well I'm going to kill you." He then pulled out and began shooting. 

Mammie died almost instantly with two shots to the head. He then began shooting at those in the water. 16-year-old Sarah Connolly would be shot and killed. 16-year-old Gertrude Franconia, and 18-year-old Charles Eifler would be injured. Thomas would be able to get one of the revolvers from William and received a wound to the shoulder and was hit on the head. 

Those witnessing the madness would run screaming towards where the Taxi was parked. "He's shooting people in the water." After the shooting William would flee across fields on foot towards his childhood home and where he was born. He was a few hundred feet from his former home and would kill himself. 

There were only two deaths, Mamie and Sarah. Sarah's body was washed away and a search would be done for it. She wouldn't be found for two days. Her body would be found down stream about a mile from the scene. The rest were injured with non life threatening wounds.

SOURCES:

The Puducah Sun-Democrat June 25, 1923

Messenger-Inquirer June 25, 1923

The Courier-Journal June 25, 1923

Hinton Daily News June 25, 1923

Murder of Richard Rugman and Attempted Murder of Eliza Smith

 On the night of April 1, 1887, 80-year-old Richard Rugman and his live-in maid 76-year-old Eliza Smith was at their home on Morton St. in Thornbury, England. visited by their neighbor Mrs. Brown. She left the two at 6p.m. and then another friend of theirs, French, came and visited till after 7 p.m. The two seemed to be in a good mood that night. A third visitor would come that night and create a tragedy.

Richard was sitting in his chair by the kitchen fire and Eliza was sitting nearby. A man would come to the house and lift the latch of the door to the kitchen. Eliza did not recognize the man as he demanded £5. Eliza would reply with a "My good man. we've got no money to give you. We can't afford it." The man angry at the response would then strike Richard upon the head with a large stick and then struck her. Richard would be struck at least five times over his right eye, and his arm broken from trying to protect his face. Eliza's face was badly beaten and he beat her on the left side of her body. The two lay on the floor till the next morning.

Eliza took all her strength to crawl outside the house. She would be discovered by George Trayburn, a tradesman, who came to get their order of meat. He would get help from a man named Horsman, who was working nearby, to bring Eliza into the home. They discovered the grizzly scene and Richard. The police and doctor would be called to the scene.

 It was found that the stick used was from the garden. The killer took it from a bundle of withies that was going to be used to make spikes. The murder weapon was found. It was about two feet long and the butt end that used to hit the two broke off. 

Richard's wounds were so severe that doctors worried about his survival. He would lay in and out of consciousness as people who knew him visited. He recognized his friends and family, but unfortunately, he would die over a week later.

Though the unknown man had the opportunity to ransack the house he did not. There was gold and silver on a table upstairs and Eliza had a box with  £13 inside. The cottage they lived in was humble in nature and it was strange that the man thought they would have the money to give.

It was suspected at first that Eliza may have done the murder, but doctors stated she did not have the strength to do such blows. Also, her retelling of the crime right after may have been inaccurate due to her injury and worsening memory problems she had over the last few years. 

The case remains unsolved.

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

Thornbury Roots

Citizen April 9, 1887

The Bristol Mercury and Daily Post, Western Countries and South Wales Advertiser May 4, 1887

Murder of Bernard Quinn

At 7 p.m. on January 1, 1923, Bernard and Elizabeth Quinn were having a New Years party at their home at 1 Woodbine Street, Hendon, Sunderland. At the party were at least4 other people including Elizabeth's mother Elizabeth Cassidy. The party would only end in tragedy.

Elizabeth and 60-year-old Daniel Cassidy had been separated for a while and she was living in Manchester at the time. She wrote earlier to her daughter she would spend Christmas and New Year with her in Sunderland. This information was told to Daniel in hopes of reconciling their relationship. This however was not the case as when as he had a different thought in mind.

Daniel would show up to the party with a revolver. He would shoot six times at people in the room. Bernard, his mother-in-law, and his wife were all three shot. A downstairs tenant, James Coggins, would hear the shots and rush upstairs. He would see Daniel with the revolver.

When he came into the room Daniel struck him with the revolver. James would knock the gun out of his hands and bring him to the ground. He would then march Daniel along Hendon Road until a policeman was found.

The three who were shot were brought to the hospital. Bernard was beyond help and would pass away. The other two would recover from their injuries.

Daniel would be taken to trial and try to plead insanity. The jury did not believe there were any signs of insanity from Daniel and he was found guilty and set to hang. On April 3rd Daniel would be executed in Durham.


SOURCES:
British Executions
Evening Chronicle January 2, 1923
Evening Chronicle January 9, 1923
The Gloucestershire Echo January 15, 1923
The Shepton Mallet Journal, City of Wells Reporter, and County Advertiser April 6, 1923

Murder of Mrs. Owens

 In 1894 William Owens and his wife Mrs. Owens would fight. William would leave the neighborhood and come back on May 30th. He would then search for his wife and found her around 3p.m. working in a field with around 30 other African Americans in Nobel Lake, Arkansas. 

 William asked his wife to move back in with him again. She would refuse him and this angered him. He would point the gun at her and shot her once in the chest and once in the back. She would fall and he would pick up the hoe she was using and hit her twice in the head before breaking it. She was still alive and in agony and he would pick up a second hoe and would beat her head in with it. He would then escape.

He would then try to kill Grandville Simms, someone he had a grudge against. Grandville would take off his shoes and outrun William. William would then exhausted fall on a log. This allowed him to be caught. 

William would be convicted and found guilty. He would be executed in 1895. He was likely executed on May 30th as an article from May 29th stated his execution the next day.

Note:

I could not find Mrs. Owens' first name none of the articles I could find stated her first name. 

SOURCES:

Death Penalty USA Pine Bluff Daily Graphic May 29, 1894

Pine Bluff Daily Graphic May 31, 1894

The Osceola Times June 4, 1894

The Southern Standard June 8, 1894

Pine Bluff Daily Graphic May 29, 1894

Unsolved Murder of Alford Norris

On June 1, 1954 someone beat elderly couple 81-year-old Alford and Charolette Norris inside of their home on South Corona St. in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They would be transported to Penrose Hospital. Charolette survived, but unfortunately, Alford would die the next day.

SOURCES:
Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Murder of Francis Boggs

Francis Boggs was born in Santa Rosa California he had started his acting career in his teens. He eventually became one of the first motion picture pioneer directors. He was also one of the first to direct a movie in California. In 1902 during his tour southwest with stock companies, he went to Chicago where he met William Selig.

William Selig began to fund a few films. Together they created the first films filmed entirely in California. This included Count of Monte Cristo (1909), In the Sultans Power (1909), and Te Heart of a Race Trout (1909). In 1909 Selig gave Boggs head position in Selig's Los Angeles branch it was built in Edendale.

Today only three of his films are known to exist.

On October 27, 1911, a meeting was happening in Boggs office at Selig Polyscope Co.'s studios in Edendale, California. Selig had traveled all the way from Chicago and arrived in Edendale that morning. The meeting included the business manager, J.L. McGee, actor, W. Santshi, and Hobart Bosworth.

Japanese janitor Frank Minnimatsu out of nowhere busted in the door and opened fire in the room. The first bullet pierced Francis Boggs in the heart and killed him. William Selig was also injured as he was shot in the arm while struggling with Minnimatsu. The others in the room tackled and restrained Minnimatsu. Minnimatsu claimed that Boggs was an evil man and that he had been waiting 6 months to kill him.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Find a Grave

LA Times

Santa Ana Register 

Oakland Tribune

Murder of Thomas Clinton Beebe

On October 9, 1891, 24-year-old Thomas Beebe had difficulty with cows destroying his corn on his land near Woodland, Washington. He confronted Robert Day's son about the cattle's destruction. During the argument, Thomas smacked Robert's son's face. At the time Robert was out hunting.

When Robert returned his son told him of the argument. After dinner, Robert confronted Thomas at his camp about 3/4's of a mile away from Robert's Ranch. He found Thomas and his cousin David Beebe

Robert confronted Thomas about slapping his son and asked him to walk down the road to talk. Thomas did not deny that he smacked his son. Robert having met the fork in the road that leads to his home he turned around with his gun a Winchester. He shot and killed Thomas without hesitation. The bullet went through his right side and exited through his left going through both of his lungs.  Robert spoke to David roughly and asked him if he also wanted som.

David fled the scene after the gun didn't discharge. David was able to get authorities. Robert fled into the woods and attempted to flee authorities. He was caught the next morning from authorities. A lynch mob came for Robert, but the constable prevented him from being taken.

Robert claimed that the boys were acting as if they were going to attack him. In defense, he shot Thomas.  Robert went to trial and was convicted of the murder on December 16, 1891.

While in prison on December 17 Robert attempted suicide by slashing his arm just below the elbow. He used a knife given to him for his meals. On February 4, 1892, the judge issued the warrant for his execution. On Feb. 28th

On June 3, 1892, Robert was set to hang in Kalama. He was Catholic and before he was sent to hang he talked to Father Kearnes of La Center. When on the Scaffolds he stated that he had remorse for taking a life for which he had to forfeit his own and that he forgave those who sinned against him and hoped those he sinned would do the same. He then stated that he was innocent of the murder he was charged with. He also asked the crowd to take care of his wife and kids.

He was hanged at 11:13 a.m. and his death was instant. They let him hang for 13 minutes before being pronounced dead and another 5 before being cut down and his body turned over to the family.


SOURCES:
Spokane Chronical October 13, 1891
The Seatle Post-Intelligencer December 17, 1891
The Spokesman-Review February 4, 1892
The Seatle Post-Intelligencer  June 4, 1892 (part 1)
The Seatle Post-Intelligencer  June 4, 1892 (part 2)
The Spokesman-Review June 9, 1892
Chicago Tribune January 1, 1893

The Black Donnellys

James and Johannah Donnelly decided to move from their homeland, Ireland, and settle in Canada. The couple settled on contested land near London, Ontario. The Donnelly's were a troubling family and seemed to have been in a feud with the community. In 1857 James Sr. killed Patrick Farrell a man who had a dispute with the family because they were squatting on his land.

Even though he spent time at the Kingston Penitentiary his 7 sons didn't learn from his mistakes. They had a bad reputation and they were known as troublemakers. Their reputation went from basic mayhem to grand larceny and arson. They were willing to fight, and because of their reputation, they were blamed for everything.

On Feb. 3, 1880, James Donnelly complained to the local magistrate that they were blamed for everything and the next day the farm burned to the ground. A mob had come to the home and James, Johannah, son Tom, and their niece Bridget was killed in the fire. There was a 13-year-old farmhand,  Johnny O'Conner, there that night. 

According to Johnny shortly after 1 a.m. was when the mob arrived at the home. He awoke to James getting dressed. Johnny joined him going out to the kitchen and seeing James Caroll the "Peace Society". Tom was outside handcuffed with around 20 men. Tom demanded to see a warrant, but there was none to be seen. The mob outside quickly came in and began to attack the family. 

James, Johanna, and Tom were all three beaten badly. Bridget was upstairs and the men barged up there and killed 21-year-old Bridget. Johhny hid underneath a bed. He witnessed that Tom was able to escape, but was dragged back inside and beaten some more. The members of the mob brought coal oil in and burned the house. He was able to escape the burning home. 

The mob then traveled to the second oldest William Donnelly's house and arrived there around 2:30 a.m. The mob screamed fire hoping to get someone to come out. John came to the window and was shot in the chest and pelvis. Thinking that it was William they killed the mob left. 

 The community knew who was apart of it, but no one was ever found guilty for the crimes. There were two trials for it, but all of the people prosecuted were either not guilty, or a hung jury.

SOURCES:

Canadian Mysteries 
Wikipedia