INFANTICIDE: March 27, 1936 Rich Hill, Missouri Baby Jane Doe

On March 27, 1936, the body of a newborn baby girl was found floating in a well in Rich Hill, Missouri. The well was located in a pasture near a home.

This was the second newborn found in the area at the time as a few days before a different infant was found east of Rich Hill. I could not find much on this infant or if their parents were identified or if the possibility of these cases are connected.

SOURCES:
Find a Grave
Butler Daily Democrat March 28, 1936
Springfield Leader and Press March 30, 1936

Murder of Jane Daley

On December 29, 1902, a blacksmith was walking down a private path next to a canal in Wolverhampton, England. He would stumble over something and strike a match to see what it was. It was the body of Jane Daley. Jane had been kicked about and her face was badly bruised. Her legs had been tied and her clothes were torn in several places.

Jane was a middle-aged woman who lived on Strafford St. in Wolverhampton.

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

Unsolved Murders by Pat Finn

UNCLAIMED: Velma Lasater

 On December 10, 1929, Velma Lasater either died or her body was found in Boise, Idaho. Her name is known, but she was never claimed by her family.

Velma is a white female. She had grey or greying hair and blue eyes.

SOURCES:
NamUs

UNIDENTIFIED: September 29, 1945 Navajo County, Arizona Jane Doe

 On September 29, 1945, a body of a young girl was found buried under a ledge of rocks about 1.5 miles southeast of Winslow Arizona. She had not been murdered and had died from dysentery about 5 to 6 weeks before. Her body would be reburied the same day in Winslow.

Jane Doe was a Native American female about 3 or 4-years-old. 

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

INFANTICIDE: July 19, 1915 Lewistown, Montana Baby Jane Doe

 On July 19, 1915, just outside of Lewistown, Montana the body of a newborn girl was found on the ranch of John Crowley. New articles state that the baby was born alive, but according to Find a Grave the death certificate lists her as a stillborn.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

The Great Falls Tribune July 20, 1915

The Argus-Farmer July 22, 1915

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 

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: 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

UNIDENTIFIED: December 1953 Wellington, New Zealand Jane Doe

A Jane Doe was found in December of 1953 in Wellington, New Zealand. She either died or was interred at the Kaori Cemetery and Crematorium on December 31st. There is little information in this case.

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Find a Grave

Leanne the Leanderthal

 

On December 29, 1982, the remains of a young woman were found near Leander, Texas. She would be the most complete and one of the oldest remains found in North America. It was found that she had died over 10,000 years before and was given the name Leanne. She was a Paleo-Indian woman between 18 to 30 years old and only stood 5'3" tall. It's unknown how she died. She may have died in 9,000 B.C.

Around 10,000 to 13,000 years ago near a small stream, Leanne was laid to rest in a shallow grave. The person who dug her grave in an oval shape in hard compacted soil perhaps using a sharp stick. Leanne would be laid on her side in a fetal position with her knees drawn up, arms crossed, and the right hand beneath her head. Next to her side was a heavily worn sandstone tool, a hand stone or mano, that was used for grinding food and chopping. A fossiled shark tooth was found in the neck area and it's possible it was worn as a necklace. They would then place a limestone slab over the burial. They may have done it to secure a hide around the body or mark the grave.

SOURCES:
Texas Beyond History

Williams County Texas History

KVUE

INFANTICIDE: December 27, 1902 Newent, England Baby Doe

 On December 27, 1902, a woman would go to a well for water on Botloes Green in Newent, England. She would look inside the well and thought she had seen her cat. She would ask a man to help her retrieve it from the well. Instead of a cat, it was the body of a 10-day-old baby girl.

The coroner stated that the girl had breathed and was 10 days old. She had died from neglect and want of care at birth.


SOURCES:
Unsolved Murders UK

Murder of Ann Wycherly

 In 1837 28-year-old Ann Wycherly lived in a workhouse with her two illegitimate children in Drayton, 
England. She was known to have mistreated her oldest daughter Ann who was 3/4-years-old. On December 14, 1837, a James Freeman would see Ann and the two children leaving the workhouse in the early afternoon. 

By 6 Ann was exhausted and knocked on the door of Sarah Newbrook asking to rest. Sarah allowed the single mother to do so and noted that she just had an infant with her. 

On December 22nd the body of young Ann was found by William Poole, a farm laborer, in a water pit on his employer's land near Chipnal. He went to tell Mr. Butters of the body and the two pulled the young girl out. 

An inquest for the girl's identity was done at the Noah pub and William Crutchley, the governor of Drayton, recognized the young girl as young Ann Wycherly. Ann would be confronted and arrested for the murder.

They would show her the body and Ann seemed reluctant to look or touch her daughter. When asked why the girl was murdered Ann said that Charles Gilbert, father of her youngest, persuaded her to. She said Charles helped get the girl into the pit and then threw tiles at her

In March the Assizes would happen. Ann (Mother) would get capital punishment and would be set to hang. When told she was to be executed she told the court that she was with child. An examination was quickly done and it was found she was not pregnant. 

There were efforts to obtain reprieve of capital punishment, not because of innocence as she was seen as guilty, but for her feeble mind and being convinced to kill her daughter. The judge who presided the case saw the punishment befitting the crime though.

On May 5, 1838, Ann would be hanged in Stafford. The crowd that came was unusually small, but it's likely because people believed Ann would be reprieved for the murder. 

SOURCES:

Capital Punishment UK (list of executions)

Capital Punishment UK (Story of murder and execution)

True Crime Library

The Observer March 19, 1838

The Hull Packet; and East Riding Times March 23, 1838

The Standard May 2, 1838

Berrow's Worcester Journal May17 1838

Suspicious Death of Martha Mansfield

Martha Mansfield was determined to become an actress at the age of 14. Her first role would happen in a play of Little Women in 1912. She would act, sing and dance in some plays, and model in photographs before being signed by Essanay Studios.

On November 29, 1923, 24-year-old Martha was working at a location in San Antonio, Texas. She was playing the role of Agatha Warren in the movie The Warrens of Virginia. Because it was based in the Civil War she was wearing a costume based on the time. Which was of hoop skirts and flimsy ruffles. 

After filming was done Martha went to her car where her chauffeur was waiting. Her skirt would burst into flames. Those around tried to save her. The chauffeur tried to take her clothes off and the leading man Wilfred Lytell threw his heavy overcoat onto her. 

Both Martha and the Chaufer were burned. Martha's body was severely burned, but her face was not because of Wilfred's jacket. The Chaufer's hands were badly burned. They would be taken to the hospital. However the following day Martha would die. It was from burns of all extremities, general toxemia, and suppression of urine. 

It's unknown what exactly happened. It was known that a match was the culprit of the fire, but it was unknown who had done it. Some witnesses stated that they saw the match go through the window. Others theorized that Martha was trying to smoke and accidentally dropped the match. However, her mother stated that she didn't smoke and that it in fact made it uncomfortable. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

IMDB

Muskogee Daily Pheonix  and Times-Democrat November 30, 1923

Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News November 30, 1923

Pensacola News Journal December 1, 1923

News 4 San Antonio Nevember 30, 2020

Murder of Old Aquito and Squaw

 There is little information in this case. On November 18, 1686, a man named Jonathan Neponet would be executed at the Gallows in Boston, Massachusetts. He was executed for the murders of a Native American couple known as Old Aquito and Squaw.

SOURCES:

Legal Executions in New England Page 56

Murder of Jesa "Toni" Rose Corazza

In 1934, 17-year-old Jesa "Toni" Corazza was a dancer and lived on Randor St in the Chelsea area of London, England. She acquired certain fame in theaters and even had a part in one or two films. By October she would become pregnant and did not want to keep it. At this time abortion was illegal in England and would seek help and have one illegally. On October 28, 1934, Toni would miscarry and be sent to St. Luke Hospital in London, England. 

Toni denied that she had an abortion and claimed that she fell dancing, but there was evidence of an instrument used by someone accustomed to this type of work. It was also found that she was taking pills to induce a miscarriage and they were hidden inside a matchbook inside her purse.

 

Toni would develop acute blood poisoning due to the instrument used in the surgery. She would not admit to either who the father was or who had given her the abortion. She would even say that she may have slipped on accident while dancing as an excuse for her condition. She passed away on November 13th due to heart failure caused by the blood poisoning. 

Her mother said that she didn't know if anyone had interfered with her daughter. She stated that Toni tried to tell her something as she was dying, but she couldn't be understood. 

A jury would find a verdict of murder against some person or persons unknown was returned.

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

Evening Standard November 19, 1934

Kingston News and West London Times November 23, 1934

Evening Standard November 26, 1934

UNIDENTIFIED: October 30, 2019 Concord, New Hampshire Jane Doe

 In 2019 a woman came to the the New Hampshire State Police and handed over a human cranium. She told them that her husband had found the partial skull in the 1930s in a pond in Concord. It was found that the skull belonged to a teenage girl between 15 and 18 years old. Bomb Pulse Testing on the skull showed that she did die before 1942.

Jane Doe was between 15 and 18 years old. 

SOURCES:

DNA Doe Project

NamUs

UNIDENTIFIED: October 4, 1698 London, England Jane Doe

 On October 4, 1698, the body of a girl was laid inside a church in London, England. The child was buried at the Bedlam Burial Ground. It's not stated how old the girl was or how she died. There is little information in this case. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Murder of Flora Alice Fisher

 On July 24, 1904, 27-year-old Flora Fisher complained of her insides hurting. The next day she would get a consultation from 3 doctors. Flora stated that she didn't know what caused her illness. 

On September 5, 1904,  Flora was taken to Westminster Hospital in London, England. She would soon after die from sepsis caused by an illegal abortion. It was obvious that these were not self-inflicted and that someone had done this to her. 

Her husband was informed and it was said in newspapers that he seemed surprised. He had no idea and that he and Flora were not the type of people to do something like that. 

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

Daily Mirror September 10, 1904

Saturday Telegraph September 24, 1904

The Sunday People September 25, 1904