Murder of Hester Vanauken

On News Years 1821 in Wantage, New Jersey Hester Vanauken, was at her sisters home. Her husband Wilhelmus would send a black boy to tell her to come home that he was near dying. She paid no attention as she knew it was a lie. He would send the boy again with the same message and as a response this time the Hester and her sister invited him to come over for dinner with them.

Wilhelmus would join his wife and sister-in-law for dinner. That night she would return home with him. That night she went to bed and he read a book. Three of the children were asleep and Hester's daughter and Wilhelmus's step daughter was out of the house. He would then find her sleeping in the bed and put out the fire and candle. This was when attempted to cut her throat with a double bladed knife.

She would wake up and nearly overpowered him as she tried to escape. Because he didn't succeed in cutting her throat he took a larger stick of wood and beat her on the head with it. He would then hit the back of her head with an andiron. It's unknown which blow killed her, but it was brutal.  

Wilhelmus would go to a neighbor to admit what he had done and ask the women to lay her out. He would go to another neighbor to do the same. He told both houses to bring their own light as there was none in the house. Wilhelmus would return to his home with the neighbors.

The neighbors came to a brutal scene with the walls and doors and floor covered in blood. She was nearly naked lying on her knees and face. Her body was covered in bruises, stab marks, and marks that looked as if she was stabbed with a fork. The knife laid half open on the floor, and the club had Hester's brains sticking to it. After the neighbors came one of the young children crept upon the scene of their murdered mother.

At the time Hester was 6 months pregnant. Wilhelmus starting from about 2 to 3 years before would frequently threaten to kill his wife and his stepdaughter. His step daughter was away from the home at the time and it was believed had she been home he probably would have killed her also. 

Wilhelmus would be prosecuted and set for execution. He would be executed on January 22, 1822.

SOURCES:

Death Penalty USA

Sussex County New Jersey Archives

The Hillsborough Recorder Jan. 31, 1821 pt.1

The Hillsborough Recorder Jan. 31, 1821 pt.2

Newbern Sentinel Feb. 10, 1821 pt.1

Newbern Sentinel Feb. 10, 1821 pt.2

MISSING: Diane Marie Webb

 

18-year-old Diane Webb lived with her family in San Bernadino, California until 1959. In March her family would move to Dolan Springs, Arizona, and Diane would stay. She would then stay with her 16-year-old boyfriend, Bennie Webb, who would soon become her husband.

At least one time that year she stayed with her family in Arizona for a week. During the visit, she told her parents she was pregnant and that she was going to marry. Her father disapproved of the relationship, but her younger brother and mother made it to the wedding in Indio, California. 

The wedding was the last time her family saw her, but they would receive letters for several months after her wedding. The last letter was mailed on August 22, 1959, for her little sister's birthday. It included handkerchiefs that she crocheted for her. 

A letter would then arrive to Diane's family from Bennie in late 1960. He had believed that she was with them in Dolan Springs, and this confused them. They would send a letter back asking what had happened and when she had left. 

On January 5, 1961, he responded back stating that he hadn't heard from or seen Diane in a very long time. That he had given her $100 and put her on a bus to Dolan Springs. He stated she wrote one letter to him after she left and stated she had a miscarriage. Bennie recommended they to talk to a friend of Diane's in California to see if she knew something.

In August of 1961 Diane or someone else using her name visited a dentist's office in California. This was the last possible sign of her. 

Diane's family suspects that her husband had done something to her. Her father went to Bennies hometown in New Mexico where Bennies brother was a police chief. He was searching to see if he can find information on Diane. Allegedly Bennies brother chased him out of town. 

Bennie is still alive, but is not cooperating with the police and refuses a polygraph. He allegedly never recalled marrying Diane, but their marriage certificate exists. This however seems suspicious but does not mean he is guilty. 

Diane is a white female and was 18-years-old at the time. She's 5'2" to 5'4" and 110 to 120lbs. She has brown hair and grey eyes. She was pregnant at the time but may have had a miscarriage, one of her breasts was larger than the other, she has freckles on the tip of her nose, and her ears are pierced. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Charley Project

International Missing Persons

Murder of Hannah Davis

 In 1829 21-year-old David Evans and Hannah Davis were loved each other in Wales. They were not wed yet,but in April Hannah would become pregnant. David was a Husbandry Laborer and Hannah worked as a servant for a farmer.  David claimed he loved her and was very attatched. 

On June 11th Hannah would visit David and ask him if he would go with her to see her family on Saturday the 13th. He was agree to go with her and they spent the next two hours together. He would promise that would,meet her on the road near Esgar Fynwent.

When the day came David would leave home between 9 to 10 and took a bill hook (a tool similar to an axe and a knife) with him. He would tell his sister that he was going to mend some gaps in the hedges. He began working and before closing one gap Hannah came to him. She would ask him if he was coming and he did not want to. He gave the excuse that his sister was washing his stockings. This did not work with Hannah and she told hime "Come this night, or I will never forgive you". 

David would hide the bill hook underneath his jacket and walked with her. They proceeded to walk along the road to Cwm-sifigw, in the parish of Llanybyther. When the two would get to Pencader mountain David would use the bill hook on her. He would slash her throat which did not make her fall, but then he would stab at her causing her to fall. He would use it no less than 14 times. She would fall into the ravine.

He would claim to automatically feel regret as he murdered her and their unborn child. he would then run homeward and on the way dipped the bill hook in a pool of water to clean off the blood. There was no blood on his clothes.He would sneak into the home about 1 to 2 a.m. when he'd lay in bed for an hour. He would then clean his shoes and grease them. In order to trick his sister who he told the day before that he wasn't going with Hannah he finished the hedges. 

Hannah's body would soon be found. It was said that her blood caused the water to be red for two miles. 

When police arrested David he had claimed innocence. He would go to trial and would be found guilty of the murder. He would be set to hang on September 21, 1829. David confessed to the murder just before he was to be hanged. He stated that just before the murder that the two were getting along and that he had done it out of jealousy. Jealousy of what was not stated or if he had planned to murder her all along that day. 

On September 21 David would be hanged in Camarthen. with perperations done David gave the signal he was ready by dropping a handkerchief. The bolt would draw but the hook gave way and  instead of hanging he landed on his feet. He expected to be reprieved, telling the officials that “He had been hanged once and they had no more to do with him”. This was not the case though as it was to be hanged till dead. He would be hanged a few minutes later and would hang for an hour. His body would be sent for disection.

SOURCES:
Executed Today
The Bristol Mercury and Daily Post, Western Countries and South Wales Advertiser June 30, 1829

The Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser, for Somerset, Wilts, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall July 8, 1829

The Western Flying Post or Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury July 13, 1829

Chester Chronicle, and Cheshire and North Wales General Advertiser September 25, 1829

Sheffield and Rotherham Independent October 3, 1829

MONSTERS: Samca

  A Samca is a creature in Romanian Legends as an ugly and terrible evil spirit. She can take many different forms like a large pig, a grinning dog with rotten teeth, a hairless cat with fiery bulging eyes, a crow with bloody eyes, and a large black spider. The most known version is of a naked woman with disheveled hair down to her feet, dried out breasts that touch the ground, small bright eyes, a tongue of fire, and iron hands with nails as sharp as knitting needles or hooked as sickles.

They show themselves at the end of the month usually around the full moon. With their large crooked mouth, they show in front of children under 4-years-old.  A disease that children get after the Samca appeared often called "the children's malice". This causes the child to be deathly ill. 

They also show themselves to women lying on their birth bed, and once the creatures are visible they touch the pregnant woman as if kneading them. This would either scare the women to death or cripple them for life. It's also said that the Samca would curse the newborns.

Samca goes by 19 names; Vestitia, Navadaria, Valnomia, Sina, Nicosda, Avezuha, Scorcoila, Tiha, Miha, Grompa, Slalo, Necauza, Hatavu, Hulila, Huva, Ghiana, Gluviana, Prava, and Samca. In order to avoid the Samca people would need to write all 19 names on the wall of the house or ask someone for a protective spell. If attacked the person who did the spell gets attacked, except if the person is of age the Samca cannot.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Monster Wiki

Right Words

Librum Prodigiosum (tumblr)

UNIDENTIFIED: December 30, 1921 Ravenglass, England Jane Doe

On December 30, 1921, the body of a woman was found in Ravenglass in water. She had been dead for several months her head was completely skeletalized, but the rest of her body wasn't. This left her unrecognizable. There were no signs of violence and had been in the water for several months.

The woman was thought to be around 35-years-old. She appeared to have been pregnant. She was wearing two pairs of black woolen stockings and an old pair of slippers.

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

MISSING: Elsie Mae Roane

 

16-year-old Elsie Mae Roane was last seen around 11 p.m. on May 20, 1957, by a police officer. She was walking down the road with two suitcases in West Point, Virginia. At the time she was living with her adoptive father on Fith Street.

It took her father a few days to realize she was missing. Their schedules sometimes allowed them to miss each other as he worked nights and arrived home when she was at school. He reported her missing three days after she was last seen.

At the time she was a sophomore and was an above-average student at West Point High School. She was described as shy kind and intelligent. She is considered an endangered runaway. In 2015 Authorities announced they have a suspect in the case who was the same age as Elsie and they've interviewed him several times.

Elsie is a white female and was 16 at the time. She's 5'8" to 5'9" and 115 lbs at the time. She has brown hair that was short at the time and blue eyes. She was possibly pregnant at the time. She also wears glasses.

SOURCES:
NamUs
Charley Project 
Track Missing 
The Bee May 31, 1957

MISSING: Patricia Daphne Brown

At 8:30 a.m. on 4 June 1953, Broun left her home in Mount Lawley suburb of Perth, West Australia, Australia that she shared with her family.  She was heading for work at HC Griffin, ANA House, 22 St. Georges Terrace, Perth. She worked as a shorthand typist there. While at work she got a phone call from an unidentified male around 3 p.m. Towards the end of the call she agreed to meet the man at 6. A coworker overheard her phone call. 

At 4:30 Patricia asked to leave early and it was permitted. She caught a trolley bus to Mount Lawley. At 5 she then was at Simmon's Grocery store at 291 Walcott St. in North Perth and bought a can of Coca Cola. She then left the store and went to Osborne's, a corner store at the intersection of Walcott and Cliveden Streets. She then returned to Simmon's around 5:45 and under her arm, she was carrying a parcel approximately 8"x9"x3" (20cm x 22cm x 8cm) in size. She was last seen around Walcott St. at 6. Possible the man she was supposed to see was in this area. 

A friend stated that Patricia told her she was 2 months pregnant. It's unknown if the man she was talking to on the phone was the baby's father. Her parents weren't aware of this and were quite religious. If she ran away her child would have been born in late 1953 or early 1954.

Patricia is a white female and was 17 at the time. She's 5'5" (165 cm) and has a thin build. She has fair to light brown hair and large blue eyes. She was described as having a fair complexion with a faint chickenpox mark towards the middle of her forehead just above her right eyebrow. She was soft-spoken and inclined to drop the g off the end of relevant words. She may be pregnant.

SOURCES:

West Australia Crime Stoppers

Mirror

Sunday Times

The Peasenhall Murder: The Murder of Rose Harsent

On the night of May 31, 1902,  Peasenhall, Suffolk, England was dealing with a dark and stormy night. It was remembered as a particularly bad storm.

On the morning on June 1, 1902, 21/22-year-old Rose Ann Harsent's father came to visit her at her home in the Providence house. He found her lying on the ground in her kitchen with her throat slit. It was initially thought of being a suicide until it was found that Rose was 6 months pregnant and a closer look at the scene.

It was believed that she was killed around 1 to 6 a.m. She had been attacked and her chest and throat stabbed and her arms showed signs of defensive wounds. It seemed that the murderer failed to burn her and the home as her arm had been burnt, her nightgown had been partially burned, and there was a newspaper under her head that had burnt edges. Paraffin from a broken lamp was used to try start the fire, and a medicine bottle was smashed and left at the scene. It seemed like she hadn't slept in her bed that night.

No one had known that Rose was pregnant. It seemed as if she had tried to induce a miscarriage at one point, but it failed. She then kept her pregnancy a secret and never revealed who the father was.

There was a letter found in her home.

"Dear Rose, I will try to see you tonight at twelve o'clock at your place. If you put a light in your window at ten o'clock for about ten minutes then you can take it out again. Don't have a light in your room at twelve o'clock as I will come round to the back."

It's believed that whoever sent this letter may have been the killer. 

William Gardiner became the main suspect soon. The locals knew he was having an affair with her in 1901. It was assumed that the baby may have been Gardniers. There was other evidence that seemed to point towards him also. Such as bootprints in the wet ground seemed to have matched a pair of his boots. A handwriting expert stated that the letter was in his handwriting and that the paper came from his workplace. The smashed medicine bottle was also 

William denied all of this. He also had spent a lot of time that early morning with his wife and another neighbor with visiting. But he lived in eyesight of Rose's home and wouldn't have taken much time to get there to murder her and come back.

William Gardiner was arrested and tried twice once in 1902 and 1903 but was acquitted. His trial was said to have been 11 to 1 for guilty in the first trial and 11 to 1 for not guilty for the second.

Was there a misjustice in this case where the murderer couldn't be tried. Maybe the real murderer was someone no one suspected due to the main focus being on William. Some speculate that William's wife was the perpetrator of the crime and her motive was because she was jealous.

But the world will never truly know what had happened that stormy morning.


SOURCES:
Revolvy
Wikipedia
Strange Company 
Press Reader
Unsolved Murders