Cold Case: Murders of 1912

In Villisca, IA the year 1912 a family of six and two other little girls were brutally axed to death. To this day the reason why they were killed is unknown. The Moore family had come home from church with two of their daughter's friends and once they slipped inside they were never seen alive again.

The parents Josiah and Sarah Moore had four children Katherine, Herman, Boyd and the youngest Paul. Two of Katherine's friends Lena and Ina Stillinger were over to spend the night and were killed as well. Out of all 8 victims only Lena looked as if she woke before she was killed. She was the only victim with an axe wound on her arm that was shield her face. Another oddity in this tragedy is that every body had their sleeping clothes pulled over their faces, as well as the mirrors.

They had a few suspects but were never able to determine who truly committed the murders. The first suspect was Frank F. Jones he owned a store that was in severe competition with Josiah Moore's store. Josiah had actually once worked in Frank Jones store but than left to open his own and took a large amount of business with him. There is also the belief that Josiah before his marriage had an affair with Fran Jones' daughter in law.

Another suspect was Reverend George Kelly, he was a traveling preacher that had recently visited this town. He had shown up the night before the family was killed and disappeared the morning after. He was arrested but then let go because they could not pin him with anything concrete.

The last more famous suspect was William Mansfield himself. The belief was that he was a hired killer sent by Frank Jones to kill Josiah Moore only, however after finding the entire family at home he took liberties and killed them all.

In 1951 an older African American man admitted to killing the family but once arrested it was found that he knew nothing of the details of the murders to he was released.