Old West Murders, Mysteries, and Mayhem

By Robert F. (Bob) Turpin

A collection of five chilling murder stories: axe murders, brutal killings, bloody murder cases, and killing just for the hell-of-it-stories. 1) The Moore Family Murders - In the dark of night, a cold-blooded, heartless killer crept into the Moore home. When he later departed, eight terribly mutilated, blood-soaked bodies were left behind, chopped to pieces with an axe. 2) The Spicer Family Murders - A bizarre tale of brutal killings, murder, and justice. 3) The Killing of Billy Owens - A young man dies with his boots on, murdered just for the hell of it. 4) The Mysterious Death of Edna Wilson - Mysteries: What happened to pretty Edna Wilson? How did she die? Who beheaded her pony? Why were specific items placed with her dead body under a cliff overhang? 5) Who Killed Bob McCoy? - Thermopolis, Wyoming, was a breeding ground for rustler and outlaws in the Old West. The murder of Bob McCoy is perhaps the most mysterious, confusing case of many such killings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329094352

Book preview

Old West Murders, Mysteries, and Mayhem

Old West Murders, Mysteries, and Mayhem

Robert F. Turpin

Copyright

© 2015 by Bob Turpin – All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-1-329-09435-2

No part of this book may be copied or reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

Dedication

To the folks who like to read about the Old West.

Table of Contents

Old West Murders, Mysteries, and Mayhem

Copyright

Dedication

Table of Contents

The Moore Family Murders

The Spicer Family Murders

Who Killed Bob McCoy?

The Mysterious Death of Edna Wilson

The Death of Billy Owens

About the Author

Books by Robert F. (Bob) Turpin

The Moore Family Murders

The Indian name of Villisca, Iowa, means Pretty Place but what happened there was far from its meaning. On June 9, 1912, the Moore family had attended Sunday evening church services. A traveling preacher, Rev. George J. Kelly, had delivered a scalding sermon on the wages of sin. The Stillinger sisters, Ina and Lena, came home with the Moore family to spend the night with the Moore children.

Mrs. Mary E. Peckham noticed on the morning of June 10 that J. B. Moore had failed to open his John Deere store at the usual eight o'clock time. Mrs. Peckham called Ross Moore, J. B. Moore's brother, to accompany her to the Moore home to see why he hadn't yet opened the store. No one answered their knock. Ross Moore found a house key hid under a flowerpot and unlocked the door.

What the two people found was truly the devil's work. In the darkness, a cold-blooded, heartless killer crept into the Moore home. When the murderer later departed, eight mutilated, blood-soaked bodies were left behind. The murderer's weapon was a sharp, double-edge chopping axe.

The Stillinger sisters, Ina and Lena, were lying in a downstairs bedroom. They had been chopped to death with an axe. The bed was soaked with their blood and brain matter. The two staggered back to the front porch sick to their stomachs and in shock. They sent for Marshal J. H. Morton and Doctor J. C. Cooper. Doctor E. C. Hough came with them. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were found in a back bedroom upstairs. They had died in the same manner as the Stillinger sisters downstairs. In a front bedroom upstairs, the four Moore children were laying in three beds all chopped to death. The killer began with the grownups upstairs, then worked his way down. They would have died instantly with only a dull thud, like turning over in bed. The children were so tired from playing; they would have had to be shaken up, short of the crack of thunder.

From their appearance, the doctors agreed that all of the eight victims were asleep at the time of their deaths. Marshal Morton determined (as far as he could tell) that nothing had been stolen. Now came the unanswered question. What could have been the motive