The Villisca Axe Murders: America's Most Haunting Unsolved Family Massacre

Original Crime Scene Photographs & Police Reports

Montgomery County Sheriff and Iowa State Investigators documented the crime scene with extensive photography and detailed reports on June 10, 1912. The investigation was led by Detective James Newton Wilkerson and involved State Agent M.W. McClaughry, who photographed every room and catalogued physical evidence including the positioning of bodies, covered mirrors, and the murder weapon placement. The photographs reveal the systematic nature of the killings - each victim was found in their bed, covers pulled over their heads, with devastating skull fractures from the blunt end of Josiah's own axe. Investigators documented that every mirror in the house was covered with clothing, all windows were obscured, and a slab of bacon was placed beside the murder weapon in the downstairs guest room. The killer had also used a kerosene lamp to navigate the dark house. These original investigation files are housed in Montgomery County records and have not been fully digitized. Portions appear in Roy Marshall's definitive book *Villisca* (1968) and Sarah M. Wright's *The Stuff of Nightmares* (2009). Why did investigators fail to preserve crucial evidence like fingerprints on the axe handle, which were reportedly clearly visible but never properly documented?