The Villisca axe murders occurred between the evening of June 9, 1912, to the early morning of June 10, 1912; in the town of Villisca, Iowa, in the United States. The six members of the Moore family and two guests were found bludgeoned in the Moore residence. All eight victims, including six children, had severe head wounds from an axe. A lengthy investigation yielded several suspects, one of whom was tried twice. The first trial ended in a hung jury and the second ended in an acquittal.
The house where the murders took place
An article in The Day Book, Chicago, June 14, 1912, depicting five of the victims and the house.
The Man from the Train is a 2017 true crime book written by Bill James and his daughter Rachel McCarthy James.
The Man from the Train