Villisca Axe Murder House

The Moore house in Villisca was an ordinary family home until June 1912. Josiah and Sarah Moore lived there with their four children. After a church program on the evening of June 9, two young neighbors, Lena and Ina Stillinger, stayed overnight. The next morning, the eight people were found dead. The murders shocked the town and began an investigation that would stretch across years without establishing who was responsible.

The crime scene quickly became difficult to protect. Villisca residents and visitors entered the home, handling or moving objects before investigators could preserve the rooms as evidence. Police and officials pursued leads, questioned suspects, and examined competing theories. Years later, Reverend George Kelly was tried twice in connection with the killings; one jury failed to reach a verdict, and another acquitted him. No one was convicted, and the case remains unsolved. The record supports no confident identification of the killer.