January 21, 1881Danville, IllinoisFrederick Kester is hanged for the murder of his wife On the morning of August 22, 1879, Caroline Burmeister (also spelled as Bearmiester or Burmaster in contemporary newspapers) visited her sister Minnie Kester (alternately spelled Koester). Minnie was approximately 7 months pregnant at the time and Caroline often assisted with the chores…
Woman and her 4 young children are murdered in their home
January 19, 1889Near Brookfield, MissouriMinnie Hall (29) and her 4 children are killed in their home before the house is set on fire Neighbors noticed the Hall house on fire in “one big round of flame” and ran to assist the family. The only family members rescuers could see through the flames were Minnie and…
Man murders his wife for accepting help from their neighbors
January 7, 1886Western Saratoga, Union County, IllinoisWilliam Stubblefield Wilson (45) fatally shoots his wife Margaret (43) after their neighbors helped supply the family with firewood William left his pregnant wife and their seven children to travel to Kentucky; he habitually left the family for extended periods of time during his 20-year marriage. Before he left,…
Man fatally shot after being mistaken for ghost
January 3, 1804Hammersmith, London, EnglandThomas Millwood (22) is shot after he is mistaken for a ghost For five weeks before Millwood’s death, the Hammersmith area had been seemingly plagued by a malevolent ghost. During one incident, a woman watched the ghost “rise from the tombstones.” The sighting scared her to the point she fainted and…
Woman is executed — probably wrongly — for the murder of a man
November 13, 1863San Patricio, TexasJosefa “Chipita” Rodriguez is executed for the murder of a man On August 25, 1863, the body of John Savage was found in a burlap sack in the Aransas River. The cause of death was immediately apparent: his skull had been caved in by an axe. Savage was a horse trader…
