Murder of John "Henry" Bernard Nurre

The image has a typo it's supposed to be 1814 not 1914

In 1890, 76-year-old John "Henry" Nurre and his third wife 57-year-old Elizabeth. The couple had been married for 20 years and lived in rural Clinton County near Brown’s Station, Iowa. The area that the couple were living in was mostly Catholic including them. They would seldom miss any meetings at the church.

Henry was also one of the richest men in their area of the state and was highly esteemed by many. He had more real estate mortgages in Jackson County than anyone else. For the last 4 years, he was a member of the Board of Supervisors of Clinton County. It was estimated that he was worth $250,000.

On March 12, 1890, Henry and Elizabeth did not show up to the 13-hour church meeting. This was concerning, however, it wasn't until they didn't show up to the Thursday meeting people got worried. Elizabeth's son-in-law Theo Hullman, and the Priest were worried because the two never showed up to the meeting. This was unusual for them. The two would go home and investigate to see why the two didn't show up.

When they went inside the house they would go into either the kitchen and find Henry dead near the table. He was in a large pool of blood and had a large gash on the back of his head and another which hit his jugular vein in his neck.

Elizabeth was found unconscious in their bedroom in the attic above the kitchen. She had been attacked with a hammer and she had nine deep scalp wounds. She would stay unconscious for several more weeks before regaining consciousness. However, she could not provide any information on what had happened.

It's believed that the attack happened on the evening of March 11th. Henry was sitting in the sitting room responding to a letter from his son. The letter was received on the 10th and the letter Henry was writing was dated the 11th. It seemed Henry was nearly finished with the letter when he was killed.

The murderer or murderers tried to clean up the pool of blood. There were clothes stained with the blood found on the teakettle. They then dragged Henry into the kitchen. It's unknown why they had done this, but maybe they were thinking of destroying the scene and never got to do it for some reason.


Elizabeth must have witnessed the murder as it seemed that she had run to their bedroom in the attic. She had tried to barricade the door, but they had broken it open with a poker. They would then attack her with the poker and then the hammer when they found it. The room was left a mess with the bestead broken to pieces, the bedding scattered and blood covered almost everything in the room. It was a miracle that she survived.

In another bedroom, a safe was found. It was unknown if the killer or killers were able to get it open, but the dial had been broken off. In the same room, there was a little satchel that Henry was known to carry money and papers. One of Elizabeth's skirts was lying over it and it wasn't seen by the killers. Inside was $1,105 and some papers indicating he was planning to go to Preston that night. Likely after he was done writing his letter and eating dinner.

Theo stated that it was not normal for Henry to have that much cash on him at once and usually only carried around $100 to $150. However, he himself had recently paid him the $1,000 on Sunday so it must have been that money in his satchel.

SOURCES:
Iowa Cold Cases

Find a Grave

Murder of John Caylor

On the night of October 10, 2003, John Caylor went to a party at a home on Waltonian Road in Harmony, New York. It seemed like a normal party and no one openly noted anything weird about it. John's brother was supposed to come pick him up from the party and would call him a few times in the early morning hours. However, his brother was asleep at the time and missed the call. 

Later that morning at the residence where the party was John's body would be found in the front yard. It was found that he had been beaten with a blunt object, and strangled. 

According to a news article, John did argue with someone at the party. There was a lot of drinking going on and no one said what the fight was about if it was about anything. The person of interest was never publically identified, but they did make statements that made him suspicious. The suspect died several years later making the case probably never going to be officially solved. 

SOURCES:

Chautauqua County Sheriff

Post Journal  November 20, 2021

Murder of Edward Crabtree

On September 24, 1989, the body of 51-year-old Edward Crabtree was found behind L&N Hotel near Henley St and Western Ave in Knoxville, Tennessee. He had been killed from being hit on the right side of the head with a blunt object. It's believed that the motive was robbery as his pocket was turned out and his wallet laid 60 ft from his body. 

Edward was from Rossville, Georgia. 

SOURCES:

Knoxville Tennessee

Uncovered

The Knoxville News Sentinel September 26, 1989

Murder of Judith Wolfe

About 2:30 am on September 17, 2006, 66-year-old Judith Wolfe was inside the car she was living in with her cat Buttons. She parked and sat in her car at  2100 S. 101st E. Ave in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A man would open the driver's door and enter the car attacking Judith. He would punch her in the face and then push her into the floorboard and further attacked. 

She at one point got out of the vehicle and was lying in the street covered in a blanket. Her cat Buttons was found with her, but the vehicle was gone. Soon after someone would find her and call 911. Judith was alive and told police what had happened, but unfortunately died on the 28th. 

Her vehicle was found backed into a spot at the Shoreline Apartments nearby. 

SOURCES:

Tulsa Police Department

News On 6 October 16, 2006

Murder of Johnnie Dean Williams

On September 15, 1972, Johnnie Williams would visit with his wife and newborn daughter at the hospital. That evening he would spend the night out taking $800 with him to a club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Knowing that Johnnie was going to the club she would call them around midnight to talk to him. However, he wasn't there. On September 18th Johnnie's wife would report him missing as no one had seen him for days. 

On the 24th a farmer would be working his fields east of 1800 N Mingo. In the field Johnnie's body would be found. He had been beaten and then shot between the eyes. It's believed he was robbed as there was no money on him and his pockets were turned inside out.

SOURCES:

City of Tulsa

Uncovered

Oklahoma Cold Cases

Murder of Roy Franklin Wishon

At 5:03 pm on August 21,1976, Someone called a police officer to the area of 200 Burtner St in Greensboro, North Carolina about the smell of decomposition in a wooded area. This was when the body of Roy Wishon was found. He had been beaten to death. He had been for 4 to 5 days as his body was seen there around that time but was mistaken as someone sleeping. 

SOURCES:

Greensboro North Carolina

Uncovered

The Greensboro Record August 24, 1976

Murder of Raymond Sadler

On July 11, 2008, 88-year-old Raymond Sadler was beaten to death at 425 Winkler Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. There is little information in this case.

SOURCES:

Louisville Police

Uncovered

The Courier-Journal December 31,2008

Murder of Carmen Rodriguez

At 10 pm on July 8, 2000, 28-year-old Carmen Rodriguez was seen walking through near the park at North Pine and 30th streets in Wilmington, Delaware. The last time she was seen was at 3:30 am at 29th and Tatnall streets blocks. The next morning someone walking in a secluded part of the park would find Carmen's partially dressed body in some bushes. 

She was likely pushed down face-first into the ground. She had evidence of being beaten and then strangled to death. 

SOURCES:

Wilmington Delaware 

Uncovered

The News Journal July 10, 2000

The News Journal July 11, 2000

Murder of Maggie May Keys

 On June 27, 1972, the body of 51-year-old Maggie Keys was found in an alley in east Dayton, Ohio. She had been beaten and stabbed. One of the stabs in her leg had caused her to bleed to death. Robbery and sexual assault seem to not have been motives. 

SOURCES:
Ohio Attorney General

Uncovered

Find a Grave

Daytona Daily News June 28, 1972

Daytona Daily News June 29, 1972

June 23, 1980 Boca Raton, Florida Jane Doe

 

 

On June 23, 1980, the body of a woman was found floating in the Hillsborough Canal, west of Boca Raton, Florida. It was obvious she had been murdered as she was nude and had been weighed down with body-building weights. Her left arm and breast had been removed, and she was stabbed numerous times in the chest. She also was beaten multiple times in the face with a blunt object. This caused most of her teeth to be destroyed. She was likely she was murdered around 10 days before. 

Jane Doe was a White/Hispanic female. She was between 19 and 25 years old. She was 5'0" to 5'3" and 120 lbs. She had 4 to 5 inches long black hair and brown eyes. He had an overbite, light periodontal disease, several crowns, and a root canal and may have been pregnant at one point. Her nails were long and painted silver. 

SOURCES:
NamUs

The Doe Network

Unidentified Wiki

Palm Beach County Sheriff's

The Miami Herald June 26, 1980

Palm Beach Post July 2, 1980

Palm Beach Post June 20, 2022

Murder of Albert William Spatz

On February 11, 1988, 67-year-old Albert Spatz got off a bus at 25th St and Monroe Blvd in Ogden, Utah. He would walk down North on the east side of the sidewalk on Monroe. When he got to 2450 Monroe Boulevard he saw someone running at him from the Alley behind the Holly Rue Apartments.

The man demanded money from Albert. Albert told him he had no money and the robber knocked him to the ground causing him to go unconscious. The man raided his pocket while he was out and stole his wallet that had $20 inside. He would run back to the same alley he came from. 

Albert went to 803 24th Street and he called the police. Officers would document his injuries. Albert had a golf ball-sized goose egg on the upper right side of his head a swollen right cheek and a cut inside his mouth. He was taken to the hospital and released from the hospital to a friend. However, when he went to sleep that night he was unable to wake up again.

His son would try to wake him up the next morning but failed to do so. He would be taken to the hospital again. He went to surgery to get blood drained from his head however he never woke again. He would pass away on May 6th. 

Albert described the suspect as a black male. The man was around 5'10" and 150 lbs. He had short hair and did not have facial hair at the time. He was wearing a black coat and tan pants. 

SOURCES:

Murder of William Bamford

 On April 20, 1912, 26-year-old William Bamford was in Manchester, England. Around 11:30 pm he returned to his home in Hare Place, Rochdale in a taxi bleeding from his face. He at first wouldn't admit what had happened, but would later admit he had been attacked in Manchester.

 He was sent to the Rochdale Infirmary for his injuries, but released. However, due to his injuries, he was admitted to the Dearnley Workhouse Infirmary on September 27, 1913. He would never leave and on February 4, 1914, he would pass.

During his post-mortem, it was found that there was evidence of an operation on him. That there were holes in the vault where his brain mass was protruding. In larger pieces of the brain, there was an abscess. The abcess would cause weakening by discharge which resulted in William's death. 

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

Hate Crime: April 13, 2023 Louis, Missouri Hate Crime on Transgender Person

Around 3:30 p.m. on April 13, 2023, an unknown man would get on the MetroBus at Chippewa Street and Grand Boulevard in the northern edge of the Dutchtown neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. He would take a seat in the back of the bus. There were already a few people on the bus including a transgender person (gender unstated). This person was sitting closest to him and he spoke to them. Minutes later the man would get up from his seat and start attacking the victim. He would kick and punch the victim almost two dozen times and then pointed a gun at the victim.

It's believed that this was a hate crime against a transgender person. 

The suspect is a black male with an average build. He has facial hair a long scar on his right forearm. He was wearing a neon yellow t-shirt with a dark-colored emblem on his left chest pocket (possibly a Wrangler shirt), khaki pants, dark sunglasses, a black beanie with a dark emblem on the left side, blue boxers, and black shoes with white soles. He was carrying a dark-colored cross-body bag with frayed edges. 

SOURCES:

FBI Most Wanted

Murders of Thomas Smith and Squire Knyston

 

Photo of Thomas Smith

On April 4, 1905, 15-year-old Thomas Smith would leave his home on Wood Street in Chorlton-on-Medlock in Manchester, England. His mother would think that he was looking for work. However, the timid boy would not return home that night. It was assumed that maybe he had gone to visit either his sister in Dunkinfield or the one in Denton. 

The next day two boys he knew came to the house and asked if Thomas was going to work. Not knowing where Thomas was and not wanting him to lose his job she sent a note to his employers that he wasn't feeling well. However, she was worried sick about him. She would make inquiries to see if he was at either sisters, but he wasn't.

At 3pm on April 11, 1905, a rag-and-bone men would go to an uninhabited house on Hoyle Street off Fairfield Street in Ancoats. While gathering items he looked in the cellar window a body would be found lying on his back under a slab. He would tell another rag-and-bone man his discovery and the two would go to the police. 

The police would break into the home and go down to the cellar. It was obvious that the boy was murdered brutally. There was a bloody brick on his neck. A newspaper comic of "Funny Cuts" from April 8th was found stuffed in his mouth as a gag and his red handkerchief with 7 black stripes was tied over it. He was partially dressed and what clothes he had were torn and disarrayed. His pants were pulled down in the back and cut in the front. 

 His face was so beaten that he was unrecognizable. His body was also covered in bruises. He had fought back with his attacker that the nail from his middle left finger was torn off. His arms were covered in scratches he wasn't just beaten, but also stomped as a boot print was on his stomach. His genitals were also mutilated while he was alive. 

It could not be said if he was sexually assaulted, but it was suspected that he was. 

Even though the brick was bloody and found at the scene the coroner believed that a knob-like object was used to beat him. 

It was thought that he had been dead for a couple of days even though he had been missing for a week. It's not stated if they think he was held prisoner, but they know that the crime didn't happen in the cellar he was found in. The only access was a window as the doors to the cellar were locked. 

He had not been reported missing, but when the description was put in the paper his mother knew it was him. His mother and older brother, Issac, would go to identify him. They could not identify him from his face due to the brutality on it. Instead, they identified him by his clothes. At the time he was dressed in a black Vicuna jacket, black vest, dark grey trousers with black stripe, blue and red striped cotton shirt, two odd black stockings, and clasped clogs. He also had in his possession a second-class ticket for the swimming bath, Mayfield Baths, number 7,837.

In 1906, 15-year-old Squire Kynston lived with his mother at Whitsuntide at 7 Back Grey Street in Manchester, England. In August he and his mother would get into an argument after he had stayed out all night. She saw him the day after he stayed out on Butler St. She would say "You naughty boy, go right home and stay in the house" while slapping him on the side of the head. She would never see him again after this argument. 

Someone had told her later he was with his cousin. She would assume that Squire was staying with her sister and assumed he was safe. She did not check up on him however since she and her sister did not have a good relationship. It wasn't stated if he was staying with his aunt or just assumed he was. 

On Chapel St behind London Road Station, there was an unoccupied house set to be demolished. On November 20th A workman would enter the house. He stated when he entered the ground floor rooms of the home there was a stench in the air. He would find out that the stench was coming from the cellar. He would go down the stairs nearly tripping over something. It was Squire's body. The worker would quickly go and get the police. 

One of his shoulders was under a slab of flag and his head was partially under a slope stone. Squire was not wearing any clothes when he was found, but a thin strap was found wrapped around his neck. It's believed it was wrapped tightly around his neck. It was unknown what his cause of death was as he was too decomposed and rats had been eating him. However, it was believed he may have been sexually assaulted as his pants were not on him. He was not beaten on his head like Thomas.

Though both boys had died in different ways, the way they were found in similar ways and places. 

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK (Thomas)

Unsolved Murders UK (Squire)

Days of Horror

Manchester Evening News April 12, 1905

Leicester Mercury April 12, 1905

Birmingham Evening Mail

Murder of Daniel Calloway

On March 28, 1986, a friend of 32-year-old Daniel Calloway would go to his home to check up on him at 18041 Springfield Ave in Homewood, Illinois. Inside the home, the friend would find Daniel dead. Daniel had blunt-force trauma to the head.

SOURCES:

Cook County Sheriff

Murder of Evan Jones

Around 10 pm on March 13, 2002, 46-year-old Evan Jones would enjoy a drink at the Beaufort Pub in York Road Montpelier in Bristol, England. He would leave the pub likely going to get food to bring home to eat. 

An hour later he would be found unconscious in a pool of blood on Stokes Croft. He would be brought to the Bristol Royal Infirmary where he would die. It was found that he had been beaten with a chain and kicked viciously.  The murder weapon was believed to be a bike or large dog chain. Police believe that he was attacked by someone he knew. 

It's believed he made it back to his flat and injured his leg somehow. He had stopped on Drummond Street and while there he called an old girlfriend. At 10:55 he then was seen in front of Avonmead House flats speaking to a man there and a fight ensued.

Some people claimed to have witnessed the attack. There were conflicting statements about the attacker or attackers. It's not fully understood what had happened except he was found dying around 6 minutes later. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Bristol Live September 23, 2018

Bristol Live March 13, 2022

Murder of Phillip L. Rabinowitz

On February 29, 1984, at approximately 8:15 am, three members of 63-year-old Rabbi Phillip L. Rabinowitz's congregation went to check up on him at his home at 1134 25th St. NW in Washington, D.C. They went to check up on him as no one could contact him since the day before. He never skipped a service before so three members went to his home. His door was unlocked and that was unusual cause he was fearful of intruders. Feeling uneasy they went inside. He would find him dead face down on the floor by his desk. It was found that he had suffered from a severe blow to the head and had been stabbed to death. 

There was no sign of a struggle or sign of a burglary. The only thing missing from the home was the knife Rabinowitz used to perform ritual circumcisions.This could have been the murder weapon.It's unknown what the motive for his murder is, but it may have been done to him by someone he knew. He was paranoid of being mugged or robbed and was careful of who he let into his home. 

 

He was a rabbi at Kesher Israel Congregation and was the leader of the orthodox Georgetown Synagogue-Kesher Israel Congregation. He was described as a quiet and scholarly man.

SOURCES:

Metropolitan Police Department Washington DC
Uncovered

Find a Grave

The Washington Post March 1, 1984

Jewish Insider  April 17, 2023

Baltimore Jewish Times

Murder of Fred "Spike" Bailey

After midnight on February 27, 1982, local boxing manager Ace Miller would look for 63-year-old Fred "Spike" Bailey at the Golden Gloves Boxing Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee but he was nowhere to be seen. a 1974 pickup truck, a 38-caliber revolver, and $700 in cash were also missing. 

Around 9am his body was found in a portable storage trailer behind the arena. He had been beaten to death with an object, likely a hammer. 

At the time Fred was working as a security guard for the arena. It's possible that his death was related to the thefts happening at the arena. 

SOURCES:

Knoxville Tennessee

Uncovered

The Knoxville News-Sentinel Feb 28,1982

Murder of Frankie Cabrera

In the early morning of January 14, 2006, Frankie Cabrera and their friend went to get gas at Circle K at the corner of 21st St and Avenue A in Yuma, Arizona. This is when they got into a fight with a group of Hispanic males and this resulted in Frankie getting stabbed to death.

Frankie was not involved with gangs, but it's believed that his killers were.

SOURCES:
Yuma, Arizona
Uncovered

Murder of Paul Logan

On the night of December 23, 1993, 25-year-old Paul Logan was working as a delivery driver for Golden Flower Chinese in Blackhill, England. There would be an order to the Blue House Farm, but the people inside stated that no one ordered there.

He would go back to his vehicle and would be ambushed likely by more than one person. He would be dragged and beaten about 50 yards away. When the people in the Blue House Farm noticed around 2 am that the white Peugeot car that Paul was driving was still there they investigated it. They would look around for him and find him dead.

It was obvious that whoever had made the call decided to attack and kill Paul that night. The hoax call was made from a phone box at the junction of Snows Green Rd and Benfieldside Rd in Shotley Bridge. It was likely the same people that vandalized his car three times in the weeks leading up to the attack. In one case of vandalism "No Legs" was scratched into the roof. After his death, his tombstone was also damaged.

It's unknown or unstated what Paul had done for someone or a group of people to hold such a grudge.

SOURCES:
True Crime Library
Chronicle Live November 21,2021
News Week December 17, 2022