Nov 27, 2020
Small cities and towns in Indiana often seem tranquil, but they periodically have been the settings for murders that made national headlines. They have also been the birthplaces of suspected killers, including a notorious native of Elwood dubbed "Gun Girl" by the national press during the Great Depression.
For one of our periodic shows exploring true crimes, Hoosier History Live will delve into several sensational murder cases that drew national attention to the state between 1869 and 1950. Among the cases will be some that illuminate aspects of social history, including the use of capital punishment, the insanity defense (which frequently was used by defense attorneys during the 19th century), and attitudes about women on trial for first-degree murder.
The historic crimes are among
those included in No Place
Like Murder (I.U. Press), a new book
by Janis
Thornton, an author of true crime and town history
books who is based in Tipton, Ind. Janis, who
has researched
the murders and even visited the gravesites of several of the
victims, will be Nelson's guest to explore cases
involving:
Most of the
murderers and their victims in the cases we will explore were
private citizens. An exception involves a sensational killing in
1881 when the controversial mayor
of Kokomo was fatally shot during what
may have been a bungled burglary.
Mayor Henry Cole was gunned down in a flour mill by a posse of Kokomo business and public officials. In No Place Like Murder, Janis Thornton poses the question of whether Cole was involved in a crime or was "the victim of an assassination conspiracy." In response to the mystery, she adds, "Local history buffs are still scratching their heads."
In connection with one of her visual history books about Indiana towns and counties, Images of America: Tipton County (Arcadia Publishing, 2012), Janis has been a previous Hoosier History Live guest. She also is the author of Too Good a Girl (Life Sentences Publishing, 2018), which explores the mysterious death of her Tipton high school classmate.