The Murdered Family: Mystery of the Wolf Family Murders - Softcover

Keel, Vernon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0984284303 ISBN 13: 9780984284306

Publisher: Wanamaker Pr, 2010

Synopsis

Based on a true story about the mass murder of a farm family, The Murdered Family raises questions about the guilt of the man convicted of the crime.

A wave of fear sweeps across the barren prairies of central North Dakota in April of 1920 with the tragic news that seven members of a farm family and their hired boy have been brutally murdered at their home just north of Turtle Lake in McLean County.

A massive search for the killers begins immediately in the midst of an intense statewide election campaign. Three weeks later, eager investigators encouraged by nervous politicians get a signed confession from one of the prime suspects in the case. He is sentenced that same day to life in the state penitentiary in what the New York Times referred to then as ''the most rapid administration of justice in the country.''

From the beginning, the man denies his guilt and says his confession was obtained under duress, intimidation and fear. In November, his lawyers file a motion in district court asking that his plea of guilty be withdrawn and for a trial upon the merits. Their motion is strengthened when some new evidence is discovered on the Wolf family farm only days before the motion is filed.

Some ninety years later, people in the area still recall the words the convicted man was supposed to have said: ''My eyes have seen but my hands are clean!''

About this title

From the Back Cover

A wave of fear sweeps across the barren prairies of central North Dakota in April of 1920 with the tragic news that seven members of a farm family and their hired boy have been brutally murdered at their home just north of Turtle Lake in McLean County. A massive search for the killers begins immediately in the midst of an intense statewide election campaign. Three weeks later, eager investigators encouraged by nervous politicians get a signed confession from one of the prime suspects in the case. He is sentenced that same day to life in the the state penitentiary in what the New York Times referred to then as “the most rapid administration of justice in the country.” . From the beginning, the man denies his guilt and says his confession was obtained under duress, intimidation and fear. In November, his lawyers file a motion in district court asking that his plea of guilty be withdrawn and for a trial upon the merits. Their motion is strengthened when some new evidence is discovered on the Wolf family farm only days before the motion is filed.Some ninety years later, people in the area still recall the words the convicted man was supposed to have said: “My eyes have seen but my hands are clean!”

About the Author

Vernon Keel began a long career in journalism on his hometown newspaper just three miles from where the Wolf family was murdered twenty years before he was born. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota where he developed skills in legal and historical research. For more than thirty years, he taught media law and headed journalism and communication schools at several midwestern universities.

Keel resides in Denver, Colorado

Edition details

• Publisher: Wanamaker Pr
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0984284303
• ISBN 13: 9780984284306
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 347