Villisca
When an entire family is wiped out by an axe-wielding killer on a June evening in 1912, a small Iowa town spirals into chaos and division. "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" tells the epic true story of the Villisca, Iowa Children's Day axe murders. Following just two months after the sinking of the Titanic, America's greatest unsolved mystery built and ruined political careers, created a lasting community split over the guilt or innocence of a local man--a state Senator--and produced dozens of litigations including three sensational trials.The documentary also explores the possibility that the Villisca crime, and similar axe murders in Monmouth, Illinois; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Ellsworth, Kansas, may have been the work of one of America's first serial killers.Filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle have combined rare period photographs, startling computer animation, original art, limited re-enactments, and fascinating interviews with historians, eye-witnesses, town residents, and forensic experts to shed light on the spellbinding mystery and to dramatically reveal the face of a new suspect.