New England’s Wickedest Killers

This is a chronicle of 30 notorious New England murder cases spanning from the 1800s to 2000, from well-known cases that shocked the country to lesser-known cases that petrified the small towns they were committed in.

At one point in the 1970s, there were so many murders in one small Connecticut county that a New York newspaper openly asked if this tiny area was perhaps the most violent county in the nation. The irony was incredible, with bloody old New York, known well for its own homicides, looking at a tiny speck of New England with something like awe. But if anyone ever kept track, they’d probably think New England was the home of depravity, with every small town harbouring at least one madman with murder on his mind.

New England crime has been well covered when it comes to gangland stories or high-profile murder trials, but less attention has been given to the more deviant killers, the wandering drifters, and maniacs who butchered their way into the headlines and, often, straight to the gallows or electric chair.

From a quiet Connecticut farmer who one day picks up an axe and wreaks havoc on his village; a young Maine man who decides to kill his wife and mother-in-law because he was tired of being nagged; to a 13-year-old boy who stabbed a neighbour 58 times, each chapter is a brand-new horror show.

Author Don Stradley examines the killers, the trials, and the historical context of the crimes, the media’s reaction, the way mental health experts played an increasing part in trials, and the impacts of such crimes on their respective communities.