4 Found Dead Near Reasnor 1933

SANFORD

Posted By: Mary Donahue (email)
Date: 6/1/2009 at 16:09:07

From The Des Moines Register, 11 Mar 1933, bottom left hand corner of front page:

4 Found Dead Near Reasnor
Jasper Officers Probe Farm Slayings

NEWTON, IA. – The bodies of four persons were found on the Floyd Sanford farm, two and a half miles southeast of Reasnor late Friday.

All four persons had been shot.

Rosalie Sanford, rural school student, her mother and Mahland Shipley, 60, the hired man, were found dead in the kitchen of the home. Sanford’s body was found near the barn.

Flies to Neighbor
The discovery of Sanford’s body was made by another daughter upon her return from Monroe High school She had gone to the barn to stable her horse. Upon discovering the body, she ran, screaming, toward the house.

When no one in the house answered her calls, she fled to the home of a neighbor, who returned to find the three bodies on the kitchen floor.

Officers Called
Sheriff Earl Shields and County Attorney P. J. Sleiger were called from Newton to investigate. It was reported that they believed the hired man had slain the three members of the Sanford family, and killed himself.

Reconstructing the incident, the officers said it appeared that the shooting occurred at approximately 8 a.m. when a neighbor, Mathys Vander Velden, heard three shots.

Shot in Back
The officers said they believe Shipley shot Sanford in the back, and went to the house, where he shot Mrs. Sanford in the face, then turning the gun on Rosalie.

They said it appeared that Shipley used a shingle to push the trigger on the shotgun to end his life. There were powder burns on the bib of his overalls.

Inquest Today
Coroner E. A. McMurray, in charge of the investigating, said an inquest into the deaths would be held today.

Reasnor is in the south central part of Jasper county, 10 miles south of Newton.