I can't give a stronger recommendation to a true crime documentary than the one I give Villisca: Living with a Mystery. Held together by the sure-footed storytelling on the parts of Kelly and Tammy Rundle as well as the affable and informed voice of historian Dr. Edgar V. Epperly, this movie sets a high bar for full-length documentary treatments of crime stories. I'm a little spoiled now.
The following links may give an idea of how intriguing this particularly gruesome unsolved mystery truly is:
- Excellent overview of the crime and Henry Lee Moore's possible connection, by Beth Klingensmith
- Geneaologist Sharyl Ferrall collected a number of news accounts from the time
- A spooky take on the possible hauntings at the Moore home
- A good site for one-stop reading
- Trailers: one, two
If your interest in true crime is often (like mine) limited to current events, this is the story, and the documentary, that may lure you into the sepia-toned obsessions of the true crime historian. You may never look back.
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