Buried Bones: "Axed Part 2" (January 21, 2026) – Detailed Summary
Hosts: Kate Winkler Dawson (journalist), Paul Holes (retired cold case investigator)

Overview

This episode is a continuation and in-depth analysis of the infamous 1912 Villisca Axe Murders in Iowa, where the Moore family and two visiting children were killed. Through a 21st-century lens, Kate and Paul dissect suspects, forensic evidence, and psychological profiles to reconsider who may have committed these brutal crimes. The episode focuses on the top suspects: Reverend Lynn George Jaclyn Kelly, local businessman Frank Jones (and his son, Albert), and briefly, Henry Lee Moore—aiming to piece together old clues with modern investigative thinking.

Case Recap & Initial Discussion

• (02:30) Kate recaps the Villisca case: In 1912, the Moore family (parents Josiah and Sarah, four kids aged 11 and under) and two visiting girls were murdered in their home. The crime scene featured oddities: the bodies and mirrors were covered, there were slabs of bacon left around, and Josiah's axe was used in the killings. Notably, 12-year-old Lena showed signs of sexual assault and was posed post-mortem.
• There'd been a spate of similar axe murders in the Midwest, but local authorities mostly treated them as isolated incidents.
• Paul: "Early on I was thinking it was somebody close to the Moore family. Now I'm unsure about that." (02:10)

Suspect 1: Reverend Lynn George Jacqueline Kelly

Background & Behaviors

• 04:10 – Reverend Kelly is a 5'2", 119 lb. itinerant English preacher, staying three blocks from the Moore house the night of the murders.
• He left on an early morning train (5:19 am) after the killings, before the bodies were discovered.
• Kelly made frequent contact with police and investigators post-murder, offering peculiar and conflicting statements.
• He claimed to observe a suspicious man entering the Moore house and to hear "thuds" (possibly axe blows) while in proximity, despite inconsistencies in his story.

Notable Moments

• Kate: "This guy’s five foot two, he’s 119 pounds... a traveling preacher from England." (04:36)
• Paul: "It’s almost as if he is inserting himself into the investigation." (06:50)
• Reverend Kelly inserted himself into the crime scene, claiming to find a vial, and styled himself both as a minister and a 'Scotland Yard-trained detective'—possibly leveraging his accent for credibility (08:53).
• He theorized the killer was a relative, but this seemed to change according to context.
• Paul's profiling: Victims' faces and mirrors were covered—possibly pointing to a murderer with religious guilt or self-disgust. "If he truly has any type of faith, but then is a killer of this magnitude, you could see the contradiction in the psychology..." (10:44)
• Investigators later learned that Kelly's alibi was shaky (no train witnesses confirmed his story, and environmental details—like the absence of working street lamps—disprove key claims).
• Multiple odd behaviors: Kelly confessed to the crime on several occasions, demonstrated inappropriate sexual behaviors, was institutionalized multiple times, and had a history of sexually harassing girls and requesting nude photographs under religious justification.
  • "He explodes into profanities...offers to perform sexual acts on his cellmates. He sexually harasses another prisoner. He tries to hang himself. He admits to murdering the Moore family and the girls in Villisca." (34:12)
• Paul: "It's showing that he's a child molester. He's actually purposefully engaging with underaged girls for sexual purposes...this is now direct overlap with the offender who is now sexually assaulting an underaged girl." (41:28)

Proximity to Crime & Suspect Status

• Strong circumstantial evidence: Shirt with blood taken to cleaners, consistent with crime scene cleanup; admissions of guilt, sexual deviance, and proximity at the time of the crimes.
• Grand jury proceedings featured multiple witnesses describing Kelly's sexual predations, voyeurism (peeping on girls), and grooming behaviors.
• Despite numerous confessions and "sex pest" evidence, Kelly was ultimately acquitted at trial, as his confessions were excluded and evidence was largely circumstantial.

Memorable Quote

• Paul: "With Reverend Lynn...if he's the Villisca killer, then there's a strong chance that he is responsible for the prior homicides in the other states." (37:11)

Suspect 2: Frank Fernando Jones (and Albert Jones)

Motive & Evidence

• 15:45 – Frank Jones was a prominent Villisca businessman and Iowa State senator. He had a bitter professional falling out with Josiah Moore—Moore left to start a rival business, taking the prized John Deere account.
• There was reputed animosity, and rumors (never fully substantiated) that Moore was conducting an affair with Jones’s daughter-in-law, Donna. Town gossip, fueled by telephone operators, fed suspicions about various men contacting Donna, but actual evidence of a link to the murders was sparse.
• Josiah Moore endured the most violence in the attack, possibly suggesting he was a specific target.
• Bloodhounds allegedly trailed from the Moore house to the Jones mansion, generating suspicion.
• Albert, Frank's son, also became a suspect due to a known violent altercation and a bloody suit allegedly cleaned after the murders.

Critical Analysis

• Paul: "To me, it doesn't make any sense...the unusual aspects within this crime scene, the sexual assault, it doesn't add up as well, with, you know, this financial motive, this beef over the affair, versus you have somebody that potentially is a sexually motivated predator." (25:49)
• The hosts note that although motives exist (business, sexual jealousy), neither Frank nor Albert are as well-aligned to the psychological aspects of the crime as someone like Kelly.
• Alibis for the Joneses are weak, but hard evidence is lacking.

Suspect 3: Henry Lee Moore

• (Briefly discussed, 28:29) – Moore (no relation to victims) was convicted elsewhere for a double axe murder against family members. An FBI agent speculated about a link, but solid alibi evidence put Moore in Missouri at the time of the Villisca murders. He is dismissed as a viable suspect.

Additional Crime Scene & Investigative Notes

• The contamination and mishandling of the Villisca crime scene haunted the case, likely preventing resolution.
• Families of the victims hired a private detective, but he complicated the investigation without producing results.
  • Paul: "This case was messed up from the very beginning...inexperienced agency, inexperienced investigator, contaminated crime scene." (31:30)
• Forensic analysis discussed: Discussion of the bloody shirt, potential use and meaning of the bacon found with the weapon, and the possibility the perpetrator cleaned up intentionally. Paul speculates about sexually motivated offenders sometimes being unable to perform and using objects (like bacon) in their crimes.

Memorable Quote

• Paul: "I would not dismiss the idea that [the bacon] was used. And this was a fairly sizable piece of bacon that somehow, you know, it was used. But I would say that's probably as good of an explanation for that bacon being in that room next to the murder weapon as any." (49:12)

Outcome: Reverend Kelly’s Trial(s) and Aftermath

• Kelly was indicted and tried, but the first trial ended with a hung jury; the second excluded his confessions, and he was acquitted (49:30–50:08).
• He spent years in and out of psychiatric institutions. He died in 1959 in New York, after being deemed chronically insane for many years.
• The case remains officially unsolved.

Paul’s Final Thoughts

• "I think Reverend Lynn appears to be a very, very solid suspect that I would even say is likely responsible for the Valeska homicides. However, I can't quibble with the acquittal just based off of the types of evidence being presented to the jury...They moved before they should have. They needed to build a stronger case." (51:41)

Highlighted Timestamps

• 02:30 – Case recap
• 04:10–13:22 – Reverend Kelly’s story, behaviors, and inconsistencies
• 15:45–26:21 – Frank Jones, the Jones family, and evidence against them
• 28:29–29:54 – Henry Lee Moore and his exclusion
• 32:02–44:42 – Kelly’s confessions, mental health, criminal sexual history, trial details
• 45:26–49:12 – Bloody shirt, bacon theory, defense and verdict
• 51:41–53:12 – Paul’s take on the acquittal, Kelly’s later years & open case

Notable Quotes

• "It's almost as if he is inserting himself into the investigation." – Paul Holes (06:50)
• "With Reverend Lynn, you know, one of the things I would be also pursuing is can I place him in these other towns where axe murders occurred?" – Paul Holes (13:22)
• "It's showing that he's a child molester... this is now direct overlap with the offender who is now sexually assaulting an underaged girl." – Paul Holes (41:28)
• "I think Reverend Lynn appears to be a very, very solid suspect that I would even say is likely responsible for the Valeska homicides. However, I can't quibble with the acquittal..." – Paul Holes (51:41)

Episode Tone & Conclusion

Kate and Paul’s tone is engaged and analytical, with both expressing frustration over the state of early 20th-century investigations and horrified fascination at the bizarre and disturbing aspects of the case. Paul’s modern forensic insights raise compelling arguments, especially regarding criminal psychology and physical evidence, but both hosts lament the limits of historical inquiry. The case remains an enduring mystery, but with Kelly as "prime suspect" in their modern analysis.

For further details, case images, and listener discussion, follow Buried Bones on social media at @buriedbonespod or visit exactlyrightmedia.com.