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Skull in the Ashes - Murder, a Gold Rush Manhunt, and the Birth of Circumstantial Evidence in America (Paperback, New)
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Skull in the Ashes - Murder, a Gold Rush Manhunt, and the Birth of Circumstantial Evidence in America (Paperback, New)
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List price R682
Loot Price R560
Discovery Miles 5 600
You Save R122 (18%)
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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On a February night in 1897, the general store in Walford, Iowa,
burned down. The next morning, townspeople discovered a charred
corpse in the ashes. Everyone knew that the store's owner, Frank
Novak, had been sleeping in the store as a safeguard against
burglars. Now all that remained were a few of his personal items
scattered under the body. At first, it seemed to be a tragic
accident mitigated just a bit by Novak's foresight in buying
generous life insurance policies to provide for his family. But
soon an investigation by the ambitious new county attorney, M. J.
Tobin, turned up evidence suggesting that the dead man might
actually be Edward Murray, a hard-drinking local laborer. Relying
upon newly developed forensic techniques, Tobin gradually built a
case implicating Novak in Murray's murder. But all he had was
circumstantial evidence, and up to that time few murder convictions
had been won on that basis in the United States. Others besides
Tobin were interested in the case, including several companies that
had sold Novak life insurance policies. One agency hired detectives
to track down every clue regarding the suspect's whereabouts.
Newspapers across the country ran sensational headlines with
melodramatic coverage of the manhunt. Veteran detective Red
Perrin's determined trek over icy mountain paths and dangerous
river rapids to the raw Yukon Territory town of Dawson City, which
was booming with prospectors as the Klondike gold rush began, made
for especially good copy. Skull in the Ashes traces the actions of
Novak, Tobin, and Perrin, showing how the Walford fire played a
pivotal role in each man's life. Along the way, author Peter
Kaufman gives readers a fascinating glimpse into forensics,
detective work, trial strategies, and prison life at the close of
the nineteenth century. As much as it is a chilling tale of a
cold-blooded murder and its aftermath, this is also the story of
three ambitious young men and their struggle to succeed in a
rapidly modernizing world.
General
Imprint: |
University of Iowa Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
September 2013 |
First published: |
September 2013 |
Authors: |
Peter Kaufman
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 22mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
298 |
Edition: |
New |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-60938-188-2 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
True stories >
Crime
|
LSN: |
1-60938-188-2 |
Barcode: |
9781609381882 |
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