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The Hossack Murder The Library of America • Story of the Week Reprinted from True Crime: An American Anthology (The Library of America, 2008), pages 179–95. ©2008 Literary Classics of the U.S., Inc. Published in the Des Moines Daily News, December 3, 1900–April 19, 1901. SUSAN GLASPELL Sometime around midnight on December 1, 1900, John Hossack, a well- to-do, 59-year-old Iowa farmer, was attacked in bed by an axe-wielding assailant who literally beat out his brains as he slept. His wife became the prime suspect after neighbors testified to her long-simmering hatred of her abusive spouse. Covering the sensational case was 24-year-old Susan Glaspell (1876–1948), at that time the legislative reporter for the Des Moines Daily News, the largest daily in the state. Shortly after Mrs. Hossack was convicted and shipped off to Ana- mosa State Penitentiary, Glaspell— who had been publishing short sto- ries in Harper’s Monthly and American Magazine— quit journalism to devote herself full-time to fiction. She and her new husband, the writer George Cram Cook, moved east in 1913, joining the Bohemian com- munity of artists and intellectuals who wintered in Greenwich Village and summered in Provincetown on Cape Cod. In 1915 they founded the Pro vincetown Players, a company that would nurture dozens of playwrights— most notably Eugene O’Neill— and for which Glaspell created her one-act play Trifles, a thinly veiled take on the Hossack case with a decidedly feminist slant. The following year, she reworked the material into a short story, “A Jury of Her Peers.” In August 1916, less than three weeks after the premiere of Trifles, Margaret Hossack died at home in Indianola, Iowa, a free woman. One year after her incarceration in Anamosa, her conviction was overturned on appeal, and a second trial in 1903 ended with a hung jury. The state declined to retry her, and the murder of her husband remains officially unsolved. The Hossack Murder ndianola, Dec. 3.— (Special.)— A foul murder was committed Sat- I urday night near Medford, fifteen miles southwest of Indianola. A farmer named Hossack was struck over the head and killed by unknown parties, at his home a few miles out from Medford. 179 180 . Susan Glaspell The assault was probably committed by burglars, though of this the officers are not yet sure. Sheriff Lew Hodson and Dr. Harry Dale, coro- ner, went to the place Sunday, and subpoenaed a jury which was called to meet this morning for an inquest. Mr. Hossack was an early settler, a prominent farmer, highly respected. He was about 60 years of age and leaves a wife and large family. indianola, Dec. 4.— (Special.)— Persons who went to the home of John Hossack Monday and saw the murdered man in his bed, and heard portions of the testimony before the coroner’s jury, are all at sea as to who killed Hossack or for what reason. There is no evidence of burglary. The murderer came through a porch and front room to the bed room where Mr. and Mrs. Hossack slept. He evidently reached across the bed with an ax and struck two blows. One crushed in the skull and the other made a deep cut, yet Hossack lived from Saturday night until 10 a.m. Sunday, though he did not regain consciousness, and no one has yet been found who can give a clue to the murder. The ax was found under a shed about fifty feet from the house. Mrs. Hos- sack swore before the jury that she was awakened about midnight by the slamming of a door, saw a flash of light and then all was dark. She called to her husband but as he did not respond, she got up and lighted a lamp. Then she discovered him on the bed, with blood all over the clothing. She said she did not hear the blows nor see any one. The officers are investigating. It is rumored that trouble had arisen in the Hossack household and that possibly some relative committed the murder. The funeral of Mr. Hossack was set for Wednesday at 1 p.m. from the First M.E. church at New Virginia. The family consisted of wife, and four children, who were at home. Bert Osborn and Harry Hartman of Indianola went to the Hossack home Sunday afternoon and took flash light photo graphs of the remains of Hossack as they lay on the bed. The left temple is crushed in, prob ably by the butt end of the ax, while the upper part of the head is deeply gashed. The Hossack Murder . 181 The ax, which was found under a shed and covered with blood, has been sent to a chemist, who is to report whether or not the blood is human or from chickens, as stated by some members of the family. The report that Hossack did not regain consciousness is contra- dicted. One of his sons testified before the coroner’s jury that he said to his father, “Well, pa, you are badly hurt,” and that he replied: “No, I’m not hurt, but I’m not feeling well.” It is said that Hossack did not make any statement as to whom he suspected of the crime. indianola, Dec. 5.— (Special.)— The Hossack murder case took a sen- sational turn today when the sheriff went to Medora for the avowed purpose of arresting Mrs. Hossack, wife of the murdered man. The departure of the sheriff was kept a profound secret for a time, but eventually some of the county officials were induced to reveal to your correspondent that the object of the trip was the arrest of Mrs. Hossack. The evidence is by no means conclusive of Mrs. Hossack’s guilt, but the testimony before the coroner’s jury was such as to raise a suspicion of guilt and her arrest was decided upon as a matter of precaution. Members of the Hossack family are understood to have testified before the coroner’s jury that the blood on the ax found under the corn crib was caused by chopping off the head of a turkey the day before the murder. It is now reported that a child admitted on cross- examination that he himself placed the ax in the corn crib the evening before the murder and that at that time there was no blood on it. Friends of Mrs. Hossack are beginning to suggest that she is insane and that she has been in this condition for a year and a half under the constant surveillance of members of the family. The robbery theory has been wholly abandoned, as absolutely nothing was taken and no suspicious characters were seen in the neighborhood prior or subsequent to the murder. The most suspicious circumstance in connection with the crime is the testimony of Mrs. Hossack that she lay in bed by the side of her 182 . Susan Glaspell husband while his skull was crushed in two places, and was not awak- ened in time to see anyone leave the house. The developments since the murder that the members of the Hos- sack family were not on pleasant relations with each other is a com- plete surprise, as Hossack was not supposed to have an enemy in the world. The verdict of the coroner’s jury found this morning was as follows: “We do find said deceased came to his death by two blows upon the head; one with a sharp instrument and one with a blunt instrument. (Signed) C. D. Johnson, Fred Johnston, T. W. Pass water.” The wife of John Hossack, arrested on the charge of having beaten out his brains with an ax, has employed Henderson and Berry as her attor- neys and is preparing to fight the case to the end. She was locked up in the county jail here last night at 8:30. She manifested no emotion, took her arrest calmly and absolutely declined to make any statement concerning her guilt or innocence. Members of the Hossack family are standing by her solidly, but public sentiment is overwhelmingly against her. Though past 50 years of age, she is tall and powerful and looks like she would be dangerous if aroused to a point of hatred. It is claimed by the prosecution that she and her husband quarreled violently over their second son, John Hossack, Jr., because the father was unwilling to overlook his son’s shortcomings. An effort was made at the coroner’s inquest to bring out that Mrs. Hossack had threatened her husband’s life and had intimated to Wil- liam Haines that she would like to get her husband out of the way. Haines only partially corroborated this story. Hossack owned 300 acres of fine land and was considered well-off. It is claimed now, however, that the farm was in his wife’s name and that possession of it could have furnished no incentive to the crime. Deceased, however, carried $2,000 in life insurance, made payable to his wife. The Hossack Murder . 183 indianola, April 2. — (Special.)— Selection of jurors in the Hossack murder trial is completed. The panel is as follows: D. Agard, J. P. Ander- son, J. B. Bitting, J. W. Bruce, J. W. Hadley, Geo. W. Lewis, F. E. Miller, John Niles, W. C. Pitman, J. W. Poland, Wm. Powers and S. R. Richards. At 11 o’clock Judge Gamble swore in the jury. Reading of the indict- ment by County Attorney Clammer followed. During the recital of counts contained in the indictment, the defen- dant, Mrs.
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