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Contact: Jeff
Morgan, Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov,
(515) 281-3858
(DES
MOINES) – What happens when murder visits
a small town and remains a mystery?
The award-winning and critically-acclaimed independent
documentary film “Villisca: Living with a Mystery”
will answer that question 2 p.m. Sunday at the Western
Historic Trails Center. WHTC is at 3434 Richard Downing
Avenue in Council Bluffs. Contact Teressa Sward at
712-366-4900 for more information.
“Villisca” has spent the past 14 months
in theaters in 52 cities. The movie tells the epic
true story of Iowa’s worst mass homicide, the
Villisca Axe Murders. Noted historian Edgar Epperly
has spent 50 years studying the case and will give
an introduction to the documentary and answer questions
afterwards.
This true-crime mystery is more mystifying than America’s
Lizzie Borden and more intriguing than London’s
Jack the Ripper.
When an entire family was murdered on a June evening
in 1912, a small Midwestern town spiraled into chaos
and division. The still-unsolved axe murder mystery
made national headlines, built and ruined political
careers, created a lasting community split over the
guilt or innocence of a local state senator and produced
three sensational trials.
Ten years in the making, filmmakers Kelly and Tammy
Rundle teamed with Epperly and gathered dozens of
hours of footage featuring the infamous axe murder
house and murder weapon, a period steam train, bloodhounds
and more than 50 interviews with historians, eyewitnesses
and forensic experts including former FBI Special
Agent and profiler Robert K. Ressler, the man who
coined the term “serial killer.”
The Rundles collected hundreds of previously unseen
period photographs, unearthed a forgotten axe murder
case file, successfully petitioned a judge for access
to 5,000 pages of secret grand jury testimony, reviewed
dusty Attorney General’s files, and traveled
to the sites of similar unsolved murders in Monmouth,
Illinois; Ellsworth, Kansas; and Colorado Springs,
Colorado in search of one of America’s early
serial killers.
With the axe murder house a museum, and ongoing interest
from media producers and paranormal enthusiasts, some
think the murder is still haunting Villisca today.
The filmmakers gained the support and cooperation
of Villisca residents and relatives of the axe murder
victims. Several gave interviews and attended the
film’s premiere where nearly 2000 people saw
the film in just five days.
“Villisca” went on to screen to enthusiastic
audiences in theaters in 52 cities where it successfully
competed with, and often exceeded, the box office
receipts of its well-heeled Hollywood rivals. The
independent documentary film also qualified for the
2005 Academy Award® competition in the documentary
feature category.
The new “Villisca: Living with a Mystery”
DVD release features the provocative independent documentary
film, full-length commentary tracks by Epperly and
the filmmakers, a computer-animated walkthrough of
the axe murder house, additional scenes, behind-the-scenes
footage, the theatrical trailer, and a rare 1963 Villisca
axe murder radio broadcast.
The Rundles reside in Los Angeles, California where
they are the owners of Fourth Wall Films, an independent
film and video production company.
The State Historical Society of Iowa is a trustee
of Iowa’s historical legacy and an advocate
for understanding Iowa’s past. It identifies,
records, collects, preserves, manages and provides
access to Iowa’s historical resources. Its dual
mission of preservation and education serves Iowans
of all ages, conducts and stimulates research, disseminates
information, and encourages and supports historical
preservation and education efforts of others throughout
the state. Please visit www.iowahistory.org
or call 515-281-5111 for more information.
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