Murder and Mayhem in York County Book

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

Part I Bitter Divides

"One Common Ruin": The Negro Conspiracy of 1803 11

"Black.. White?Even": The Riot Murders 15

"We All Did": The Schaad Case 18

"Just Hold On": The Allen Case 23

Part II Fistfights and Firewater

"Theater of Their Unblushing Defiance": The Goldsboro Prizefight 31

' "Fatal Lack of Continuity": The Pleasureville Brawl 35

"The Frenzy of Terror": The Church Panic of 1907 41

"The Narrow Path": Last Call for "Peggy" Larue 46

Part III The Perils of Paramours

"Unsound Mind": Lost Loves of Johnny Coyle 52

"One Sorrow After Another": The People v. Ervin Spangler 58

Part IV Hell Hath No Fury

"Wickedest Creature": The Confession of Elizabeth Moore 64

"Blotting Out the Roses": The Winter of Kate Ness 68

"By Criminal Intimacy": The Black Widow Love Triangle 73

Part V Brutal Harvest

"Lunatic Fringe": The Hex Murder 80

"No Use Hiding": The Death of Officer Sowers 89

"Here Is a Warning": The Dietrich Family Tragedy 94

Part VI Unsolved

"Murder Hole": The Pigeon Hills Slaying 99

"Wrapped in Horror": A Crime Scene Sketch 103

"This Darkest of Mysteries": The Murder of Gertrude Rudy 109

Bibliography 115

About the Author 127