Closing the Case on the Smuttynose Ax Murders of 1873
November 1, 2014
On March 6, 1873, a robbery attempt went horribly awry on tiny Smuttynose Island, located off the coast of New Hampshire, leading to the gruesome deaths of two women. A third woman miraculously escaped and was able to identify the attacker as Lewis Wagner, a former lodger and employee. Within two days the killer was caught and two years later hanged for the murders. The evidence for Wagner's guilt was overwhelming, but the case still haunts the island. The accused protested his innocence to the last, charming the press and sowing doubt in the minds of some citizens. Robinson, a local historian and island steward of Smuttynose, consults primary source material from the trial and its aftermath and reviews the various conspiracy theories about the case, including the one fictionalized by Anita Shreve in her book The Weight of Water, also a movie. His conclusion that the "hailstorm of evidence" presented in court shows that Wagner was almost certainly the killer should be the end of it but most likely will start the conversation over again. VERDICT This in-depth account of a controversial historical murder is essential for regional collections and recommended for all true crime collections.--Deirdre Bray Root, MidPointe Lib. Syst., OH
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