Inspector: Paola was never as tightly attached to the other murders as the trio of Colorado Springs, Monmouth Ill. and Ellsworth. I could never see why that was the case. I was impressed by the second potential victim in Paola. That the killer did not seem to be satiated by one murder always seemed to me to be an interesting link among the murders. This double event was true with out question in Colorado. Both Paola and Ellsworth shared a similar link though it was only an attempted break-in. I don't know of such a second event in Monmouth but I haven't studied that case to any depth. Villisca also had a potential second event although it was largely ignored by investigators. At 2:10 A.M.after the murder had probably been committed A young telephone operator was resting at her upstairs switchboard when she heard someone guietly climbing her stairs. She heard this stranger enter her hallway and saw him try her door. Finding it locked the stranger crept down the stairs. I have always wondered if it could have been the serial killer looking for another victim just as he had at some of the other murders.
Ed,
I have speculated the reason for the lack of connection between Villisca and Paola was due to Anna Hudson's reputation. With all the innuendo surrounding her people could easily dismiss the crime as one of passion. If it had been Dona and Albert Jones who were attacked, I imagine the investigation would have gone a bit differently. But who knows, for all their similarities I would like to know the differences that made the investigators decide they weren't connected.
That is an interesting bit of information about the switchboard operator. Was the operator's house along the route followed by the bloodhounds? What amazes me most about Paola was that after discovering a man inside her house, Mrs. Longmeyer told no one until ten the next morning! She could have at least alerted the marshal; maybe they could have caught him or at least got a look at him. Ah, hindsight. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Commenting by HaloScan
