Texas Wine and True Crime
We review Texas wines and discuss Texas true crime.
Texas Wine and True Crime
From Texas Wineries to Unsolved Mason Mysteries: Live Podcasting Bonus Magic
A fading sun over Robert Clay Vineyards set the stage for Texas Wine and True Crime's season finale—an intimate gathering where hosts Brandy and Chris Diamond peeled back layers of Mason's hidden history through unsolved murders spanning more than a century.
Standing at a crossroads in their podcast journey, the Diamonds announced their leap into video content after four years of audio-only episodes. "Our faces have been somewhat obscured for the past four and a half years," Chris explained, signaling an evolution for their 162-episode-strong show that pairs Texas wines with true crime narratives.
The evening's exploration began with Jimmy Schuessler's 2001 murder—a case approaching its 24th anniversary without resolution. Investigators found Schuessler had bled to death on his couch after suffering a blow to the head outside his remote home. Blood trails revealed his tragic final moments: the struggle at his truck, his attempt to clean himself in the bathroom, and his eventual collapse in the living room. The location of his house—difficult to find unless you knew where it was—suggests his killer wasn't a random drifter but someone from his business dealings or personal life.
Traveling further back, the hosts unraveled the heartbreaking case of 17-year-old Adele Kaufman, murdered in 1892 while walking home from school. Found by her father on a path he had specially cleared for her safety, Adele's brutal killing left few clues beyond a bloodied stone and evidence of a horse tied nearby for hours. The killer had washed bloody hands in a stream before vanishing into history. "Every unsolved case gives us theories, but little closure," Brandy reflected as audience members contributed local knowledge that textbooks and archives could never capture.
What makes these stories resonate isn't just the mystery, but their connection to place—how they echo through generations in communities where everyone knows your name but some secrets remain buried. Follow Texas Wine and True Crime as they expand their storytelling through video while continuing to give voice to victims whose stories deserve to be remembered, glass of Texas wine in hand.
www.texaswineandtruecrime.com
All right. Well, I am Brandy Diamond.
Speaker 2:And I'm Chris Diamond.
Speaker 1:And we are Texas Wine and True Crime. We work with Texas wineries. They send us wine, we pair them with dishes, we talk a little bit of true crime.
Speaker 2:We talk a lot of true crime.
Speaker 1:We talk a lot of true crime Something kind of fun. Before we get started, I'm going to talk a little bit about some authors we've interviewed and books, if you guys like to read, or you can just look them up online and read about them, or, yeah, just read about the cases, but I'll talk about these in just a second. So we've got some stickers. We do this all over Texas, so thank you, robert Clay, for having us. This is actually going to be our last live show for this season, so we're happy to close it out here with our friends and mason podcast podcasting season is coming to an end podcast, live podcasting, not regular podcasting.
Speaker 1:No, we're going to be doing we're actually going to be implementing some video. Our youtube is now up, um, so you're going to see a lot more of our faces on social media.
Speaker 2:Yes, there's lots of audio on youtube. However, our faces have been somewhat Obscured for the past four and a half years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but we have 162 episodes out there, so if you want to listen, please listen. Do you have anything to share before we get started? We have no other live shows coming up, so this is it. Follow us. We're going to be doing more video. Here's some stickers Take. We're going to be doing more video. Here's some stickers. Take some to a friend.
Speaker 2:Well, I would like to say I'm very happy to come to Robert Clay Vineyards again.
Speaker 1:I am so happy.
Speaker 2:We really enjoyed our first time here. I really enjoyed talking to everybody and just the knowledge that was shared with us and just delicious wines as well that were shared.
Speaker 1:We've got one more right. We've got one more red that we're going to be putting on next week's episode.
Speaker 2:Yep, the Toriga, yes, yes.
Speaker 1:We've got one more, so we've been enjoying their wine the whole month of March.
Speaker 2:I will need to figure out something to pair with that. Yes, you will that wine as well.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we're actually going to be talking about some cases right out here in Mason. So we are going to start with we're going to do a couple of unsolved cases and then we're going to talk a little bit about the Hoodoo Wars. I'm going to let Chris lead that one. He's got some good information about the Hoodoo Wars and then we're going to have a guest joining us, the DA from right here in Mason, tanya. She is going to be joining us to talk about the arson that happened at the courthouse and whatever came of that case, because I do believe it just closed and sentencing was done not that long ago. So she'll be here to kind of talk about the trial and what went on with that case. All right, so we're going to start. Let me let me start real quick, chris, before we jump into Jimmy Schuessler, because that's who we're going to start with.
Speaker 1:So I want to just give just a brief thing about these books. I don't sell these books. You can find them on Amazon. I had a lady come and borrow one. I know her, so I let her borrow it, but these are really just if you like to read. I love interviewing authors because I always like to know why did you choose this case? And I find out the most interesting things when they tell me, for instance, this guy, james Marquardt, he's actually about to come on our show, chris. We were going to be doing a live show together, but our our schedules just aren't adding up. So we are going to be doing um a podcast with him soon, but I read his book unthinkable. So he actually has worked in law enforcement a long time, but he ends up buying a house in frisco, texas, chris, that a killer owned and he doesn't know that a killer owned the house. Do you not have to disclose?
Speaker 2:that.
Speaker 1:So not in the state of.
Speaker 2:Texas. You're in real estate, right? Is that a thing?
Speaker 1:I also don't think in New Mexico you have to disclose it either, because she gave me a report on a house and it did say you do not have to disclose it Only if somebody dies, I guess maybe in the house. Maybe in the house, right? No, the only way you have to disclose it is if it was caused by a defect in the home. Oh, interesting.
Speaker 2:So all these haunted houses in Texas?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that we don't even know are haunted.
Speaker 2:It could be a selling point, though for some people, yes, it could.
Speaker 1:Actually, if I was a realtor, that's what I would do. I would only sell scary places. See how my market is. Do you think my market would be good for that?
Speaker 2:I don't know, you might just see.
Speaker 1:All right, so this one is unthinkable. So he buys a house in Frisco Texas. He doesn't know that a killer owned this house until he gets invited to a barbecue in the neighborhood. He goes to a barbecue. The neighbors are asking him and his wife how are you enjoying the house? Are you enjoying the house? So what do you think about what happened in front of that house? And they're like what in the world is everybody asking us this for? And they tell him well, a guy went to Indiana, killed his grandmother for estate money and then drove back here to Frisco Texas and was arrested in front of his house. So this book just kind of fell in his lap, this case just sort of fell in his lap. So this will be a good one. He's going to come on the show the Last man. Did we pass Cisco Texas on the way here?
Speaker 2:I believe we did, didn't we? Well, we went left instead of right. We saw a sign that said Cisco, all right. So this was we were on Conrad Hilton, huffing On the way to.
Speaker 1:Cisco. So this is the last man. Thomas Goodman wrote this. He was. This happened in Cisco. This was more like a bank robbery, bank heist. So they called it the Santa Claus bank robber. So he dressed up as Santa. He went in with a group of people. They end up fleeing. It's this whole thing that happens in Cisco.
Speaker 1:But we interviewed this author in Cisco at at the hilton museum, which was really cool, the original hilton yeah, that was hilton's first hotel, which is now a museum. So, um, if you've never been and took a visit, you should. So this is the last man um robert story. So I had steven me show. Uh, we, he's been on our show a couple of times so so he did Robert's Story, which is about a cowboy who was very wealthy. He didn't really realize how wealthy his family was. He was kind of a loner. He starts to get a little older. People start dying in his family. He acquires more money, more assets, and really this book is about trusting people who then stole his money, trusting people who then stole his money Lawyers, accountants, people he trusted in his circle. So he talks about a Texas cowboy's troubled life and horrifying death. So, stephen Misho if you don't know who he is, he actually did the Bundy tapes. So he got into the jail in Florida. In fact I think he actually told me he is not allowed back in the state of Florida. He got in like some major trouble right, because he was able to interview Bundy by telling the jail that he was a part of the defense team. So that's how he was in. He talked to Bundy, I believe, for three straight months and then ended up in therapy for a year after talking to Ted Bundy. So he's going to come on Chris and talk about the Bundy tapes, but he is originally from Texas and he wrote Robert's story, all right.
Speaker 1:So this one is this Night Wounds Time. This is about two girls that disappear not far from where Chris and I are from, and this is back in the mid 80s. It was spring break actually ending going into the Monday of school starting. And these two girls, their car, is found just down the street from where Chris and I live now, but there has been absolutely no answer of what happened to these two girls. Their cars found the jukebox is the beatbox. What they call boom box was in the back seat with their jackets covering it. Jam box.
Speaker 2:Doors are locked.
Speaker 1:No blood at the car, no keys found. It was a bright yellow Mustang, so it stuck out um, stuck out, stuck out, stuck out, stook, stook out Um so it stuck out, but um unfortunately, stook Stook out, so it stuck out, but unfortunately and this happened in Carrollton, texas. So this is Stacy Madison and Susan Smalley.
Speaker 2:Still unsolved.
Speaker 1:Still unsolved. Any Lubbock, Texas Tech people here out of the four? No, All right, All right, oh yeah, Okay, Sorry, Bad question. I should have read the room on that one. I should have read the room on that one. He's incognito today, I guess. All right.
Speaker 1:So fatal exam. This actually happened in the school, so in the university, the night before they have this big Christmas display of lights that they do every year, and this happened the day before that event. So people still went to the event, had no idea what had just happened, steps away from them celebrating the Christmas holiday. But a woman janitor was actually murdered in a building in Texas Tech and they were profiling, looking for someone that they end up not finding actually did this. This was actually done by a student who broke into a professor's office to steal answers to a test. Who broke into a professor's office to steal answers to a test and he ended up absolutely annihilating this woman for just catching him. So he's eventually caught in trial, but this happened outside of Lubbock.
Speaker 1:I've told people about this book that have gone to Texas Tech and they've never, ever heard of this case. The building is still there. So this is a good one. And then the other one is Welcome to the Jungle the Curse of Clark Texas. So I interviewed a guy who was from Clark and there was this span of horrible accidents suicides, murders. There was a gentleman that was captured and abducted in South Padre. He was also from Clark High School. So it is about this time in Clark, Texas, where bad things are happening and like the whole town is suffering because of all of these tragedies occurring. So he wrote an entire book on the curse of Clark Texas.
Speaker 1:So feel free to come up here, take a peek at these books. If you have any questions about these cases, I can fill you in. Hi, welcome. There's stickers up here. Feel free to come in and if you've got questions, let's have an interactive discussion, because we've got a smaller group today. So I think that's please let us know, Stop us if you've got some questions. All right, hon, you ready to jump in? Absolutely All right, let's do this, All right. So the first case we're going to talk about is the unsolved murder of Jimmy Schuessler. So this is back in, Chris, in 2000, October of 2001.
Speaker 2:So coming up on the 24 years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 24 years of this case being unsolved. So here's what we know. At the time of his death, he is at his house. So here's what we know. At the time of his death, he is at his house. He is believed to have died from a blunt force blow to the head and they found blood outside the house. They found blood inside of the house. They actually found fingerprints, they actually found DNA, but unfortunately they haven't been able to find you know who did this?
Speaker 1:So I watched an interview with some of his family members that I was able to find, and one thing because when you have unsolved cases, the hardest part about this doing this is, most of the time police will not give you anything. I can get a FOIA, but they usually block, mark everything out and then send it to me. So what I decided to do was just try to find some people here in Mason that maybe knew a little bit about this or connect with them and follow some Facebook stuff, and then I actually found an interview that was done with his daughter and his brother. So what we know now, chris, about Jimmy is that he had different, he was involved in different businesses from what his family says and his brother said some people really liked him and some people really did not like him.
Speaker 1:So you get this feeling from the family. His daughter has come out and said he was an alcoholic. He drank a lot. In fact she had been alienated from him for about a year at the time of his death. So they had not spoken in over a year and you could definitely tell in this interview that she was a bit choked up. And you know when this kind of thing happens and you've got turmoil or just bad energy in the family. You know there's a lot of regret. Sometimes that comes with that right and then something like this happens to your dad.
Speaker 2:Did he have no beefs with any local people?
Speaker 1:Well.
Speaker 2:Like you say, he's well liked by some and not so well liked, so I'm sure it's due to his business dealing.
Speaker 1:Right. So, um, according to what I have and what I've read and from the interviews, he was, um, he did good business dealings and then he did bad business dealings and I don't you know. What we don't know is what, who were all the kind of people that he was associating with, and if he and if he was involved in different businesses in the area. So we don't have to just assume everybody he knew is from this area, but his family had been here for like 120 years in Mason, in Mason. So the house where this happened was not like a house where I would be just driving down the street and I'd be able to see it. I would have to like know where it's located, be able to access the road to get there. So they actually believe he met someone at the house that day, so not a random.
Speaker 2:You would have to know exactly where the house that day, like not a random, you would have to know exactly where the house is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that's why investigators and police believe that this was not some random attack. This was someone who went out there to meet him. So one question I would have for police is did he normally do any kind of business dealings from his house? Like is it normal for people to come and see him for business reasons at his home? Did he open it up for that? Or was this someone who knew where he lived? Like you said, someone local knows the family, knows where he's located, knows how to find him, and then an altercation happens.
Speaker 1:But they based on their investigation, because sometimes people can fall down we know Jimmy. So this is what happens he enters the house after he's hit. They believe actually the altercation started at the end of his truck in the front of the house. So they see a blood trail that goes into the home. They find blood in the bathroom. So they think he actually went in the bathroom to clean himself up. And then they find the blood trail that goes from the bathroom to the living room because eventually he's found on the couch and he had bled to death on the couch. So he had a wound that was a mortal wound but he wasn't treating it. So we know alcohol can inhibit your bleeding, which is why they tell you don't drink before you go get a tattoo. So was he bleeding more extensively because? And was he intoxicated and that's why he didn't know how badly enough he was injured to actually call for help?
Speaker 2:Well, they always say to a head injury don't fall asleep as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that's what you want to do. You want to lay down you don't feel good, you have a headache, maybe you're dizzy, and so my thought about this, though. So my first instinct of when they said they followed the blood trail yeah, if the person who did this wanted him dead, did they know that he would eventually die? Because I don't think police believe that this actually moved into the home as an altercation. They believe he was actually hit and the altercation was outside.
Speaker 2:Or if somebody had an altercation, wasn't going there to kill him, but this fight ensued.
Speaker 1:Like you, said, said and he wandered inside after the fight right.
Speaker 1:so that has me wondering did the person actually go there to do this? Because that's the first thing I thought was maybe this wasn't intended for him to die, but they hit him hard enough with whatever object enough for him to walk off, go into the bathroom. I mean, we've covered cases where people walk off after being hit and immediately you go after them as the perpetrator because you don't want them to live, and tell them and give your name, but they don't believe this person actually follows him into the house.
Speaker 2:And no weapon was found either at the site.
Speaker 1:No, no weapon was actually found on the ground. What was found on the ground and what led them to believe he actually got back in the house and laid on the couch was his blood trails. So that was kind of my, because when you have unsolved cases you kind of have to go with theory. So, statistically, this was done by someone he knows and I do believe that, based on where this location was, where the house is, how investigators said, it's very hard to find unless you know where it is that this person either was supposed to be meeting him there or went to go there to confront him about something.
Speaker 2:Followed him from the bar.
Speaker 1:Followed him from the bar and that was another thing too I couldn't find any. Followed him from the bar, and that was another thing too. I couldn't find any. And, by the way, I was telling Jeannie this, that when you come to towns like Mason and you talk about things like this, I feel like the people know a lot more than we would ever know. So if there's something you want to share, something you want to say, please feel free.
Speaker 2:You're looking for the Mason TMZ.
Speaker 1:You know, I'm just saying Rumor mill is a thing, and and and small towns and families know each other and there is like, hey, this, let me tell you what else happened to my brother that other people don't know.
Speaker 2:that's not in the news, that's not you know well that, um when at um longhorn sellers, that one girl happened to be in the audience, who's sister. Remember the?
Speaker 1:case. Yeah, no, I don't know if the cat I don't remember she had some different insight, though, on the case. I can't remember the two San Antonio girls, the two unsolved San Antonio murders.
Speaker 2:They lived around there at that time, and so they had a little better insight, heidi.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no-transcript. And his brother says I really hope it's not someone we know. Well, it's probably not a drifter, they're not going to probably find this location, it's probably someone that you know. I have to wonder if police actually started looking into what kind of records he kept for his business, what they could actually uncover looking through his records, if he kept any kind of date books or people that he was supposed to be meeting with. I can only assume he didn't have anything like that written down as of that day day. So was this like a plan thing? Because if he was organized, if he did keep good, good records on his and on his business dealings, then maybe they would have been able to find out who he saw that day. But again, I couldn't find anything about. Yes, he was supposed to meet this person here, but but didn't, or that person's not involved, um, so he bled to death to like said, it could have been anybody, for that matter.
Speaker 2:So, but like you, with it being the house, location and whatnot potentially not a random person just driving by and deciding well and you get.
Speaker 1:You get mad and people have things in their hand. I am not convinced. It was just some weapon that was just picked up and used. It could have been the butt of a gun. It could have been a reactive picking up something and just hitting someone over the head with it because you don't know what kind of injury they're going to sustain. This happens in bars and parking lots all the time.
Speaker 2:Confrontations and you punch somebody.
Speaker 1:I mean it could have been anything but I, but I, I want, I don't know like I'm not convinced that someone would just let someone walk. He could have gone in the house and called 9-1-1 immediately, right, but you're gonna let him go back inside, but then he bleeds to death. So are you a medical professional and you know that he's not going to survive this? So you're just going to leave, or do you? Not want to leave your DNA inside, so you don't go in.
Speaker 2:He hit him and knocked him out and drove away, and then he got up from the ground and then wandered inside too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, we don't know what happened. Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 2:That's what I wonder too, since he was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it could have been nothing to do with his business, right? It could have nothing to do with his, that's right. You're like, oh shit, and you take off. Yeah, yeah, I mean, we just covered a case not that long ago.
Speaker 2:I lean more towards that theory.
Speaker 1:He's at the bar drinking and somebody follows him there, or just say, maybe spatting something and saying something to someone that you're not supposed to say, and then you get followed. I mean, people just don't pay attention to that when you're leaving a bar and you're going home of who could be following you. But this is an unsolved case, and does anybody else know anything about this case or want to share? I wonder if there are any additional tips. I want to think that the family probably might know a little more. Maybe they have an idea. I mean, it's been almost 24 years, so we definitely don't have the. I don't even think there's been anyone named as a suspect, maybe like a person of interest that they've interviewed, but I couldn't find that there were actually any actual suspects that were named in this case. But yeah, so that is Jimmy Schuessler's story.
Speaker 1:If there's anything you want to share with us off the microphones, please do. Okay. So I want to jump into Chris, let's see. All right, I'm going to do Adele Kaufman. We're going to go way back, 1892. Going way back, going way back. We're going to actually do this one on our podcast because I found this case.
Speaker 2:This might be a little hard for that Mason TMZ to get some information on. It is 1892.
Speaker 1:It was. Yeah, I could not find a ton of information, but I did find enough for us to have a very interesting theoretical conversation around this unsolved case. So it's 1892, which means there's a whole lot of things that come into play that don't exist today Lack of evidence, lack of forensics, women's rights, how people viewed women and young women. So there's a lot of things that you have to kind of take into the thought of when you're kind of theorizing and trying to solve these cases. It's 1892. The person who did this is clearly deceased, you think? Yeah, I think so, Unless they were just on like the news of the 125th birthday. It might be them, but I doubt it.
Speaker 2:Guinness Book.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right, birthday might be them, but I doubt it. Getting this book? Yeah, all right. So adele kaufman was 17 years old when she was found brutally murdered on the side of the road by her father, joseph kaufman, in 1892. So she had a mom, she had two brothers and two sisters. So, um, adele, she was kind of described as very being, very bright. She attended school, you, you know I thought about this when I was researching this case of, like, our kids nowadays who are like, picked up in carpool. Right, yeah, you get to go sometimes to carpool and then they're picked up in carpool or they take a bus, but nobody walks the dog has better than carpool actually.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you give me one of those.
Speaker 1:But so she went to east comanche school. Does anybody know if that school is still there? It's not okay. Thank you, I was curious about that. All right, see, I come here for answers. I mean, she's 17 years old, right? Well, she walks to and from school and Three miles. Three miles. I thought to myself could you imagine if we asked our 11-year-old to walk three miles anywhere, Anywhere?
Speaker 2:I was going to say uphill, but it lays in the snow Anywhere. I just want to ask my 11-year-old to go get her own glass of water.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean to the kitchen, would be great. That's a start, right, that's a start. To the kitchen.
Speaker 2:All right, get those legs working. Girl, get those legs working.
Speaker 1:So that is a long walk, okay, but it's 1892. We talked about this. What's transportation look like in 1892?
Speaker 2:It's the wagon and your feet right, you're walking, you're walking, you're huffing it.
Speaker 1:All right, okay. So the roads and her direction to home was very rocky. There was like woods. So, her father, there was another house, the Wilson house, the Wilson family. It's about an exact mile from the Wilson house to the Kaufman house, so that her father basically put this little paved um, not paved cause there's no pavement, but it's what did they call it? Like a, like a pathway.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like kind of basically went out the brush and included Right.
Speaker 1:So she wouldn't have to like walk through all the woods and the trees.
Speaker 2:It kind of just was a straight shot from the Wilson home, where they had children too, because we're going to talk about them to the house. Ok, sounds spoiled for 1892. She had her own path cleared for herself.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she did. I mean, well, I mean that is like the sad thing, because her dad found her and he's the one who put this path for her and you know how all that goes. So, ok, so the Wilson house is. So we're going to talk about the Wilson house and then the Kaufman. So remember, those are exactly one mile, but three miles from school. So it's a Friday. This happens on a Friday and Adele Kaufman leaves school, so she makes her way to the Wilson home because she walks home with the Wilson kids. So they have kids, they all walk together and this is the last place she has seen.
Speaker 2:You got to think too what time do those kids get home and to school? You have to leave two hours.
Speaker 1:Yes, she actually you did, she did not. She left the Wilson house about a quarter after five.
Speaker 2:That is what you would get out of school. At what? Three or something? And think about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right. So it's Friday and, um, she says goodbye, the students get out, she walks home with the Wilson kids and then she stops at the Wilson house. So Mrs Wilson saw her will then tell Mr Kaufman eventually that she was there, she was seen. So it is one mile from the Wilson home to the Kaufman home on that direct path. So she leaves that house about a quarter after five and heads to her house. Well, it starts to get dark outside and her dad is getting a little concerned. Now his first thought is maybe she stayed at the Wilson's house because sometimes she would do that and then walk to school, but that's, it's a Friday, so there's no school next day. So he kind of dismisses that a bit in his head and then maybe just thinks that she's you know, I think he's just trying to think positive thoughts at this point and think of where she could be and not really what has happened.
Speaker 2:Well, you got to think too. Time frame wise, you just expect your child home by sundown. I guess that's right.
Speaker 1:And he said that she was not the kind of person to just go off and not tell them where she was going, ask for permission. So she was a pretty involved kid and I think they just he starts to think about these things. So she doesn't show up by dinner and he decides that he's going to go look for her. So he goes outside but he can't see a thing. It's very dark. He realizes very quickly that he isn't going to be able to see her or find her if she is out here in the woods and on the path. So he decides to go back inside and wait until morning. So he gets up and he, um, he gets up and he starts walking down this path and he finds her.
Speaker 1:I'm going to say she's probably more laying on her side than face down. She's laying on her side, she is actually where. So, where the path is, there's like a little bit of a hill and on that top of the hill was like where it was cleared, so you didn't see a lot of there was not a lot of woods and not a lot of brush, it was just more of a clear um, and the ground was hard and that's where he found her. So it was. She was kind of coming over Chris. It was exactly halfway from the Wilson house to the Kaufman house, so she had made it a half mile from the Wilson's Um and then something, and then and then this occurred.
Speaker 2:You wonder too, though. I mean, like why not get a lantern or something and go, because I mean there's no flashlights, obviously. But something to that effect to at least go out and try to hunt for her.
Speaker 1:How did I know you were going to ask me that? I'm just wondering.
Speaker 2:I can just say, oh, it's dark, I'll wait till the morning. I mean like so I think he did.
Speaker 1:I think he did, but I think. So what I researched it was a very cloudy, overcast night, yeah, okay, and there was very, very low visibility, probably even with a lantern, and maybe he's just, I don't know. Maybe he doesn't want to find what he thinks he might find. You know, we never know what people are thinking. He just figured this is I better look for her in the morning. He probably felt like he could have a better search and maybe part of him was hoping she would just walk in the door, right, maybe? So so he finds her. She has her bonnet basically over her face, so it looks like someone covered her face with it and she is clearly deceased. He runs to the Wilson house and tells Mr Wilson what he's found and this is 1892. So you have. You have police, sheriff. I'm not sure what they were. Was it sheriffs? They were sheriffs.
Speaker 2:Probably a sheriff.
Speaker 1:Sheriff? Yeah, I would think. So the sheriff comes out, neighbors come out, they are going to where she's found, right the scene. And I also think back in 1892, I don't, I mean, you probably like what do you call it Clearing the crime scene was probably not as easy and efficient as it is today. You probably just tell people to back up. But people were like going out there and looking around and you know, it spread very quickly that this young girl had been found on the path. So they quickly realized people come forward and actually said they heard five gunshots. Okay, the gunshots actually came after she would have left the Wilson home. So, immediately, without really observing the body, they thought and, by the way, these were boys that the Wilsons knew they were actually had just left their house, so and they were hunting or you know, firing gun I mean, it's 1892, right. So they actually thought that she had, that she had probably got hit by a stray bullet and that she died. But then, when they Huh, what are the odds?
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 1:I mean, oh my God, there is a wild case in Texas about the odds of that, but we'll have to cover that one in Texas about the odds of that, but we'll have to cover that one. So they quickly realized, once they remove her bonnet, that she had five gaping head wounds, that I mean. They described it as looking like mush and jelly, her entire. Okay, this girl is 17 years old. Okay, and because, again, this is unsolved, oops, excuse me.
Speaker 1:This is unsolved. So when we have unsolved cases and you have no information from the police because you can't get it, then you kind of have to go under the assumption of what could possibly have happened. So they do an examination on her. They did not find that she had any sort of defensive wounds. They also did not find that she had been assaulted. They said her dress, what she was wearing, did not look like it had been disturbed. It almost looks like she just fell down in this area and died. There's really no scuffle. Uh, there's nothing really.
Speaker 1:They can find nothing to say that there was like kind of an emotive or, or I mean, we know there was an altercation and we'll talk about that, but um, of why, why this happened. There's just really nothing in the area. So once they, um, once they kind of look around the scene, they find things. Okay. So they find the murder weapon.
Speaker 1:The murder weapon is a large stone and they also found where the stone came from. So it came from one direction, because they found the indentions of the dirt with the stone where somebody had picked it up, brought it over there, hit her with it and then actually, when they were finished, they threw it in like brush. So they find it with blood all over it. So they know it's the murder weapon and it clearly matches the wounds. So that's one of the, but really that's it, like there was really nothing else that was there, until they go a little bit further and they find a few interesting things. They realize that a horse has had to have been tied to a tree or tied up for at least an hour to two hours, based on the hoof indentions into the mud and dirt, based on the hair of the horse that was actually found on the fence line, that they were like scratching themselves. So they actually found the horse hair. They find the indentions in the mud and you know what they also find.
Speaker 2:They also find blood in like the little water and stream, as though somebody had washed their hands with blood on them you wonder what the marks too, if they were be able to tell if there were actual horseshoes on those versus not being to you know at that time there still were Native Americans here.
Speaker 2:We're still kind of, you know, causing some troubles, and so to me that would also be kind of telling. To within the foot, within the horse, yeah, hoof steps. I guess you'll say that's interesting. That would also be kind of telling too, within the foot, within the horse? Yeah, hoof steps, I guess you'll say that's interesting.
Speaker 1:I didn't even think about that.
Speaker 2:Now that is typically, I would say, the name obviously probably not gonna have a horseshoes on their horse.
Speaker 1:Yeah versus uh that's true versus pale face, yeah, yeah so by so they find everything she had her books, her shawl, her bonnet, her clothes. There's nothing that has been taken off of her um or that's missing um, so it basically ends there. There's really no leads that come in.
Speaker 2:There's nobody who says they saw anything well, like the, with the horse being tied. That was something like said, lying in wait, or yeah, so let's talk about that.
Speaker 1:So that that's. That is what happened to Adele. Um, she's bludgeoned to death, five head wounds, killed with a stone. She's 17 years old, she's. It's a Friday, she's left school, okay. So let's take, let's talk about theory, because I told you what I think on my on the the way here, and so you go back. It's 1892.
Speaker 1:Women were not treated as fairly as they should have been, right? So you have, and let's talk about statistically, right, statistically, somebody is going to do that to you that knows you rather than not know you. But that person had to know. By the way, this was also not a very visible area. You had to go through the woods, there was forest. So I first thought a passer, a passer through person ties their horse up. Maybe their horse is drinking from the water, maybe they're just stopping to rest. And then they see a pretty 17-year-old walking down a path. And it was a crime of opportunity and they were trying to sexually assault her and it did not go well. And so she doesn't scream or give a name or run to anyone. They kill her, they hit her in the head with a stone.
Speaker 2:Well, you wonder, why use a stone though? Because I would say the typical person that's out on their horse riding around at that time in 1892 probably has a sidearm, perhaps a rifle, even a knife, but why use a stone?
Speaker 1:Because to me they did not have a weapon. Because you use that when you've got nothing else.
Speaker 2:I'm saying most people that would be out riding in that type of terrain. Everybody probably walked around with a sidearm or at least a knife of some sort or even a rifle. I mean, you didn't typically hop on your horse unless you were armed, I would think for the average person and you and forensics and DNA and all of that wasn't even a thing.
Speaker 1:But that kind of leads me back to.
Speaker 2:was it, was it um of who may be responsible? So was it somebody who was out there that um? You know, like I said, wasn't uh person or something like that, the horse tied up and just the weapon of choice that was used, versus somebody that had a knife or something? I mean, the knife would be much more Okay.
Speaker 1:Much quicker way to dispatch of her.
Speaker 2:If there was a midst of a struggle or a fight versus somebody going and grabbing a stone or something, or Is that on your satchel?
Speaker 1:That's on your horse?
Speaker 2:A stone.
Speaker 1:No, your weapon.
Speaker 2:Your knife. Well, I mean, you've seen-.
Speaker 1:Don't you keep it on the side of the horses though? No, In the little satchel thing no.
Speaker 2:You have a sheath and then you know it's 1892, I'm just saying, like, a lot of people carried a sidearm or at least a rifle or something like that. So I just thought that was.
Speaker 1:Right. So they either didn't have anything else with them as a weapon. And here's the thing. Do they even know that this horse had anything to do with it? I don't know. They know that there was blood in the water from what they believe was washing of the hands. They didn't try to clean, they just threw the stone. You know, but to me you're looking for something to use. So I think this person did not have something on them and if they did, they left it by the horse and there wasn't enough time to go run over there. She would have. She would have, you know, run or tried to escape. And also, you're half a mile in between two houses. So she didn't scream, not that anybody heard. And then I thought to myself could you hear me screaming a half a mile away?
Speaker 2:that depend which way the wind was blowing, I guess.
Speaker 1:I thought about that too, like did she actually scream when this was happening to her, or did she not?
Speaker 2:and well, I would say most homes are probably pretty far away from one another. Wasn't a lot of population?
Speaker 1:and you're in the woods, so there's a lot of trees and stuff. We can actually down the sound, right, yeah, yeah, so, um, okay, so I think whether it was okay. So let's talk about the other theory. The other theory is somebody was waiting for her because they knew how she walked home. So we talked about this too. You don't have a car to hurry up and get there before she does, right, so you two are walking or by carriage, and so so then you would, or you didn't, go path and then you attack her.
Speaker 1:But then to me, if you're waiting on her, then you have a weapon. If your intention is to do harm, then you come with the intention to do harm. That's why, to me, the rock is an opportunity. She's walking on a path in the woods, there's a horse that they know was tied up. They see the blood in the water. I mean, I just personally think that this was a crime of opportunity, which is maybe why it was so difficult to solve, and that everyone that lived in the area I'm sure they questioned most people that lived in the area and this happens in such a short amount of time and space, from where she's last seen to where she's going, and so to me everything kind of shows a little bit of unpreparedness that this person ends up needing to kill her when they realize they're not going to be able to take advantage of her.
Speaker 2:Well, and you even mentioned the path that her father cleared. I mean, it's very similar to the previous case that who would, who would know about that path. So it would have to be kind of a total, random, opportunistic act.
Speaker 1:Or you know about the path because you're a friend or you've been to their house before, or you've been to the Wilson's house, because that was a big thing too, the Wilson. They had children and other kids were very familiar with the area, like I said, the boys who had shot the guns in the area. So you know they see each other and they know who each other is. You know they see each other and they know who each other. You know who they are.
Speaker 2:Just seems, though, like I said once again, if somebody was trying to sexually assault her or whatever, that she would want to threaten her with some sort of a weapon like just I mean, you're not going to come out, so maybe just bare hands or try to snatch her and take her. And of course the struggle ensues and um, oh, and that's what I mean. The murder weapon is what's so? Just unusual choice for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is an unusual choice, but again, I think it's just a weapon of opportunity. And then I think she was just possibly a victim of opportunity. But you know she could have taken off running. I mean that's another thing I thought about, because she ended up going over the hill. You know she could have taken off running. I mean that's another thing I thought about, cause she ended up going over the hill, you know, or almost over that hill, to where the flat is, and it was open and exposed. It wasn't covered by trees, it wasn't covered by brush, like the rest of the area was. It was more in an open space. So why would the person choose to do it right there, where somebody could visibly see her, if they were just walking a little bit looking for her or possibly see what's going on?
Speaker 2:but they don't. Or if she saw somebody too walking on the path did that time period was it typical to just carry on say hello as you pass, or did you avoid any sort of people? Sure, you know what I mean. So did somebody spring out and get her, or was it just kind of like, like I said, they pass. Oh hello, good morning or good afternoon for this matter?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then that person chose to take it another direction.
Speaker 1:Well, like you said, this is a, this is 1892. So you're not throwing them in your car right To kidnap them. So at them. So you're, you're attacking her on a path. So you're just either angry and want to murder someone or you have have then come upon a girl, a young girl, that you want to take advantage of and it's not going well and maybe, maybe at this point, maybe she is screaming, maybe the rock was to to keep her quiet, because it was like, okay, now I got to find something, you know, or I mean, who knows, she could have been screaming. I don't know why she wouldn't have, or even tried to, but you know, they basically just said that the way the rock was found, it looked like they did what they needed to do through the rock and the brush and then left.
Speaker 1:So again, this is 1892. It is still unsolved, but very interesting, very interesting case. And gosh, how many cases have we covered when girls are just steps away from their house or just a very short ways away, and something like this happens even today? No doubt. All right, so that is the case of Adele Kaufman, thank you.