Murder Victim
William Clugston
Horse Farmer
Resident of Sandusky County, Ohio
?-1867
Cause of Death: Mutilated
Motive: Robbery
Murder Scene and Date
Washington Prairie
Near Frankville Township
South of Decorah, Iowa
Winneshiek County
January 1867
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By Nancy Bowers
September 2011
Frankville Township is south of
Decorah in Winneshiek County
A newspaper reported about the body:
“It presented a sickening and ghastly sight.”
He was bruised and had numerous cuts from a large, sharp knife.
But, there was something odd and even more disturbing about the body. The man’s hair and whiskers had been cropped off.
Despite attempts to make the body unrecognizable, local residents identified the victim as William Clugston — described as “a young man” from Sandusky, Ohio — who recently sold valuable horses in the area for a substantial amount of money.
No possessions or money were found on Clugston’s body, indicating robbery was the motive.
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Please note: Use of information in this article should credit Nancy Bowers as the author and Iowa Unsolved Murders: Historic Cases as the source.
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References
- ☛ “State News,” Dubuque Daily Herald, January 15, 1867.