Murderers had the advantage in the old west. Bodies could be easily hidden, communication was slow, and, often-times, the victim’s family didn’t know they were missing or didn’t care.

In-laws are a mixed bag. We chose who we marry, but we don’t necessarily chose the relatives who come along with the package. Charles Anderson fell in love with Linda, a pretty, smart, and ambitious local girl. Lucky for her that he wasn’t as particular about her relatives.

Trouble began when a rancher, searching for lost cattle, discovered an old hat laying in a gulch. Curious, he investigated further and found a tree cut and left lying in an unusual place. Underneath the tree, in a shallow grave, lay the corpse of a local woodchopper named George. This was the end of August and George hadn’t been seen since the beginning of June that year. He didn’t have family around and, in typical old west fashion, nobodythought to report him missing.

Investigation found a bullet in George’s back. The angle of the wound suggested the shooter, laying in the brush waiting for an opportune moment, shot at an upward angle as George turned away in his work. A lack of evidence caused the investigation to stall until mid-January of the next year when Linda’s brother Edward, drinking heavily in a local bar, began bragging about how he, his brother Robert, and his mother Theresa murdered George. Word travels fast in a small town and soon enough the sheriff arrested the family for murder.
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Although by all accounts, the courts had more than enough evidence to charge and convict the family, charges were dropped and all three were let go. The reason given was that a fair trial couldn’t be had in the county as assembling an unbiased jury would be all but impossible. Moving the trial to another venue would put too great a financial burden on the county.