Prime Crime: Solved Murders - George Bailey Pt. 1

Episode Date: May 18, 2022

His dismembered body was found in a series of burlap bags at Floating Bridge Pond in Massachusetts. Farm caretaker George Bailey had made quite a few enemies during his lifetime, so it's no surprise that somebody had killed him. The surprise was who did it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of murder, domestic abuse, child abuse, substance abuse, and assault. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. In 1900, Brakehart Hill Farm was a sprawling 18-acre estate in Essex County, Massachusetts. The land featured a quiet lake, a lush forest, and a rolling green lawn. It was the perfect place to fish, hunt, and relax. Visitors instantly fell in love with a picturesque sanctuary.

It provided a tranquil getaway, a place to reconnect with the natural environment. But nature, especially human nature, isn't always kind. And that October, its peaceful veneer cracked. Welcome to Solved Murder's True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host, Carter Roy. And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday, we step into the world of true crimes' most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives close the case.

You can find episodes of Solve Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify. This is our first episode on the murder of George Bailey. This week, we'll cover the shocking discovery of George's body and follow investigators as they sift through his tumultuous past. Next week, we'll examine law enforcement's main suspect, a person who never stopped declaring their innocence. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars.

Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th. The powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 8th. and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamava Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. On the morning of October 17, 1900, two friends named James and Fred collected beach nuts near floating bridge pond. The body of water was situated near the town of Lynn, Massachusetts, about 10 miles northeast of Boston.

When they were ready to head back home, James and Fred had to use a bridge that was almost level with the water. Droplets splashed up onto the wood, dampening the men's boots. As they carefully watched their steps, something in the pond caught their attention. A large burlap sack floated at the edge of the bridge. Curious, Fred leaned over and touched it. It felt like there was something solid inside. Fred guessed the bag contained a dead animal. He took a knife, sliced through the burlap, and peeked inside,

expecting to see a mess of fur and blood. But what Fred discovered was far more disturbing. James, I don't think this is an animal. What is it, then? I can't look. I see clothing. A black and white striped shirt, a suspender, and... skin. James, this is a man's body. Stop touching it. We need to get help. The men ran until they reached the nearest town. They stopped at a barbershop to ask the owner for help, and all three returned

to the bridge. They tried to haul the sack out of the water, but it was too heavy. They went out looking for someone else to assist them, and luckily, they saw police officer patrolling nearby. He followed them back to the pond. The sack is right there, officer. We think there's a body inside. This is a small sack. If you're right, pray it's not a child. They tried to lift the bag up onto the bridge, but it was still too heavy.

Eventually, an ice truck came up the road and they flagged it down. They asked the driver for some tools and extra help. Together, the men pulled the burlap sack onto the bridge. There's blood everywhere. Do you see the flesh, officer? Stand back. I'm going to cut it open. The officer sliced the bag fully open, and the men reeled at what they saw inside.

It was the headless torso of a man. The body had been crudely chopped at the neck and the thighs, exposing jagged flesh and crushed bones. There was also a rock in the bag, presumably to weigh it down. The men stood for a moment, dumbfounded by their discovery. Who do you think it is, officer? I have no idea.

The officer ran to the nearest police callbox and summoned backup. When more police arrived, they loaded the torso onto a wagon and brought it to the medical examiner's office. It would be looked at first by an undertaker and then by a medical examiner. Both exams noted two gunshots on the right side of the victim's chest, and one of these was clearly the victim's cause of death. Based on the jagged cuts on the body, the exams also concluded that the victim had been dismembered post-mortem, most likely with a dull axe.

Finally, the medical examiner believed the body had probably been in the water for eight to ten days. It was a good start, but the police still couldn't identify their victim. They needed some sort of clue to help the investigation along. So the lead police officer ordered his team back to floating bridge pond. Perhaps there were more burlap sacks hidden underwater. Authorities set out on rowboats. They dropped fishing poles into the water, and before long, they found two more bags. One contained the victim's left leg and the other the right leg.

One of the sacks had been weighed down with rocks. Again, this was a solid find, but police were still on the lookout for a more crucial piece of evidence, the victim's head. Seeing the man's face would be the best way to figure out his identity, but even without it, rumors swirled around town. People believed that the body might belong to George Bailey, the Breakart Hill Farm caretaker.

He'd disappeared around the same time the body had been hidden in the water, and he still hadn't returned home. Plus, the shirt on the torso looked like George's workshirt. These connections were enough to rouse suspicion. So the police made the drive to Break Heart Hill Farm, looking for evidence that George had been murdered. When they arrived, they were greeted by a 35-year-old John Best. John was a farmhand who'd been hired by George earlier that year, and he wasn't pleased to see authorities at his door. Police, what's this about?

Hello, Mr. Best. We're looking for George Bailey. Do you know where he is? No, but I'd like to. Can't find him anywhere. When did you last see Mr. Bailey? A little over a week ago. We ate supper together, and then he left to make a milk delivery.

Do you mind if we take a look through the house? Be my guest. John trailed behind the officers. Police rounded the corner into the kitchen where they noticed a rifle propped up next to the kitchen stove. John explained that it was used for hunting and other farm duties.

In Georgia's bedroom, the officer saw a striped shirt that closely resembled the one found on the torso. They also saw a few pairs of size 10 shoes, the same size as the victim's feet. Growing increasingly suspicious, Suspicious, police ventured to John's bedroom. I don't know what you think you're going to find in my room, except a few empty whiskey bottles. What about that stain on the carpet? Looks a lot like blood.

Ah, how was that when I moved in? It's completely soaked through. It's splashed across the walls and on the windowsill. You're telling me this has been here, and you have no idea what caused it. Maybe someone had a nosebleed. How am I supposed to know? A nosebleed wouldn't cause a scene like this. Fine. You're the expert. John's seeming indifference to the bloodstains

made investigators feel like he was hiding something. So, authorities asked John to come down to the medical examiner's office. They told him they had found a body, and they wanted him to confirm whether or not it was George Bailey. John was taken aback but quickly recovered his composure. He agreed to go along, but before they left, he said he needed to get something. He went into the barn and came back with a pint of whiskey. Then, standing in front of the officers, he downed the entire thing.

Officers weren't sure whether John always drank this much, was extremely nervous about going to see the body, or both. Once at the mortuary, the medical examiner pulled back the cloth from the headless torso. All the while, police kept a close eye on John's reaction. He didn't flinch. Instead, he calmly stated that he couldn't say for sure if it was George. He only admitted that the clothing looked like it could be George's. Nevertheless, this was enough to convince the authorities that the torso belonged to George Bailey. In looking at John, they realized they might already have their prime suspect in custody.

custody. Detectives told John they needed to hold him a bit longer while they continued to investigate, and they led him to a holding cell. The farmhand instantly knew the tables had turned. He protested his innocence, but it was no use. He was now the prime suspect in George Bailey's murder. But if officers wanted to keep John behind bars, they needed more evidence, and they still had to find George's missing head. Coming up, the police pick up the missing pieces. What could be more shocking than uncovering the deep, dark secrets behind history's biggest stories?

Realizing that everything you thought was true was a lie. Hi, it's Carter from the podcast series Conspiracy theories. Every Monday and Wednesday, take a closer look at the blurred line between fact and fiction. and discover that there may be more to the so-called truth than you think. From the government's link to Bigfoot and the otherworldly secrets of the Vatican, to the Grateful Dead's role in the spread of LSD, and more. On conspiracy theories, we leave no stone unturned and no skeptic unheard. Some may just be outlandish claims.

Others may make you rethink everything. Follow the Spotify original from Parcast conspiracy theories. Listen free only on Spotify. And now, back to our story. On October 17, 1900, two men found 41-year-old George Bailey's severed torso in floating bridge pond in Massachusetts. Based on some very suspicious behavior, the police took John Best, George's farmhand, into custody. But they needed more than a hunch, to charge him with murder.

Officers also needed to find the last piece of George's body, his head. And this, more than anything else, attracted the public's attention. Over the course of a few days, word of the grizzly crime had spread throughout town. While the police combed floating bridge pond in search of George's severed head, a crowd of rubberneckers formed on the shore. Look, they've got something. I can't look! It's just a bicycle tire.

Another one? So we've seen two bicycle tires, an umbrella, and some milk cans. This pond is just full of trash. Hold on. They've got something else. It's a burlap sack. This could be it. That's it.

Finally, they've got it. The police pulled a swollen, waterlogged head from the pond. Although partially decomposed, it was still evident that there were bruises around both of his eyes. This suggested that the victim might have fallen or had been punched in the face. The police needed John Best to identify the head,

and they made a show of walking their suspect from the jail to the mortuary. Even though John hadn't been officially charged with any crime, he was quickly becoming a local pariah. Disgusted onlookers watched as he marched across town. For John, it was a painful journey,

and things didn't get any better at the morgue. There, the medical examiner placed an icebox on the table in front of John. The coroner opened it, revealing the severed head. John glanced inside and then stepped back. He paced around the room, pale-faced and trembling. Mr. Best, please step back toward the table. Tell us, that is George Bailey's head, is it not? It looks like him, but I wouldn't swear to it.

You lived with him for five months, and you can't say for sure. It's him, but I won't swear to it. It was clear to authorities that John was already preparing for the possibility of a trial. He wasn't willing to swear to anything, just in case police might use his statements against him. And John was also trying to turn suspicion away from himself. Once he was back in his cell, he encouraged officers to look into George's past. He insisted there were plenty of people who had it out for George, plenty of other potential suspects. A separate team of authorities were already looking into George's life, and they knew that John was right.

In his short life, George Bailey had made more than a few enemies. Detectives learned that George grew up as one of nine children in a farming community in Maine. He spent his late teens in early 20s working various jobs. He was hired as a ship captain, an ice delivery man, a mail carrier, and a farmhand, to name a few. Then, in 1882, when George was 23 years old, he fell in love with a girl named Mary McNutt. There was just one problem. Mary was only 14 years old. They courted for about a year, then wanted to get Mary.

However, because she was so young, Mary told the clergyman who performed the ceremony that she was 16. But George didn't seem particularly bothered by the falsehood or by the fact that he was married to a minor. The newlyweds moved to the nearby town of Wisconsin, Maine. Before long, they had two daughters, Una and Alice. Unfortunately, it seemed like marriage and fatherhood brought out the worst in George. George, where have you been? You finished your deliveries hours ago. I had a long day.

I needed a drink. You've been out drinking? I haven't been out drinking. I had one drink. Can a man not stop to relax someplace where his wife and children aren't screaming? The kids are out of control, and I am feeling ill. You're always ill. What's wrong with you?

I don't know. But you need to help me, George. You're my husband. Right. My responsibility is to provide for you, which I am doing. I'm going to bed. We need to bathe the children. Not my job.

When Mary said she felt ill, she didn't simply have a common cold. a childhood battle with rheumatic fever had left her with a damaged heart, and the chronic fatigue made it almost impossible to care for their children alone. By 1887, Mary was fed up with George. He didn't take her health problems seriously, and he used work as an excuse to stay away from home. So, after five years of marriage, Mary packed up and left, taking their daughters with her.

When George returned home one day to find his wife and kids gone, he didn't care. He told people around town that his job was more important to him than his family. He wouldn't chase after them. Only a few months after Mary left, 28-year-old George hired a 23-year-old housekeeper named Abby Hilton. The pair quickly started a relationship, and by early 1888, Abby was pregnant with George's child. News of the coming baby made George wonder what had become of his two daughters. He traveled to Massachusetts in search of Mary and the girls, but discovered that Mary passed away in April due to complications with her heart.

Their daughters had been placed in a shelter for destitute children. George could have left them there, but instead, he drove to get his children and brought them back to Wisconsin with him. Unfortunately, being reunited with their father wasn't a guy. exactly a positive thing. Throughout Wiscasset, George was known as a brutal man. He was tall and strong, with an uncontrollable temper and a penchant for stealing. He was also infamous for his cruelty toward animals. He beat the cattle on his farm and got fired from his job as a mail carrier for being violent with the stagecoach horses. He also had a tumultuous relationship with Abby, even after their

child was born in late 1888, his family life was anything but peaceful. George was angry, unpredictable, and violent. But Abby also had a temper, which she often unleashed on her husband and her stepdaughters. Locals speculated that Una and Alice were being beaten at home, so the town government stepped in. They arranged for Una to be adopted by a local family, while Alice was sent to a state-run boarding school in another city. The intervention happened just in time, as Abby and George's relationship only got worse. Over the course of several years, they were both repeatedly arrested,

George for attempting to cheat on Abby, which was a punishable crime at the time, and Abby for trying to kill him because of it. Their anger must have at times transformed into passion, because they ended up having three more kids, despite their frequent stints in jail. Even though they expanded their family, George kept pursuing other women,

and Abby continued to react angrily, at times plotting to injure him. Things only became more dramatic from there. In 1896, he began seeing Abby's 19-year-old half-sister Susie. The betrayal devastated Abby. and everyone knew she wouldn't take such disrespect lying down. Clearly, George Bailey's domestic life was dangerous, and it gave Massachusetts police a new suspect.

Abby had threatened to kill George before. Perhaps she'd finally made good on her promise. Maybe she, not John, was responsible for George's murder. Coming up, the investigation, takes another unexpected turn. Now back to the story. In autumn of 1900, Massachusetts authorities discovered a new suspect in George Bailey's murder. Four years prior, 37-year-old George had begun an affair with his wife, Abby's 19-year-old half-sister. Abby's sister Susie had known George since she was 11 years old.

And disturbingly, this attention on a very young person wasn't out of character for him. his first wife had been only 14 when they met. It understandably upset Abby, who wasn't one to accept disrespect. Abby had already been arrested for threatening to kill George over his other affairs, but when it came to this particular relationship, Abby wanted to do more than hurt George and his girlfriend. She wanted to humiliate them. One night in 1897, Abby was stuck in their apartment with the kids,

as George and Susie canoodled in the blacksmithing shop downstairs. As the hours passed, Abby grew increasingly angry. Eventually, she stormed into town and asked every man she came across to help her teach her husband a lesson. Abby rounded up about 20 male volunteers and took them to the blacksmithing shop. She probably intended for them to catch George and Susie in various states of undress. But Abby didn't know that George was prepared for this. He'd hitched his horse up to a sleigh, bundled Susie up in a number of robes, and put her inside.

As the crowd of men broke down the door to the shop, George hopped into the makeshift getaway vehicle, and they bolted from the scene. George and Susie didn't come back the next day or the day after that. Abby was positively livid. Abby's anger often led to violence, which is why Massachusetts police thought she was an ideal suspect. Although in Abby's defense, all of this had happened years prior to George's murder. It was possible that Abby had simply waited for the right moment to lash out, but upon further investigation, detectives learned that after George left, Abby became a ward of the state.

Her fury had morphed into misery, and she'd been unable to care for herself or her children. For her safety and theirs, Abby's kids were taken away. Abby eventually recovered, remarried, and moved on with her life. But it seems she never left the state of Maine. And that meant she couldn't have been in Massachusetts when George was murdered. But the story wasn't a dead end. Perhaps a different spurned woman had turned her. rage against George. Police shifted their focus away from Abby and towards her half-sister, Susie.

When George and Susie left Wisconsin in 1897, they traveled about 150 miles south to Lynn, Massachusetts. Thanks to a recommendation from an acquaintance, George was hired as the caretaker for Breckhardt Hill Farm, in the nearby town of Saugas. George and Susie had lived there ever since October 1897. But in the three years they'd been together, George hadn't been very good to Susie. William Whitley, a former farmhand at Breakheart Hill, described the couple's disturbing relationship. They were a nightmare to live with, sir. George was a terror at home.

And his wife? Susie was no picnic either. They fought all the time. I remember one dinner when George said he didn't like something she had served him, and she told him she was going to shoot him. She jumped up, ran to get the rifle from the next room and everything. What happened? George got to her before she got to the gun.

Then he smacked her head against the wall, told her to never threaten him again. If Susie got the gun, would she have known how to use it? Oh yeah. She was a great shot because George taught her, said he wanted her to be protected on the farm whenever he wasn't there. Interesting. Did she ever express a desire to leave? All the time.

But he wouldn't even let her go visit her family. Never gave her money. rarely allowed her to leave the property. This has been very informative, William. Thank you very much. A guy owed me money, you know. I quit because, in addition to being a jerk, the guy was also a thief.

Never paid his workers. Just thought you should know. It seemed like Susie had the motive and the ability to shoot George dead. But there was still a sticking point. Susie was a fairly average-sized woman. Authorities weren't convinced she was. strong enough to have dismembered a grown man's body with an axe, then carried the remains to the pond. So perhaps she had an accomplice. The police decided to look into Susie's personal relationships,

and they quickly found out that she had one very good friend on Breakheart Hill Farm, John Best. George had first hired John as a farmhand in July of 1890. At first, the two men got along, They had similar dispositions, a shared taste for alcohol, and a belief in the importance of hard work. John had initially been hired for only a month, after which he left to pursue other short-term opportunities. But by spring of 1900, George was in need of help again. He wanted to hire John back, and in May, asked to make their arrangement permanent. So John moved into the farmhouse with George and Susie. George was often out making deliveries, which meant that John and Susie were left alone in the house.

They developed a very close friendship. Susie felt comfortable with John and started sharing secrets with him. Secrets George had wanted her to keep. George was supposed to be back yesterday. I'm sure he just got tied up on job. Are you? Because I'm sure he's out drinking somewhere. Oh, Susie.

He's your husband. He loves you. He's not my husband, though. What? We're not married, John. George has a wife and children back in Maine. We ran out on them. Together. It's shameful, I know. He can't abandon his family.

That's illegal, isn't it? It is. I heard a rumor that he's wanted by the Maine authorities for that very reason. It'd serve him right if he got caught. The man never faces any consequences for his actions. Although Susie shared her deepest secrets with John, she could never trust him completely. John drank very heavily,

and he was an angry, unpredictable drunk. Susie was afraid of him when he was intoxicated, so she tried to avoid him if he'd been nursing a bottle of whiskey. Eventually, Susie could no longer tolerate living with two violent drunkards. She decided that if she ever wanted to be truly happy, she needed to leave George for good. So in late September of 1900, Susie told George she wanted to end it.

He drove her and their son to the nearest train station where they got a ride to Maine. This meant that just like Abby, Susie couldn't have murdered George because she was in another state at the time of his death. But again, it wasn't a dead end. After she moved away, Susie kept in touch with one person at Breakheart, John Best. She sent him a letter just a week after the breakup.

The Massachusetts authorities were stunned. Somehow, after a thorough investigation, they'd ended up right back where they started with the same exact suspect. But now they had something that they didn't have before, John's motive. John knew how terrible George was to Susie. He also knew that Susie would be upset if George turned up dead. So it was possible that John waited to kill George until after she left. When the police made their case to keep John in custody under suspicion of murder,

they must have brought this up. They were alarmed by the bloodstain in John's bedroom and thought there was a possibility that George owed John money. The judge was convinced and John remained in jail for a few more days. arresting John Best was one thing, but convicting him was something else entirely. The evidence police had was circumstantial, and John's supposed motives were based on conjecture. The authorities needed more if they wanted to put John away for good. So officers looked into the farm hands past, his relationship with George, and his behavior during the week George was missing.

But while law enforcement investigated John's life, They neglected someone from Georgia's, someone who might have had valuable intel. Susie may not have been in Massachusetts, but she was still alive and able to talk. And, of course, journalists were eager to get her take on the gruesome crime. Susie Young? Yes. Hello there. I'm a correspondent with the Boston Globe. Oh, goodness.

To what do I owe this pleasure, sir? I was wondering if I could speak to you about George Bailey. Do you know where he is? Not at the moment. I sent him a letter recently, but I haven't heard back. Why? Is everything all right? A body was found. Near Breakart Hill Farm.

I was hoping you knew where he was so we could rule him out, but the police think it's George, and it looks like murder. What? I'm so sorry Susie held back tears then excused herself she returned after a few minutes wiping her eyes knew something was wrong

I told my mother that I could feel it in my bones something had happened to George she told me I was being silly but I was right what made you think something was wrong the man with the knife he must have killed George the reporter was

speechless. He expected Susie to provide some background on George for his article. But instead, she pushed him towards something bigger. Another possible suspect. Thanks again for tuning in to solved murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with part two of George Bailey's story. For more information on the murder of George Bailey, amongst the many sources we used, we found Murder at Breakheart Hill farm by Douglas L. Heath and Allison C. Simcox extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. If we live till next time.

Solve Murders True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. Sound designed by Michael Langsner, with production assistants by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly Madden, and Freddie Beckley. This episode of Solved Murders was written by Ellie Reed, with writing assistance by Sarah Batchelor, Karras Allen, and Giles Hofsef. Fact-checking by Claire Cronin and research by Mickey Taylor. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Tiana Camacho, Joe Hernandez,

Kai Jordan, Cameron Nekad, and Nizee Tarsha. Solved Murder stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy.