In the summer of 1920, newspapers across North America carried a gut wrenching report from Canada: a young farmer named Arnell Love had confessed to murdering his own mother seven years earlier.
The confession alone would have been sensational. What made it extraordinary was that Love’s father had already been convicted and hanged for the crime.
According to the report, the younger Love claimed he had killed his mother in a fit of anger after she reprimanded him for keeping bad company.
Even more troubling, he had reportedly served as one of the key witnesses during the trial that sent his father to the gallows.
The case against the elder Love had relied heavily on circumstantial evidence.
The confession reportedly came after a religious conversion, with the young man saying his conscience could no longer bear the burden of the secret. Yet as investigators began examining his claims, uncertainty remained.
Son Confesses Murder for Which Father Was Hanged
TORONTO, Canada. — Arnell Love, a prosperous farmer 22 years of age, today confessed to having murdered his mother seven years ago.
His father was hanged for the crime.
The confession was made after he had been converted by an evangelist. Love said he clubbed his mother to death because she had reprimanded him for keeping bad company.
In the trial at which his father was found guilty and hanged, Love was one of the principal witnesses against the deceased man.
Most of the evidence at the time was circumstantial.
The police are investigating in an effort to substantiate Love’s confession.
Source: The Alaska Daily Empire. Juneau, Alaska. July 24, 1920.
