In the autumn of 1913, a grim discovery in an Indiana cornfield led authorities to a husband who had suddenly vanished with his two young sons.
Buried beneath the soil was the body of his wife, a finding that shocked the rural community and launched a search across the state.
The man at the center of the case was 34-year-old Clyde Wilkinson.
When police finally located him in Logansport, they claimed he confessed to killing his wife during a domestic quarrel. Even more disturbing were reports that the couple’s two children had witnessed the violent confrontation that preceded her disappearance.
As investigators worked to piece together what had happened on the farm near Peru, Indiana, questions lingered about the final moments of Mrs. Wilkinson’s life.
Buried His Wife in a Cornfield
LOGANSPORT, Indiana. — Clyde Wilkinson, 34, who was sought by the police when the mutilated body of his wife was found buried in a corn field on a farm where he had lived near Peru, Indiana, was arrested here today.
According to the police, he confessed that he had killed his wife in the presence of their two sons.
Wilkinson seemed dazed when arrested.
He said he struck his wife with a hammer during a quarrel. He did not know whether she was dead or alive when he buried her, he said.
Wilkinson was traced here through a letter written by his father. He had his two sones, aged three and ten, with him. He was taken to Kokomo, Indiana.
Source: The Ogden Standard. Ogden City, Utah. September 27, 1913.
