Maud Straw
19 YOA
Sheldon, IA
O’Brien County
February 5, 1896
On the bitterly cold day of Saturday, February 8, 1896, a tragic and pathetic scene unfolded for investigators when they arrived at the Sheldon home of Anna and Leonard E. Winters.
The Winters’s tiny house, located just east of the Union Depot and the second dwelling south of the Milwaukee tracks, was only 10-feet tall and 12-feet by 16-feet in dimension. It had three windows and a single door and was the smallest house in Sheldon.
The cramped inside was crowded with items needed for daily life, as well as two small stoves, a table, a cupboard, a bureau, a sewing machine, and several chairs.
There were also two beds, one large and the other a half-bed or couch.
Maud Straw
On the smaller bed lay the body of Maud Straw, the sister and sister-in-law of residents Anna and Leonard Winters.
Maud’s clothes were disarrayed and she had been dead for several days, probably since February 5.
Nearby in a cage was a pet bird, dead from the cold.
A pan with several loaves of bread sat on the table, and a pail of frozen water and two pails partly full of coal stood on the floor.
An inquest determined Maud Straw was raped, as well as poisoned or drugged. The imprecise science of the time could not determine if she was given the lethal substance before or after the “outrage.”
While Anna and Leonard Winters were staying in the country, Anna remained in Sheldon because she did not want to miss high school classes, as she expecting to graduate in the spring.
Neighbors reported that when not in school, Maud stayed inside the small house.
Courtesy photo Mid-Continent Railroad Museum ArchivesMaud last attended classes on Tuesday, February 4 but was seen at and around the house by several people on Wednesday, February 5, the last time about 11:00 a.m.
Two traveling peddlers came through Sheldon around the time of the murder; they were located on the road, brought back to town, questioned, and released.
Then suspicion fell on local men Alan A. Bull and William Morrow, who were taken into custody. They were charged with gaining Maud Straw’s trust and then raping and murdering her.
Bull and Morrow appeared at a preliminary hearing before Justice Conant. The Defense gave no testimony, so Justice Conant bound Bull over to the grand jury; Morrow, however, was released.
At the grand jury proceedings, Morrow testified that Bull told him he was going to the Winters residence to get someone to keep house for him for a few days; and that on Monday, February 3 after school was let out, Bull went there.
Several neighbors saw the 38-year-old Bull at the house that evening.
The grand jury charged Bull with murder and he was taken to the Primghar jail, with bail set at $10,000. The Alton Democrat wrote about Bull:
“He exhibits considerable nervousness and declines to talk, other than to proclaim his innocence whenever the subject is mentioned to him.”
Later, Judge Scott Ladd released Bull on his own bond on a writ of habeas corpus.
Allan A. Bull and John Spangler were later arrested and taken to Sanborn, where they were kept until being sent to Primghar.
The basis for this arrest was new evidence; but when it proved of little value, Bull and Spangler were released.
Allan A. Bull was never tried for the rape and murder of Maud Straw. He died before 1915, leaving behind a wife and son.
Maud Straw’s homicide is still unsolved.
Maud Straw was born in 1876 in Iowa to Anna E. Humphrey Straw and a father whose given name is unknown. She had one sister, Anna, who was born in 1879. The Straw girls were orphaned when very young.
In the 1880 Census, Maud and Anna Straw were living with their maternal grandparents Narsissa and Jonathan Humphrey in Marietta in Marshall County.
By 1896, Anna was married to Leonard E. Winters and was a resident of Sheldon. Maud lived with the Winters while attending school.
At the time of her death, the Alton Democrat wrote:
“Maud Straw was a young schoolgirl of about 19 years and bore an excellent character. She was industrious, neat and modest and was much respected by those who were intimately acquainted with her.”
Questions and comments about the unsolved 1896 murder of Maud Straw should be directed to the Sheldon Police Department at 712-324-2525 or to Iowa Cold Cases through the Contact form.
Copyright 2012 Iowa Cold Cases, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Recent Comments