#henry layer

The Wolf family murders.

On April 22, 1920, one of the most horrific mass killings in North Dakota’s history happened in a small town called: Turtle Lake. The murder of the Wolf family.

A neighbor to the family, John Kraft, found it odd that the family’s washings was hanging outside in bad weather. Kraft decided to investigate the Wolf’s family farm. As he looked into a nearby barn, he found the bodies of Jacob Wolf (father, 41 years old), and two of his daughters, Maria Wolf (10 years old) and Edna Wolf (8 years old). They were covered in dirt and hay.

Moments later he found five more bodies in the family’s basement. The five bodies belonged to Beatta Wolf (mother, 35 years old), and three other daughters, Bertha Wolf (13 years old), Lydia Wolf (6 years old) and Martha Wolf (3 years old). The other body belonged to Jacob Hofer (13 years old), a chore boy and son of a other neighbor. The only survivor on the farm was Jacob Wolf’s youngest daughter, Emma Wolf (9 months old). She was found in a small bedroom, weak from the hunger and cold. The only reason she survived is most likely that the killer never found her.

2,500 people showed up for the funeral, where eight coffins were lined up in a row. One man who attended the funeral behaved rather odd. Henry Layer, who lived nearby the Wolf’s family farm. He had opened each casket to have a look at their faces. Layer was also found around the Wolf’s family farm and even tried to help the police. He suggested they have a look in the hay, where they found several shotgun shells.

Layer was arrested, and after a long interrogation, he confessed to the Wolf’s family murder. He explained that the killings happened when Layer had an argument with Jacob Wolf, about his dog biting one of Layer’s cows.  Layer was sentenced to life in prison, where he retracted his confession. He died 5 years after his sentencing. Many years later, people start to question if Layer was the actual killer of the Wolf family, as there is no physical evidence.