In the winter of 1884 Herkimer County was shaken by a horrifying murder that took place on an isolated farm, and the story soon drew national attention. Roxy Druse and her daughter Mary were charged with killing and dismembering her husband. A young journalist, W.H. Tippetts, was among the many who flocked to the county seat for the trial. Tippetts interviewed the accused murderesses and quickly produced a short book about Roxy and other many other homicides in the county’s history. After Roxy’s execution, his book was forgotten, surviving in only a few copies. A hundred and twenty years later, Michael Cooney discovered, or claimed to discover, an unpublished manuscript in which Tippetts reveals the intertwining of his own life with that of the two women. This volume contains both works and reveals the true story of long ago murder.
