The Holy Roller Killings (S1.E7‪)‬ Darklands

On the morning of May 7, 1906, Franz Edmund Creffield and his wife Maud were walking down the street near 1st and Cherry in Seattle, Washington when a man stepped behind him, placed a 32 revolver to the back of neck and pulled the trigger. Edmund Creffield, aka Joshua the Second, aka Elijah, died instantly. The murderer, 23-year old George Mitchell, calmly stood next to his victim and lit a cigar while  he waited for the Seattle police to show up. As the wheels of justice turned, George would be hailed a hero by the men in his hometown of Corvallis, Oregon for his crime. His salacious trial would whip up public sympathy leading a not guilty verdict. This is only one part of a completely bonkers historical case that includes murders, plural; women burning their corsets; men tarring and feathering another man; mass committals to insane asylums; suicides by strychnine, plural; and the lure of an enigmatic cult leader that may seem totally wacky, but isn’t all that different than similar cult cases we have seen in the news recently. Buckle up! It’s going to be a wild ride.
Darklands is bi-weekly podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podbean. A starred review would be greatly appreciated.
Comments and episode suggestions: darklandspodcast@gmail.com.
Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur
Episode Music: Xylo-Ziko, “Phase 2” from Minimal, Highway 17, "Cockroach Headed Boy" from It's Sharp
Darklands is a FridaPants production.
Twitter: darklandspod
Episode Sources:
Beck, Katherine. “Seattle Holy Rollers Killings: The Spectacular End to an Oregon Love Cult. History Link. 12.02.2003. https://www.historylink.org/File/4263
Bovsun, Mara. “Franz Edmund Creffield and the Cult of Personality.” New York Daily News. 06.23.2019. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-joshua-second-justice-story-20190623-dn2kgolvvbdszkho6chmakprjq-story.html
Edmund Creffield. Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Creffield
Heaven’s Gate. Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(religious_group)
John, Finn J.D. “’Holy Roller’ Cult Ended with Murder, Suicide, Insanity. Offbeat Oregon History. 06.05.2011. https://offbeatoregon.com/o1106a-bride-of-christ-holy-rollers-in-corvallis-ending.html
The Salvation Army. Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Salvation_Army
Oregon Encyclopedia. “Edmund Creffield and the Brides of Christ Church.” https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/creffield_edmund_and_the_brides_of_christ_church/#.XzmWY-hKhEY