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close to the foundation. All of them had had their skulls crushed, most likely by a sharp instrument, and at least two had had their legs broken. Initially, there was a theory that five of the remains belonged to a family consisting of two women, probably housekeepers, and their children. Nobody in the neighborhood, however, recalled a family that had ever gone missing in the county. The possibility of the family's being Butler's relatives was also ruled out, as he must have murdered them immediately upon entering the premises.
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employed as farmhands by Butler, which would explain why nobody had noted their disappearances. It is suspected that Butler had probably murdered the men because he thought they were going to steal money from his house, a lot of which he had lying about. It was also noted that there were no traces of
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was divided between his living relatives with the help of attorney W. E. Houpt. In 1915, two years after Butler's death, workmen were sent to excavate the farm with the purpose of renovating it. One workman, Leo
Verbulehn, was digging a cellar under the house when he discovered human skeletons buried
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During his confinement at the asylum, Butler expressed his fears towards the supposed invisible figures and having his picture taken, believing that the camera would suck out his soul. Despite his condition, he showed no violent or homicidal tendencies. According to Dr. A. W. Guest, Butler was a man
311:, claiming that one of the victims might be his brother, John Urbanski. John, who also went by the name John Miller, disappeared near Niagara in 1902. Before his sudden vanishing, he had written a letter to his brother, stating that he was working for a bachelor in the city. The letter's
239:, claimed that invisible people were chasing him, and around 1906 he began riding on horseback at nighttime, screaming at the top of his lungs and scaring other residents. Due to being considered a public nuisance, Butler was admitted to the
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Police later revealed that the skeletons all belonged to young men, one of them being a boy aged between 15 and 18 and another who had a crooked nose. Authorities could not identify the individuals and suggested that they were
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of small stature, very gallant and fond of attending the hospital dances, even falling desperately in love with one of the nurses. On
October 22, 1913, Butler died while imprisoned in the asylum. His remains were shipped to
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In order to dispose of the bodies, Butler had built a trapdoor, removing three bottom stones from the house foundation. He then had used black dirt and red clay subsoil in order to cover up the burial place of the bodies.
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Sheriff's
Department reached out to the public in an effort to find new leads, as the old case records were either destroyed or lost.
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A possible lead to the identification of at least one of the victims was the inquiry of Leo
Urbanski, a wealthy farmer residing in
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clothes of any kind, suggesting that the bodies had been buried nude and that Butler had burned the clothes.
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396:"Six Skeletons in His Cellar: Man Died in Insane Asylum and Never Mentioned How They Got There"
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470:"Family of Five Killed, With Single Murder At Later Date, Revealed on Eugene Butler Farm"
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To this day, Butler's victims remain unidentified. According to forensic anthropologist
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indicated it had been mailed from
Larimore, the town where Butler conducted business.
219:, avoiding contacts with neighbors and only going out for business purposes in nearby
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Following the discovery, many onlookers visited the farm in order to observe the
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678:"Are you holding key clues to 100-year-old serial murder case?"
659:"Long Prairie Man Fears His Brother Was Killed In North Dakota"
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around 1882, Butler purchased a 480-acre farm in the city of
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Since moving to
Niagara, Butler began showing signs of
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166:who murdered six teenage boys at his residence in
786:Unidentified murder victims in the United States
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247:under the supervision of Dr. W. M. Hotchkiss.
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162:(c. 1849 – October 22, 1913) was an American
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344:List of serial killers in the United States
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520:"Gruesome Find By Workmen In Old Basement"
791:Violence against men in the United States
697:"The Secrets of the Great Plains Butcher"
641:"Think One of Skeletons May Be Brother's"
605:"Visitors Pick Murder Bones As Souvenirs"
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108:Died before his crimes were discovered
499:The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean
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369:"Skeletons Reveal Mysterious Murder"
203:Pearson) Butler. Upon moving to the
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183:Early life and move to North Dakota
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751:American people of English descent
731:1900s murders in the United States
14:
802:
695:Dolly Stolze (10 December 2018).
584:"Believed Butler Murdered Family"
781:Serial killers from North Dakota
414:"Believe Maniac Murderer of Six"
761:Criminals from New York (state)
741:20th-century American criminals
736:19th-century American criminals
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651:
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623:"Skeletons Are Held By Sheriff"
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540:"Butler Career in State Asylum"
771:People from Royalton, New York
746:American murderers of children
561:"Niagara Recluse Murdered Six"
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439:"Six Skeletons Were Unearthed"
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1:
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676:Matt Henson (1 March 2016).
475:The Grand Forks Daily Herald
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565:The Ward County Independent
495:"Six Human Skeletons Found"
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241:North Dakota State Hospital
59:North Dakota State Hospital
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588:The Bismarck Daily Tribune
525:The Bismarck Daily Tribune
263:After Butler's death, his
227:Insanity, asylum and death
187:Eugene Butler was born in
78:"The Great Plains Butcher"
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645:Grand Forks Daily Herald
627:Grand Forks Daily Herald
609:Grand Forks Daily Herald
544:Grand Forks Daily Herald
756:American serial killers
766:Murder in North Dakota
443:Jamestown Weekly Alert
16:American serial killer
292:John Urbanski inquiry
418:Sioux County Pioneer
259:Discovery of murders
253:Middleport, New York
80:"The Midnight Rider"
663:Little Falls Herald
400:The Daily Gale City
325:Phoebe Stubblefield
319:Solving the mystery
235:. He suffered from
127:Span of crimes
682:Grand Forks Herald
332:Grand Forks County
629:. 18 August 1915.
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55:(aged 63–64)
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211:(in present-day
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75:Other names
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51:October 22, 1913
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87:Criminal status
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375:. 1 July 1915.
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309:O. B. Burtness
306:State Attorney
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233:mental illness
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103:Conviction(s)
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23:Eugene Butler
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721:1840s births
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213:North Dakota
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172:North Dakota
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149:North Dakota
67:North Dakota
53:(1913-10-22)
726:1913 deaths
286:crime scene
82:"Eccentric"
715:Categories
350:References
302:Minnesota
245:Jamestown
178:Biography
131:1900–1906
63:Jamestown
338:See also
313:postmark
274:vagrants
221:Larimore
193:New York
189:Royalton
145:State(s)
91:Deceased
40:New York
36:Royalton
217:recluse
209:Niagara
197:Buffalo
195:, near
168:Niagara
136:Country
118:Victims
113:Details
32:c. 1849
265:estate
69:, U.S.
42:, U.S.
48:Died
29:Born
243:in
201:née
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