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‘Dead folks tell no tales’
Miller pleaded guilty and later claimed an accomplice, but prosecutors said he killed Abbie Snell and her 8-year-old son for money.
- On Sept. 5, 1885, Judge William McConnell sentenced George Miller to death by hanging for murdering Abbie Snell and her 8-year-old son Herbie with an ax, making Miller North Dakota territory's first legally hanged criminal.
- Miller, a quiet 23-year-old farmhand from Ohio, was hired by Rev. C.Y. Snell for $30 monthly and quickly earned the family's complete trust through conducting devotions and Bible reading. When Rev. Snell departed Jan. 16 for missionary work, Miller remained alone with Abbie and Herbie.
- With an ax, Miller struck Abbie Snell's chest, then killed her son Herbie as he lay beside his dying mother, before searching the storage chest and finding less than $300. He drove 40 miles through 30-degree-below-zero weather to Grand Forks in a sled pulled by the Snells' stolen horses.
- After fleeing to Brainerd and squandering stolen money on women, Miller was arrested by friend Malcolm McLaren in Anoka, Minnesota, after learning of a $1,000 reward. Miller initially confessed alone but later claimed Henry Rutherford was the actual killer.
- On the gallows, Miller accused Henry Rutherford of planning and executing the murders, causing Rev. Snell to gaze almost fiercely at Rutherford; yet Rutherford was never proven guilty, leaving historical doubt about whether the right man was hanged.
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Duluth News Tribune+17 Reposted by 17 other sources
‘Dead folks tell no tales’
INKSTER, N.D. — The summer wheat of 1884 was harvested. Farmer and minister, C.Y. Snell, and a trusted hired hand, George Miller, reaped a 2,000-bushel harvest during the autumn months, which sold at market for $900, or the equivalent of $31,000 today. The farming tools were safely stored. His plow horses and cattle were corralled, awaiting the bitterness of winter in well-fed comfort. Three of his four children were away, attending public schoo…
·Cherokee County, United States
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Total News Sources18
Leaning Left0Leaning Right11Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution85% Right
Bias Distribution
- 85% of the sources lean Right
85% Right
15%
R 85%
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