Murder circumstances

[suz1154]

How do I go about learning the circumstances of a murder? I had heard my husband's great uncle was murdered. I ordered his death certificate and it indicates he was killed--"Skull crushed by a sharp instrument. 3 bullet holes in right cheek. 1 bullet hole through right leg into left," and "homicidal." There were a couple stories about the circumstances of his death--one said he was killed by the mob, and the other said he was killed by the brothers of his wife. Is there someplace on a death certificate where it tells if there was a court case related to the death? Or how do I go about trying to find out what happened?

[KSRattazzi]

was this in Italy or in the united states. If it happened in the states, checking on the newspapers on ancestry.com has proved to shed some light on a few family stories such as these in my family.

[suz1154]

I'm sorry I forgot to clarify that--it was in the U.S.--in a town called Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. I've tried looking for newspaper articles both at ancestry.com and another newspaper site. I even tried looking to see if I could find a will--he was supposed to have been married--with no luck. From what I'd heard from family, he lived in Joliet Illinois, so I'm not even sure why he was in Pennsylvania. I've tried looking for newspaper article for both Illinois and Pennsylvania with no luck. I don't know if the LDS site would have anything on film that I could order or not. I'm just not sure what to look for.

[120camden]

Just saw your post. I came across a similar story during my family research. I just googled the name and town that I knew they lived And just happened to come across something while browsing the results. ....appears my person might have been mixed up with bootleggers and he ran into trouble. Found shot 6 times in a field in another county and buried. Later identified by his father.
Interesting history! You might try the Public Library of the towns you think might be involved.

[suz1154]

Thanks for the advice! I haven't given the search up yet

[erudita74]

http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancest ... urg_pa.htm

There is a historical society listed for Washington County, Pa where Canonsburg, Pa is located. You might try calling the phone number listed there for this society and maybe someone there can direct you on how to get the information you want. The society may even have the info in its possession.