Franklin B. Evans

Franklin B. Evans (1807 – February 17, 1874), known as The Northwood Murderer, was a 19th-century American murderer and suspected serial killer. He was convicted for the brutal murder of his niece Georgianna Lovering in Northwood, New Hampshire, in 1872, and later confessed to another similar murder in the town of Derry, committed in 1850. He was suspected in at least three other child murders in Maine and Massachusetts, but denied responsibility for them. He was executed at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in 1874.

Early life Evans was born in 1807 in Strafford, New Hampshire, but since his youth led an itinerant lifestyle and travelled around the state; throughout his adult life, he lived in several New Hampshire towns (including Manchester, Concord, Allenstown, Derry, and Candia). He was married three times and fostered two children. Regarded as a shrewd individual by locals, Evans was known for his eccentric but harmless behavior. He presented himself as a botanist, magician and even a Millerite preacher, travelling extensively around New England and even farther north into Canada. Evans, evidently fooled by the proposal, agreed, unaware that the sheriff later informed his wife to tell some of the nearby neighbors to be on standby to apprehend the killer if he tried to escape. His claims disregarded, Evans was now being investigated for a slew of mutilation-slayings that had occurred over the past two decades. Among the most prominent were the following: October 30, 1850: The abduction, rape, and murder of a 5-year-old girl in Derry, New Hampshire; in that same fall, Evans was living with his second wife in Salem, Massachusetts, when she left him. He claimed to have travelled to Derry and randomly happened upon the house of a Mr. Mills, whose door was ajar. Hearing moaning coming from inside the home, Evans sneaked in and found several children on the floor, surrounding the victim, who appeared sickly. After "examining" her, Evans concluded that she wouldn't live long, and, wishing to dissect a human corpse, he took her out to the nearby woods. He raped and strangled the girl, and then began inspecting the corpse, finding that one of her hips and part of the spine were deformed. However, a feeling of guilt overtook him and he decided against dissecting the corpse. Evans then buried it under a rotten chestnut tree stump. He later claimed to have attempted to find the body the following year, but was unsuccessful in doing so. June 10, 1872: The murder of a woman found dead near the woods in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

He would eventually be put on trial solely for Lovering's murder, which began on February 3, 1873, and was presided over by Justices Doe and Ladd. Two days into the trial, on the day of his sentencing, Evans attempted to hang himself with his own suspenders, but was stopped by the jail guard. He was then shackled and brought back to the courtroom. Despite his counsel's attempts to portray him as insane, it was conclusively proven by the prosecution's examining psychiatrist that Evans was perfectly aware of the circumstances under which he had killed Lovering. After the jury were recalled to make a decision, it took them only half an hour to return a verdict of guilty. The court then immediately sentenced the defendant to be hanged in the state prison. While awaiting execution, Evans was visited by E. F. Pillsbury, an attorney from Maine who had been asked by the governor to interview him about the child murder that had occurred in Strong. Despite Pillsbury's best attempts, Evans continued to deny his guilt in the crime. Two days after the interview, Evans was interviewed again by Sheriff Drew, and this time he implied that he might have been responsible for the Joyce murders but didn't admit it directly.

In the weeks approaching his execution Evans started having vivid dreams and visions, which some papers believed might be related to the murders. While sitting on death row, he appeared to be in relatively high spirits, believing that he would have his sentence commuted or even be pardoned. In a conversation with the sheriff stationed in the prison, he expressed that his only true regret was his ignorance of his "call" to preach the Millerite doctrine and that if he had, he would be an honored member of that society. In addition, he professed his belief that he was one of the chosen few whose sins would be turned into virtues upon death.