Murder at Breakheart Hill Farm: The Shocking 1900 Case That Gripped Boston's North Shore - Paperback

by Douglas L. Heath (Author)

On a dark, rainy night in October 1900, George E. Bailey, caretaker of Breakheart Hill farm, disappeared. He no longer made his daily milk runs to town or stopped at the tavern for his favorite cherry rum. Some suspected foul play right away, as Bailey's "wife" had recently gone to Maine, leaving Bailey alone with his farmhand, John C. Best, who was known to be a drunk and a potentially violent man. Nine days later, when Bailey's dismembered body was fished out of a local pond, all eyes quickly focused on Best. Crowds descended on the farm, and the sensational murder captured headlines in Boston's newspapers. Using official records and newspaper archives, authors Douglas L. Heath and Alison C. Simcox uncover the facts and bizarre circumstances of this shocking tale.

Author Biography

Douglas Heath was born in New Jersey and grew up in Taos, New Mexico, and New York City. He worked as a hydrogeologist at the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for thirty years, where he specialized in protecting drinking water supplies in New England. As well as his work as a scientist, he is an experienced genealogist, local historian and photographer in using nineteenth-century glass plate methods. Alison Simcox was born in London, England, and grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts. In 1998, she was the second woman to earn a doctorate in engineering from Tufts University. She currently works in EPA's air quality program as a specialist in particle pollution and biomass energy. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer, bicycling, running and ocean kayaking.