A Neighbor Grew Worried When Iowa Family Didn't Come Out for Morning Chores. They'd Been Murdered with an Axe Overnight

Villisca Ax Murder House in Villisca, Iowa.Photo:Des Moines Register-USA TODAY NETWORK Des Moines Register-USA TODAY NETWORK It’s been more than 112 years since a beloved family of six and a pair of siblings in their care were bludgeoned to death in their Iowa home. To this day, there are no firm answers as to who did it or why. After a century unsolved, the Villisca axe murders have become the stuff of ghost tour fodder — the type of local legend in a small Midwestern community that gives children nightmares and inspires true crime sleuths to try to find the missing pieces of the puzzle.

A New Species of 'Crocodile Newt' Has Been Discovered — Here’s What That Means

Image of the newly-discovered Gaowangjie crocodile newt.Photo:Herpetozoa/X Herpetozoa/X A brand new species has been discovered in China.Researchers initially noticed the creatures while studying amphibians at theGaowangjie National Nature Reservein China’s Hunan province between 2021 and 2023, according to a peer-reviewed studypublished in Herpetosoa, the official journal of the Austrian Herpetological Society. (Heptology is the branch of zoology focused on reptiles and amphibians.)In the journal, theamphibians— which grow up to 5 inches in length — are described as having large eyes, “short and blunt” snouts, narrow heads, and teeth arranged in a “v” shape.

A RealityTVStar ‘Lost His Mind’ and Beat His Friend to Death. What to Know About Ash Armand’s Case — and Where He Is Now Nearly 5 Years Later

Ash Armand attends the Star Magazine’s Scene Stealers Event at Lure on October 9, 2014 in Los Angeles, California ; Ash Armand poses for a mugshot on June 17, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Photo:Valerie Macon/Getty ; Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via Getty Valerie Macon/Getty ; Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via Getty From 2011 to 2016, Showtime’s controversial reality showGigolosportrayed the glamorous, risqué lifestyle of five male escorts in Las Vegas.

A Series of Killings Was Pinned on a Mystery Woman. Then the Case Took a Shocking, 'Phantom' Turn

Theresienwiese Fairground in Heilbronn.Photo:BERND WEISSBROD/DPA/AFP/Getty BERND WEISSBROD/DPA/AFP/Getty How many years does it take to track down a killer who doesn’t really exist? Two years, police in Germany found out in 2009, after it was revealed that one of the country’s most untraceable killers was, in fact, non-existent. The case of the “Phantom of Heilbronn” turned out to be one of history’s most embarrassing. German law enforcement, having spent two years and well over 16,000 overtime hours investigating dozens and dozens of crimes they thought to be connected, found out that the “culprit” they had in mind was a figment of faulty DNA samples.

A Simple Favor 2Director Paul Feig Slams Rumors the Film Was Scrapped amid Blake Lively’s Ongoing Legal Battle: ‘Total BS’

Blake Lively and Paul Feig in 2019.Photo:Gregory Pace/Shutterstock Gregory Pace/Shutterstock Paul Feigis setting the record straight onA Simple Favor 2. The director, 62, addressed rumors circulating online that the film — which starsBlake LivelyandAnna Kendrick— would not be coming out amid the ongoing legal battle between Lively, 37, and herIt Ends with UscostarJustin Baldoni. “The movie is finished and coming out soon,” Feig wrote onX. “Don’t believe anything you read on social media these days.