While busying himself in the early months of the pandemic by exploring family genealogy\, Stephen Terrell stumbled u pon a murderer in his family tree -- his great uncle&rsquo\;s sensational murder of his son-in-law that made headlines across the nation. What follo wed was nearly four years of research and writing that culminated in a his torical true crime book\, The Madness of John Terrell: Revenge and Insanit y on Trial in the Heartland\, which will be published in October by Kent S tate University Press.
\nIn early 1900s Indiana\, John Terrell was t he wealthiest man in Wells County\, thanks to oil discovered on his farm. But when his youngest daughter\, Lucy\, became pregnant by Melvin Wolfe\, an abusive cad\, the result was a forced marriage that quickly failed amid incest\, abortion demands and attempted suicide. It became too much for J ohn Terrell.
\nOn a summer Sunday afternoon in 1903\, John Terrell a mbushed Wolfe along a roadside\, then followed the wounded man to a doctor \, where he broke into the operating room\, put a shotgun to the injured m an&rsquo\;s head\, and fired. The next day\, the murder made headlines in hundreds of newspapers across the nation\, including on the front page of the New York Times.
\nBut the murder was only the beginning. Terrell &rsquo\;s life and fortune quickly unraveled in a tumultuous spiral of mur der\, a sensational trial and a descent into madness. For more than a deca de\, the controversy divided a community and ensnared five judges\, two In diana governors\, a noted priest and the Indiana Supreme Court.
\nSt ephen Terrell is a retired Indiana attorney with a passion for writing. He has written three novels\, numerous short stories and articles\, and is a columnist for the American Bar Association&rsquo\;s Experience Magazine. His historical true crime book\, The Madness of John Terrell\, Revenge and Insanity on Trial in the Heartland\, will be published in October by Kent State University Press.
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