Henry Layer

Name

Henry Layer

Background

Henry Layer was born Heinrich C. Layer on November 12, 1884 in Eigenfeld, South Russia. He came to this country in 1886 with his parents who settled near Ashley, N.D., where he lived until 1916. He was 36 years old at the time of the murders.

Layer married Mathilda Miller in 1904. The couple had two children, Elizabeth Katherina and Edward. They divorced in March 1911, and the children remained with their mother.

Layer married Lydia Brokofsky Hinzman in Ashley on January 30, 1912. Layer and Lydia were divorced on December 21, 1922.

Layer had a quarrel over injuries administered to one of his cows by Wolf’s dog.

The offence

On April 22, 1920, killings occurred at the Wolf farm three miles north of Turtle Lake.

John Kraft, a neighbor, found eight bodies two days after the murder when he noticed the family wash hanging on an outside line in soggy weather. When Kraft entered the farmyard, he was attracted by the sound of pigs rooting in a nearby barn.

Kraft discovered the bodies of Jacob Wolf, 41, and two of his daughters, Maria, 10, and Edna, 8, half covered by dirt and hay. Through a trapdoor leading into the basement of the house, Kraft then saw five more bodies.

The bodies included Jacob Wolf’s wife, Beatta, 35, and three other daughters: Bertha, 13; Lydia, 6; and Martha, 3. Another victim across the body of Beatta Wolf and the two girls was Jacob Hofer, 13, a chore boy and the son of a neighbor. The only survivor was the baby girl, Emma, almost 9 months old (described as eight-month old and as passing her first birthday in separate passages).

The killing began after Henry Layer argued with Jacob Wolf about Wolf’s dog biting one of Layer’s cows. The killing involved Wolf’s double-barreled shotgun, a struggle in the entrance to the kitchen, and later pursuit and shooting of fleeing children. Layer then covered bodies with hay and dirt and pushed bodies in the cellar/basement.

Layer acknowledged in a confession that he did not kill the baby Emma because he did not know she was in the bedroom where she was sleeping during the time of the murders.

Investigation

The crime was discovered by friends of the family who went to check on them after Jacob Wolf failed to pick up farm equipment he had intended to borrow. Kraft found the dead family after checking the Wolf farm.

Layer was first suspected when he showed up at the Wolf farm while the sheriff happened to be there investigating. He also made a show of opening the caskets of all eight people and gazing on their faces during the mass funeral attended by 2,500 people.

Arrest

Layer was eventually arrested for the murders May 11 and confessed a day later. Another passage stated he was arrested at his home and that he was arraigned before Judge W. L. Nuessle in District Court and sentenced to life imprisonment in the State penitentiary.

Layer was also described as being arrested Tuesday and, after more than eight hours of continuous examination, being forced to confess.

Trial

Layer confessed to the killing of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Wolf, their five small daughters, and the chore boy, Jake Hofer (Jacob Hofer). He pleaded guilty before Judge W. L. Nuessle in district court.

Layer stoically refused the services of a lawyer and asked that “let it be over with as fast as possible.”

Sentencing

Layer was sentenced to life imprisonment (imprisonment at hard labor for life) on Thursday, May 13, 1920.

Layer started serving his prison term at 4 o’clock that afternoon, less than 48 hours after he was arrested. He was brought from Washburn, where he pleaded guilty before Judge W. L. Nuessle in district court, to Bismarck by automobile and committed to the state penitentiary there.

Appeals

A passage stated that after Layer confessed and pleaded guilty, he later repudiated the confession and said he admitted the murders only after being given the third degree, including claims he had been beaten by officers and forced to stare at pictures of the victims and was told an angry mob was waiting outside the jail to lynch him if he was released; it also stated that Layer spent the rest of his life in prison trying to appeal that confession to the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Outcome

Layer died in the prison hospital on March 21, 1925. The Bismarck Tribune obituary said he was buried “in a local cemetery,” but it was not known where he was buried.

Aftermath

Emma, the only survivor, was raised at first by the Hofer family. She learned at age 6 the Hofers were not her actual parents, but her aunt and uncle. When her uncle died in 1932 and her aunt died in 1933, Emma lived with three of their children for a time before Emil Haas, a Turtle Lake grocer, was appointed as her administrator. Emma lived with the Haas family until age 18 when she graduated high school.

An account described a book titled “The Murdered Family” by Vernon Keel, written as historical fiction about the events, with release closely coinciding with the 90th anniversary of the murders April 22.

Timeline

• November 12, 1884 — Henry Layer was born Heinrich C. Layer in Eigenfeld, South Russia.
• 1886 — Henry Layer came to this country with his parents, who settled near Ashley, N.D.
• 1904 — Henry Layer married Mathilda Miller.
• March 1911 — Henry Layer and Mathilda Miller divorced; the children remained with their mother.
• January 30, 1912 — Henry Layer married Lydia Brokofsky Hinzman in Ashley.
• December 21, 1922 — Henry Layer and Lydia Brokofsky Hinzman divorced.
• April 22, 1920 — The Wolf family murders occurred at the Wolf farm three miles north of Turtle Lake.
• May 11, 1920 — Henry Layer was arrested for the murders.
• May 13, 1920 — Henry Layer was sentenced to life in the state penitentiary.
• March 21, 1925 — Henry Layer died in the prison hospital.

Other details

Layer was described as serving as head man in the laundry and as a model prisoner. Layer was operated on for appendicitis in the St. Alexius hospital about ten days before he died, was taken to the prison hospital Wednesday, and heart trouble developed and a blood clot formed; heart trouble was given as the cause of death.

Chris Martineson, Bismarck chief of police, received credit for solving the crime. Chris Martineson said: “The first lead came from Layer himself.” He also said: “It was at the Wolf farm after the murders. Layer was roasting Wolf, declaring Wolf’s dog killed one of his sheep. His actions were suspicious the morning the bodies were found and at the funeral. We suspected him from the first and he was constantly under surveillance. We placed him under arrest after more than a week of work on the case and after questioning him for a few hours he broke down and confessed the crime.”

Sheriff Ole Stefford of McLean county was described as working with Chris Martineson constantly since the murders were discovered. Another passage stated that state and county officers called in Chris Martineson on the case.

Judge W. L. Nuessle presided in district court when Layer pleaded guilty before being sentenced to life imprisonment.

A passage stated that Layer had lived near Turtle Lake for several years and that he owned a farm one and a half miles from the Wolf place. Another passage described his farm as one half mile from Wolf’s property.

A passage described the killings and concealment in detail, including that Layer:

• entered the Wolf farm about noon, where heated words followed Wolf’s demand that Layer leave,
• attempted to wrestle the double-barreled shotgun from Wolf, during which the gun was discharged twice,
• fired shots at Wolf when Wolf was running toward the barn and again at close range,
• pursued and shot fleeing daughters, and used a hatchet to kill Martha, the youngest,
• covered bodies of the girls with hay, dragged Jacob Wolf’s body into the cowshed and covered it with hay,
• opened the trap door leading into the cellar and dumped five bodies into the basement,
• threw part of the gun and some shells into a slough, washed his hands, and removed traces of blood from his clothing,
• returned home and did not say anything to his wife and five young children.

Additional descriptive details included that the only survivor Emma was found crying and hungry in her crib, and that Emma was living with her aunt (a sister of her mother) near Turtle Lake at one point after the murders.