The Hand on the Wall(84)
After a series of tragic events, Ellingham Academy, one of the country’s most unusual and prestigious high schools, has opened again for classes. Once famous for the 1936 Truly Devious kidnappings and murders, the academy was again in the headlines for similar reasons this past fall.
“It’s been an extraordinarily tough year,” said new head of school, Dr. Jennifer Quinn. “But our students have come together. They have supported each other. I couldn’t be prouder of them. They represent the true Ellingham spirit of community. We are thrilled to have the doors open again.”
Police have completed their investigation into the former head of school, Dr. Charles Scott, who was accused of causing the deaths of Hayes Major, Element Walker, and Dr. Irene Fenton. Police now have substantial evidence linking Dr. Scott to the crimes, including records of phone calls between Dr. Fenton and Dr. Scott, security footage from traffic and local cameras in Burlington on the night of Dr. Fenton’s house fire, and communications with banks in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands, inquiring how to open private and offshore accounts.
“We feel confident that we have identified the culprit in this case, and that this person is deceased,” said Detective Fatima Agiter of the Vermont State Police. “The matter is considered closed.”
For her help in the matter, Stephanie Bell was recognized in the Vermont State Assembly and was invited to visit with the governor. The Batt Report will have interviews with Stephanie Bell about her investigations, and exclusive coverage of her findings in the Ellingham kidnapping and murder case of 1936. Stay tuned.
BILLBOARD EXPLODES
Pittsburgh Press Online
February 16
An anti-immigration billboard outside of Monroeville, Pennsylvania, exploded last night in what police are calling an act of vandalism. While the billboard was completely destroyed, there were no injuries and no damage to any other property. No cars were in the area when the explosion occurred around 4 a.m.
The billboard, which was sponsored by a group associated with the now-defunct campaign of Senator Edward King, had been unpopular with many members of the community. Its unusual destruction brought about a cheer in many areas of town.
“I have no idea who did it,” said local resident Sean Gibson. “But I’d like to buy them a milk shake.”
DNA TEST ON REMAINS NOT A MATCH FOR ALICE ELLINGHAM
True Crime Digest April 7
DNA testing done on the remains of a child found at the Ellingham Academy outside of Burlington, Vermont, revealed that the child was not related to either Albert Ellingham or his wife Iris, eliminating her from consideration as the long-missing Alice Ellingham. Alice disappeared in 1936, aged three, when she and her mother were kidnapped in a roadside attack. While Iris’s body turned up in Lake Champlain some weeks later, Alice was never found. Her whereabouts have been the subject of intense interest since that time, many dubbing her disappearance “the case of the century.”
According to forensic experts, the body found meets the description of Alice Ellingham in all other ways. “In many ways, this body comports with Alice Ellingham,” said Dr. Felicia Murry of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where the body was sent to be examined alongside forensic experts from the FBI and a team from the Vermont Forensic Laboratory. “This is a child approximately three years of age, who was born and died in the period between 1928 and 1940. The clothing on the body had no labels or markings that could establish an identity or be traced, but we could date the manufacture from the materials used to between 1930 and 1940. We could not establish cause of death. We were able to collect usable DNA samples from Albert and Iris Ellinghams’ personal possessions. The DNA tests performed on the remains did not prove to be a match for either parent.”
If the girl in the wall is not Alice, then who is she?
28
WHEN SPRING CAME TO THE ELLINGHAM MOUNTAIN, SHE CAME IN glory, whipping her robes of fresh air and spreading fecund greenery over the mountain like a goddess on a fecund greenery-spreading binge. Life reappeared in the form of birds and buds. The cold was not fully banished, but it had a softer edge. Stevie sat in the cupola wearing her red vinyl coat. She shivered a bit underneath, but the air felt good. It kept her bright and alert—that, and the mug of coffee she had slipped out of the dining hall a few minutes before. On her lap was her new tablet, open to the article on the results of the DNA testing of the body in the wall. This, Stevie was resolutely ignoring in favor of the view.
So much had happened in the last five months. In the beginning there had been a flurry of news, stories about the case and sometimes her. She became the teen detective, the Ellingham Sherlock. There were interviews, articles—Netflix even showed interest in making a movie. It took several weeks for Ellingham to open their doors again, and when it did, not everyone came back. Before, Stevie would never have been able to return. But things were different now between her and her parents. There were no more jokes or dismissive remarks about her interest in crime. She had solved the case, and she had even made enough money from the publicity to pay for her first year of college. And now that the culprit was gone, there was the feeling—the hope—that nothing more was going to happen at Ellingham Academy for a very long time.
It had all worked out, and now Stevie was left with the beautiful view.