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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 12 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 7 |
31 stories matching kill
- The Floor Gives Way: Panic and Death at Seattle’s Morris Opera House
A grand opening night turns into a nightmare when the second-story floor of the newly converted theater collapses into the stables below, killing several and injuring dozens in one of the city's earliest major disasters.
- The Bullet That Ended a Bully: A Seattle Man’s Deadly Stand on the Walla Walla
Michael Emerick, a former Seattle job wagon driver, faces murder charges after killing Joe Gordon in self-defense during a long-simmering land dispute.
- Convicted in Five Days: The 1877 Murder Case That Shocked a Seattle Editor
After Solomon Baxter was killed, John Thompson went from arrest to a first-degree murder conviction in less than a week. The local paper called it a 'summary proceeding' with no parallel in American law.
- Thrown Into a Saw at Colman's Mill — and the Law Looked the Other Way
When Peter Feeney attacked a Chinese coworker in a Seattle sawmill, the man's foot was mangled beyond repair. The justice of the peace declined to hold Feeney, the prosecutor dismissed the case, and the town's paper argued the injury was just an accident.
- A Family Tragedy in the Whatcom Courtroom
A mother and her twelve-year-old son were convicted of manslaughter after a deadly land dispute, highlighting the violent risks of territorial-era frontier claims.
- The Day the Smelter Blew: Peter Williams and the Seattle Explosion
A carpenter’s routine repair job ends in tragedy when a blowpipe explodes at Selhy’s Smelting Works, killing him instantly.
- The Dark Mystery of Alfred Hoyle
A body found in Snohomish County sparks a tense inquest revealing labor unrest, anti-Chinese sentiment, and unanswered questions on the Seattle waterfront.
- The Horror on Fifth Street: A Seattle Tragedy in 1877
A prominent local businessman, once a logger and grocer, descended into a violent, drug-fueled psychotic break that devastated his family and left the community reeling.
- The Failed Poison Dinner of Seattle
A meticulously planned attempt at mass murder by a man named Perry Dunfield was thwarted when his intended victims missed their appointment—but the tragedy still unfolded at home.
- A Tragic End in the Seatco Penitentiary
After her young son stood trial for a killing he committed, his mother took her own life in confinement.
- The Judge's Cruel Calculus
A Seattle widow’s quest for justice in court meets a cold, misogynistic dismissal from the bench.
- A Frontier Vendetta Spills onto the Beach
An Indigenous man is shot in a dispute over a death attributed to 'bad Tamanas' or spiritual curses.
- The Penitent Lion-Tamer
A quiet laborer in a traveling Seattle menagerie finds redemption through a final, fatal sacrifice.
- Grand Jury Exposes Seattle Brothels and Liquor Sales to Native Americans
In September 1876, a King County grand jury reported widespread lawlessness in Seattle, including indictments for selling liquor to Native Americans, running gambling houses, and maintaining public nuisances.
- The Dog in the Manger: How Seattle’s Landlords Are Killing Its Future
An editorial in the 1876 Puget Sound Dispatch warns that greedy real estate owners are pricing out workers with usurious rents, comparing their tactics to Shylock and urging them to lower prices before the city stagnates.
- The Troubled Piano Man of Seattle
After shooting himself in a drinking saloon, a local piano player insists on his right to die, highlighting the brutal intersections of addiction, mental health, and the public gaze in 1878 Seattle.
- A Tragic Warning in the Slate Creek Woods
A logger is killed by a falling tree, fulfilling a premonition voiced by his son just moments before.
- The Dog Who Fought the Thief: Seattle’s Mastiff vs. The Ring
A loyal mastiff in Seattle discovered a burglar's bloody trail but refused to name names, leaving locals to wonder if the 'ring' would silence him before fall.
- A Heartrending Tragedy in Hereford Swamp
A father's desperate attempt to rescue his children from a falling tree results in a devastating loss of three lives.
- The Rotten Beef Scandal of 1872
When a local market was accused of selling diseased meat, the ensuing war of words revealed the thin line between journalism and extortion in early Seattle.
- A Perilous Plunge Aboard the City of Panama
An elderly passenger’s fall through an unsecured hatchway exposes the dangerous negligence of a bustling Seattle steamship.
- Showdown at the Seattle Wharf
A hotel runner's refusal to retract words during a wharfside confrontation leads to a dramatic, failed assassination attempt in broad daylight.
- The Territorial Governor’s Malice: A False Rumor of Corruption Exposed
In June 1876, the *Puget Sound Dispatch* launches a fierce defense of Washington Territory Governor William H. Wallace against a malicious slander campaign claiming he was embezzling public funds.
- The Battle for the Territory: Judson vs. Jacobs in the 1876 Election
As the nation grapples with the disputed presidential election of 1876, Washington Territory voters head to the polls to decide their own future, pitting Republican J.P. Judson against Democrat Judge Jacobs in a fierce contest for territorial supremacy.
- A Murder on the Nooksack, and the Question of Who Pays for Justice
After Tawes killed William, the territory and the United States sparred over jurisdiction—exposing the legal limbo of non-treaty Indians in Washington Territory.