In May of 1885, Eliza Shelby went to bed with her three sons. The following morning, the family she worked for heard screams coming from the small servant’s house Shelby lived in. When the master of the house went to investigate, he found Eliza on the ground with her brain oozing out of her skull. When examined further by the police, they found a hole in her head and multiple stab wounds all across her body. This time there were footprints and one of the boys saw the attacker. He said he was not sure, but he thought that the murderer was white, and that he told him he planned on going to St. Lewis the following morning. Unaware of what he had done to his mother, the boy went back to sleep as instructed by the man. They ignored the boys comment
