On the morning of February 1, 1896, a seventeen-year-old farmhand named John Hewling was walking to work on a farm just outside Fort Thomas, Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati. In a corner of the orchard, behind a wall of privet bushes, he saw a woman lying on the bank.
That corner was a known meeting spot for soldiers from the nearby army post, and Hewling was used to chasing drunk women out of it. But this time something was wrong. When the sheriff and a small party of men arrived later that morning, they found blood spattered on the bushes two to three feet off the ground, a single tan glove, and a corset lying a few feet away. When they moved the body down to the road, they saw what Hewling hadn’t: the woman had no head.
She was young and about five months pregnant. The autopsy found cocaine in her stomach, and the doctors concluded she was alive when she was beheaded. A deep cut on the inside of her right hand showed she had fought back.
Nobody knew who she was.
Identified by her shoes
In the days that followed, the theories piled up. Police suspected a jealous husband, then a soldier from the fort. One man even identified the body as his missing wife, until his wife turned up alive the next day.
What finally cracked the case was a pair of tiny cloth-topped boots, size three. A Newport shoe dealer, L. D. Poock, read the number stamped inside them. It led to a factory in Portsmouth, Ohio, and from there to a single store in Greencastle, Indiana. The store’s ledger showed who had bought that pair on November 18, 1895, for $3.50.
Her name was Pearl Bryan. She was 23, the youngest daughter of a prosperous farming family in Putnam County, Indiana. Her family thought she was visiting friends in Indianapolis.
Her family was already afraid. Pearl had taken a hair switch with her to have it repaired, and a few days earlier it had come back in the mail, postmarked not from Indianapolis but from Cincinnati. Her brother wired the friends she was supposed to be visiting and learned she’d never arrived. When the detectives reached the Bryan farm in the middle of the night, Pearl’s mother identified her daughter’s clothes, piece by piece, by the light of a kerosene lamp. The final confirmation was a detail the undertaker had noticed: the second and third toes on each of Pearl’s feet were partly webbed.
Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling
When detectives asked the Bryans who Pearl might know in Cincinnati, they named one young man: Scott Jackson, a dental student from Greencastle. A telegraph operator in town had seen his letters. Jackson had admitted he’d gotten Pearl pregnant and had been sending recipes meant to end the pregnancy.
To Greencastle society, Jackson was a catch: charming, well dressed, the son of a sea captain, with a sister married to a professor at DePauw University. His past told another story. As a young railroad clerk in Jersey City, he’d helped his boss steal tens of thousands of dollars in checks, then testified against him and walked free. In Indianapolis he’d been arrested in a brothel. When police searched his Cincinnati room, they found love letters from several other women.
Jackson was arrested in Cincinnati on February 5, 1896. Within hours his roommate and fellow dental student, Alonzo Walling, was in custody too.
The most damning evidence turned up a day later. A saloonkeeper walked into City Hall with a leather valise Jackson had left with him. The inside was soaked with blood. Witnesses described Jackson carrying that heavy bag between saloons the weekend Pearl died. One bartender joked that it felt like it had a bowling ball inside. Under questioning, Jackson admitted the bag had held Pearl’s head. Then he said Walling carried it.
The valise turned out to be Pearl’s own. It has been displayed at the Campbell County Historical and Genealogical Society in Alexandria, Kentucky.
“Madam, I do not know”
Before Pearl’s body was sent home, police brought both men to stand beside her coffin, in front of her family. Each one said he had “every reason to believe” the other was the killer. Then Pearl’s sister begged Scott Jackson to tell her where her sister’s head was, so they could bury her whole.
He looked at her and said: “Madam, I do not know.”
Pearl’s last four days
Piece by piece, investigators reconstructed what happened after Pearl stepped off the train in Cincinnati on Tuesday, January 28, 1896. She checked into a downtown hotel under her married sister’s name, “Mabel Stanley,” and sent a cab driver to tell Jackson she’d arrived.
On Thursday, workers eating lunch at a downtown music company heard a young woman arguing with two men outside. She told them she was taking the noon train home, and that Scott Jackson would have to answer to her brother Fred.
She never got on that train. On Friday evening, January 31, the three of them were seen in the back room of a saloon on the corner of George and Plum, where a porter watched one of the men slip something into her sarsaparilla. That night, a coachman later testified, two men had him drive them and a barely conscious young woman out toward Fort Thomas. They half-carried her into the dark. He heard a scuffle and “peculiar cries,” and he ran.
The next morning, John Hewling walked into the orchard.
The trial of the century
The case became a national sensation. Ohio and Kentucky fought over who had jurisdiction, and it came down to where Pearl had actually died. People stripped twigs from the murder scene as souvenirs. Roadside stands sold lemonade near the orchard. A Cincinnati shooting gallery offered a five-cent cigar to anyone who could put a bullet in an effigy of Scott Jackson.
Both men were tried in Newport, Kentucky, in the spring of 1896. Jackson claimed epilepsy. Walling claimed Jackson had hypnotized him. A self-styled “government detective” who hung around the defense was caught bribing a witness to tell a made-up story, and he went to prison. Both men were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.
The evidence was remarkable for its time. A chemist matched mud on Jackson’s trousers to soil from the orchard. Hair caught in the blood at the scene matched a lock of Pearl’s hair her mother brought from home. A dressmaker’s dummy wearing Pearl’s bloodstained clothes was briefly brought into the courtroom, and one reporter wrote that a shudder went through the jury.
Jackson’s jury took two hours and eleven minutes, and the courtroom broke into applause. When Walling heard the verdict, he said, “Why, he is guilty, and it’s only right that he should hang.” A few weeks later, Walling’s own jury took less than four hours. Back in the jail, Jackson greeted him: “Well, Lonnie, you got the same dose I did, didn’t you? It begins to look black for both of us.”
The gallows
On the morning of March 20, 1897, Kentucky’s governor made an offer. If Scott Jackson made a full confession, including where Pearl’s head was, he would spare Walling’s life. Jackson declared that Walling was innocent, but he refused to give any details. A judge gave him five minutes alone to decide. He came back and said he could not say Walling was innocent.
For a few hours that morning, it looked like Walling might be saved. Jackson’s declaration stopped the execution, and Walling dropped a note out the jail window to the reporters waiting below: “Jackson has freed me.” But the governor wanted details, not a single sentence. On the scaffold, an eyewitness wrote, Walling turned toward Jackson, “evidently believing Jackson would speak the words that would save his life.” Jackson stayed silent.
Both men were hanged together in Newport shortly after 11:40 a.m. Neither of them ever said where Pearl’s head was.
Even in death, the case stayed strange. Jackson’s body was cremated immediately so souvenir hunters couldn’t dig it up. Walling’s family buried him in Mount Carmel, Indiana, in a riveted steel “burglar-proof” vault weighing more than 300 pounds. And Will Wood, Pearl’s cousin, who had passed Jackson’s letters along to her and testified in exchange for having his charges dropped, had already enlisted in the Navy and shipped out for South America.
Where is Pearl Bryan’s head?
Police drained a reservoir, dragged the Ohio River, searched sewers, dug up a sandbar and drained a canal. Pearl’s head has never been found. Forty years later, Detective Cal Crim, who traced the shoes to Greencastle, said he was still convinced it had been burned in the furnace at the dental college where the two men studied.
Today, the case is often tied to Bobby Mackey’s Music World, a honky-tonk in Wilder, Kentucky, that bills itself as one of the most haunted nightclubs in America. Legend says Pearl’s head was used in a satanic ritual there and dropped down a well, and that her headless ghost still walks the building. There’s no historical evidence for any of it. Her body was found miles away, and none of the 1896 reporting mentions anything of the kind.
Pearl’s story lived on in another way, too. Within a few years of her death, folk singers were performing murder ballads about her. The first recording came in 1926, and versions are still sung today.
Pennies, heads up
Pearl Bryan was buried without her head at Forest Hill Cemetery in Greencastle, Indiana, in late March 1896. Souvenir hunters chipped away her headstone until little was left but the base.
But people still visit. And they leave pennies on her grave, always heads up, so that Pearl Bryan has a head.
Listen to our full coverage of this case in our two part podcast! Start with Part 1 on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast!
If you enjoyed this case, you may find the Greenbriar Ghost fascinating as well. Read more about this haunting case here, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Another case to check out is the Missing Men of Silver Plume. Read more about this mysterious case here, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The haunting of the Stanley Hotel is another spooky one to check out. Read more about this haunted hotel here, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Have thoughts on this story or other cases you’d like to see highlighted? Share them with us in the comments or connect with us on social media. Together, we can ensure that stories like this one are never forgotten.
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Resources:
Books and pamphlets
Stephenson, W. K. (2011, Jan 1). Wicked they walk, The tour guide’s book [Bobby Mackey’s Music World]. Self-published. Amazon Link
The mysterious murder of Pearl Bryan, or: The headless horror. (1896). Barclay & Co. https://exploreuk.uky.edu/catalog/xt7p5h7bsf9t
Polenberg, R. (2015). Hear my sad story: The true tales that inspired “Stagolee,” “John Henry,” and other traditional American folk songs. Cornell University Press. Hear my sad story | Goodreads
Poock, L. D. (1897). Headless, yet identified: A story of the solution of the Pearl Bryan or Fort Thomas mystery, through the shoes.Hann & Adair, printers. Headless, Yet Identified
Stimson, G. (1998, July 1). The Cincinnati crime book. Peasenhall Press. The Cincinnati Crime Book by George Stimson | Goodreads
Taylor, T. (2001). No rest for the wicked: History and hauntings of American crime and disaster. Whitechapel Press. No Rest for the Wicked: History & Hauntings of American Crime & Unsolved Mysteries by Troy Taylor | Goodreads
Young, A. (2016). Unwanted: A murder mystery of the Gilded Age. Westholme Publishing. Unwanted: A Murder Mystery of the Gilded Age | Goodreads
Newspapers, 1896–1897 (contemporary coverage)
Beheaded while alive. (1896, February 13). Portage Daily Register.
The Bryan tragedy: A complete history of the celebrated murder case. (1897, March 20). The Indianapolis News, p. 1.
Decision against Walling affirmed. (1896, December). Ann Arbor Democrat. https://aadl.org/node/432981
Intensely dramatic [Walling trial]. (1896, June 6). Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune.
It was not Pearl’s head. (1896, March 22). The Kansas City Times.
Jackson to hang. (1896, May 21). Maitland Herald.
Mystery still unsolved. (1896, February 10). Omaha Daily Bee, p. 2. https://nebnewspapers.unl.edu/lccn/sn99021999/1896-02-10/ed-1/seq-2/
News on Jackson in connection to Pearl’s murder. (1896, February 15).
Notorious brutes hanged. (1897, March 21). The Commercial Appeal (Memphis).
Pearl Bryan avenged. (1897, March 21). Muscatine News-Tribune.
Pearl Bryan’s fatal visit: The Fort Thomas mystery being cleared up. (1896, February 7). San Antonio Express.
Pearl Bryan’s fate: Missing Greencastle girl supposed to be murdered. (1896, February 6). The Indianapolis Journal, pp. 1–2.
Pearl Bryan’s murder: How her body was identified. (1896, February 7). Harrisburg Star-Independent.
Pearl Bryan’s slayers hang: Jackson and Walling die slowly and in great agony. (1897, March 23). Kansas Semi-Weekly Capital.
Pearl’s death and Jackson’s confession. (1896, February 12). Fort Scott Tribune.
The Pearl Bryan murder. (1896, February 14). East Liverpool Evening Review.
Rush work in Pearl Bryan case. (1896, April 23). North Platte Semi-Weekly Tribune.
Scott Jackson’s trial. (1896, April 22). St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Scott Jackson the murderer: Found guilty of killing Pearl Bryan and sentenced to die. (1896, May 15). The New York Times.
Jackson and Walling die: Execution at Newport, Ky. (1897, March 21). The New York Times. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1897/03/21/117899925.pdf
Fortifying facts. (1896, April 28).
Strong evidence produced against Jackson. (1896, April 30). Arkansas City Republican-Traveler.
The defense in the trial. (1896, April 29). The Courier-Journal (Louisville).
Trying to find Pearl Bryan’s head. (1896, March 1). The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Walling weakens. (1897, March 12). Bucyrus Journal.
Will Wood in the navy: The disgraced young man gone on a long cruise. (1897, March 23). The Indianapolis News, p. 1.
Newspapers, 1900–1961 (later recollections)
A couple eloped: Will Wood, known in the Pearl Bryan murder case, married at Danville, Ill. (1900, July 13).
Doran, J. (1930, May 8). [Pearl Bryan series]. The Cincinnati Post. (As quoted in Slade, 2013.)
Johnson, C. (1961, November 23; November 30; December 7). Little known facts of famous Pearl Bryan murder story [Parts I–III, recollections of Dr. Carothers]. [confirm paper; likely an Owen County, Ky., weekly]
One memory is certain to cling to building. (1929, September 27).
Rolandelli, F., Jr. (1937, March 7). Mystery in Pearl Bryan murder still unsolved. The Indianapolis Sunday Star, p. 4.
Newspapers and magazines, 2009–2022
DeLetter, E. (2022, October 14). We took a haunted tour at Bobby Mackey’s. Here’s what we saw. The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Knight, C. (2016, February 21). A 120-year-old beheading still fascinates. The Cincinnati Enquirer.
May, E. (2012, September 27). A haunting in a honky-tonk / Honky tonk still a hotspot for paranormal activity. Tri-State Media.
Mitchell, D. (2016, March 6). The “crime of the century”: Pennies on gravestone pay tribute to 1890s murder victim. The Indianapolis Star.
Pearl Bryan murder was 113 years ago. (2009). Banner-Graphic (Greencastle, IN). https://bannergraphic.com/story/1498261.html
Larry Tippin to discuss recent Pearl Bryan research at museum. (2017, June 19). Banner-Graphic. Larry Tippin to discuss recent Pearl Bryan research at museum | Archives | suncommercial.com
A twisted tale: A failed abortion, a beheading and pennies left heads up at a grave. (n.d.). The Courier-Journal. A twisted tale: A failed abortion, a beheading and pennies left heads up at a grave
Young, A. (2016, August 28). An infamous murder and the writer who saw beyond that. The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Websites and online articles
Campbell County KYGenWeb. (n.d.). Pearl Bryan: A personal recollection [Albert Vinton Stegman Jr.]. http://www.rootsweb.com/~kycampbe/pearlbryan.htm
Executed Today. (n.d.). Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling. alonzo walling | Executed Today
Find a Grave. (2008). Pearl Bryan (1872–1896). Memorial 30686832. Pearl Bryan (1872-1896) – Find a Grave Memorial
Grunge. (n.d.). The chilling truth of Pearl Bryan’s missing head. The Chilling Truth Of Pearl Bryan’s Missing Head – Grunge
Murder of Pearl Bryan. (2025). In Wikipedia. Murder of Pearl Bryan – Wikipedia
Northern Kentucky Tribune. (2015, October). Working up the nerve for possible encounter of the spectral kind — on ghost tour at Bobby Mackey’s. https://nkytribune.com/?p=33358
Pellicer, M. P. (n.d.). The headless horror: The murder of Pearl Bryan. Eerie News [Substack]. https://marlenepardopellicer.substack.com/p/the-headless-horror-the-murder-of
Putnam County Public Library. (n.d.). Pearl Bryan: A murder story. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20131031053151/http://www.putnam.lib.in.us/lh/stories/pearlbryan.php
Reis, J. (n.d.). Pieces of the past: Pearl Bryan murder. Campbell County KYGenWeb. Pearl Bryan Murder
Slade, P. (2013). Pearl Bryan [Chapters 1–9]. PlanetSlade. Blood On The Leaves | Paul Slade – Journalist
Taylor, T. (n.d.). Legend of the Pearl Bryan murder [Excerpt from No rest for the wicked]. Campbell County KYGenWeb. Legend of the Pearl Bryan Murder
WCPO. (n.d.). Fascination behind 1896 murder still persists, feeding rumors of ghostly presence at Bobby Mackey’s. Is Bobby Mackey’s haunted by a headless ghost?
Images and archival collections
Burt, O. W. (1947). Pearl Bryan’s grave, Forest Hill Cemetery, Greencastle, Indiana [Photograph]. Olive Woolley Burt Photograph Collection (P0244), University of Utah. Pearl Bryan’s Grave, Forest Hill Cemetery, Greencastle, Indiana
Indiana Album. (ca. 1896). Re-enactment of the Pearl Bryan murder, Fort Thomas, Kentucky [Photograph]. Indiana Memory. https://digital.library.in.gov/Record/PPO_IndianaAlbum-3E83EA04-9F7E-4B83-8702-981411111735
Campbell County Historical and Genealogical Society. (n.d.). Pearl Bryan valise [Artifact display]. Alexandria, KY.
Podcasts, television and video
Bagans, Z. (Host). (2008, October 17). Bobby Mackey’s Music World (Season 1, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In Ghost Adventures. Travel Channel.
Music
Dalhart, V. [as Jep Fuller]. (1926). Pearl Bryan [Song recording].
Kincaid, B. (1927). Pearl Bryan [Song recording].
Poole, C., & The North Carolina Ramblers. (1927). Pearl Bryant [Song recording].
The Crooked Jades. (2001). Pearl Bryan [Song]. On Seven sisters: A Kentucky portrait.
