Forensic Perspectives Regarding Wagner and the Smuttynose Axe Murders
Anethe and Karen Christensen were murdered on Maine’s Smuttynose Island in March, 1873. Louis Wagner was convicted and hung for killing Anethe but popular thought asserts that he also slayed Karen. Maren Hontvet, a relative of both victims, witnessed the attacks and her testimony, coupled with circumstantial evidence, formed the basis of the accusation against…









