17 | Alice Matthews: Too Young To Die

Prash's Murder Map: True Crime Podcast

We travel back to Minnesota in 1912 to discover the tragic case of a young woman slain just yards from home: so close to safety, yet so far from salvation. She was popular and hardworking, with a loving, happy family, and no enemies. So how was it possible that a man confessed multiple times to killing 21-year-old Alice Matthews, but nobody was ever taken to trial?
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Credits: Research, writing, narration and audio editing by Prash
Voice acting by Kathy Wheat, Steven and Emi Clark.
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Sources:
Alice E Matthews, Find a Grave.com https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/159907360/alice-e_-matthews
Caledonia Argus, “Horrible Murder”, 29th March 2012, Vol 33. No. 18, https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0031/1I7PLV5B/12032901&page_name=3
Henderson, John, “Demographics of the Titanic Passengers”, 2017, http://www.icyousee.org/titanic.html
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Developments in the Matthews Murder Case”, Tuesday March 26th 1912, Vol XLV, No. 198, https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0005/1DFC5G5B/12032601&page_name=2
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Driskell Arrested, Charged With Alice Matthews Murder”, Friday October 22nd, 1915, Forty-Eighth Year No. 309, https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?collection_filter=All&doc_id=addabf07-f848-43e3-a488-2782562f220d%2Fmnhi0005%2F1DFC5G5B%2F15102201&vwrSrch=matthews&objRsltIdx=-1&fitMode=1&scale=0.34&rotation=0&x=0&y=0&highlightColor=yellow&showThumbs=true
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Driskell Enacts Matthews Crime; main facts tally”, Saturday October 23rd 1915, Forty-Eighth Year No. 310, https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0005/1DFC5G5B/15102301&page_name=1
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Driskell Unbalanced, says Sheriff Langum”, Saturday June 5th 1915, Vol XLVIII, No. 170 https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0005/1DFC5G5B/15060501&page_name=21
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Girl Is Beaten to Death With Stone,” Thursday October 14th 1920, Fifty-Fourth Year No. 143, https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0005/1DFC5G5C/20101401&page_name=1
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Girl Loses Life in Brave Battle to Save Honor”, Monday March 25th 1912, Vol XLV, No. 197, https://www.mnhs.org/newspapers/lccn/sn83016772/1912-03-25/ed-1/seq-1
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Latest Developments,” Thursday March 28th 1912, Vol XLV, No. 200, https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0005/1DFC5G5B/12032801&page_name=1
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Ogre Sought by Detectives as Girl’s Slayer”, Saturday April 6th 1912, https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0005/1DFC5G5B/12040601&page_name=1, Vol XLV, No. 209
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Police do not believe Driskell confession”, Wednesday 15th October 1913, Vol XLVI, No. 300 https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0005/1DFC5G5B/13101501&page_name=10
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Throng of Curiosity Seekers at Scene of Matthews’ homicide; Persons connected with incidents following the tragedy”, Wednesday March 27th 1912, Vol XLV, No. 199, https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0005/1DFC5G5B/12032701&page_name=5
Minneapolis Morning Tribune, “Police Report Flaw in Lindgren’s Alibi for Night of Bowers’ Murder”, Saturday February 11th 1922, Fifty-Fifth Year, No. 263, https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?collection_filter=All&doc_id=addabf07-f848-43e3-a488-2782562f220d%2Fmnhi0005%2F1DFC5G5C%2F22021101&vwrSrch=matthews&objRsltIdx=-1&fitMode=1&scale=0.36&rotation=0&x=0&y=0&highlightColor=yellow&showThumbs=true
PJE Family Research, September 2018, “On This Date in Minnesota History”, https://pjefamilyresearch.blogspot.com/2018_09_09_archive.html
Rivenes, Erik, December 14, 2019, “The 1912 Minneapolis Murder of Alice Matthews,” Minnesota’s Most Notorious: Where Blood Runs Cold podcast, https://podbay.fm/podcast/1434979856/e/1576321272
The Cook County News-Herald, “Driskell Declared Insane”, November 25th 1915, Vol XXIV, https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?collection_filter=All&doc_id=81d335cc-f3f6-48c6-934e-2067e7f912c7%2Fmnhi0031%2F1DFBZ45B%2F15112501&vwrSrch=matthews&objRsltIdx=-1&fitMode=1&scale=0.23&rotation=0&x=0&y=0&highlightColor=yellow&showThumbs=true
The Duluth Herald, “Murdered Girl’s Funeral is Held”, 28th March 1912, Vol XXIX No. 303,
https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?collection_filter=All&doc_id=5f9ef777-8d4b-42cd-af9e-74b8717cd759%2Fmnhi0007%2F1DFBWQ5B%2F12032801&vwrSrch=savage&CurSearchNum=5&objRsltIdx=25&fitMode=0&scale=0.31&rotation=0&x=0&y=0&highlightColor=yellow&showThumbs=true
The Minneapolis Star, “Attacked Near Home, October 3rd 1927, Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16069440/the-minneapolis-star/
The Minneapolis Star, “Oscar Lindgren Appeal Before Parole Board”, September 16 1931, page 22
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16013118/the-minneapolis-star/
Weir, Sue Hunter, “Alice’s murder exploited by vagaries of politicos and publishers”, The Alley Newspaper, http://alleynews.org/2010/06/alice%E2%80%99s-murder-exploited-by-vagaries-of-politicos-and-publishers/