A mysterious fire atop Rattlesnake Hill

In the middle of the night, on Thursday May 20th, 1936, firefighters and forestry service members fought a still-burning underbrush fire at the pinnacle of Rattlesnake Hill. They were trying to extinguish a mysterious blaze that had arisen the day prior and had burned through several acres of forest. In heavy gear, officials climbed the steep and ill-used 2 mile trail, ascending 1,000FT to the summit, and put it out.

The men worked through the night until about 5AM Thursday morning to stop the flames, and then returned to their homes.

The fire warden sent two local New Hampshire men up the mountain to keep watch, fearing the embers might kindle another blaze, telling them to wait for him until 11AM.

As they waited and searched the peak to find the source of the conflagration, they stumbled upon a horrifying discovery: a woman whose body was burned beyond recognition.

They realized then that these weren’t the ruins of some rogue lightning bolt, but rather the scars from the barbarity of man.

Crime scene discovered, authorities arrive

Under her body, they discovered about a dozen bullets embedded 3-4” in the dirt. Nearby was a .22 caliber revolver, fully loaded with undischarged rounds and blackened from the fire, 9 discharged shell casings scattered on the ground, as well as a partially burned purse containing two compacts that were inscribed with the initials HAH. Police also discovered a 1-gallon empty metal syrup can, and 99 cents in change scattered around.

Doctors later determined that her body had evidence of blunt force trauma to the back of her head. Both of her arms and her legs were broken and her skull was fractured, and it was clear that some kind of gasoline fluid had been used to set her on fire, which left no clues as to her identity. The only clothing that could be identified was a single suede shoe: a size 6 1/2 high-heeled pump with three eyelets.

Forest fire began with her body

Firemen concluded that the fire’s origin was with her body or the mat of leaves upon which she laid. The wind pattern that day was consistent: strong northwest wind which fanned the flames to the south. No traces of fire were found north of her body. She was the northernmost point, and therefore, the start of the fire.

Woman seen alive by nearby residents on Wednesday afternoon

Two young Brattleboro women saw the woman Wednesday afternoon about 1:30PM when they were on the west side of the mountain, partway up the trail, picking flowers, “June Pinks”. A woman they remember as being about 40 years old accosted them and asked if they were schoolgirls. She said she was going to the top of the mountain for its expansive views of the surrounding country. She carried a suitcase, appeared very tired, and spoke with what the young women thought was an Irish accent. She was wearing a blue figured silk print dress and blue straw hat, her bobbed hair tinged with grey.

Staying at local Brattleboro, VT, hotel

The Brattleboro Reformer, the local paper, conducted its own investigation and learned that late Tuesday afternoon, a guest at a local hotel—The Plaza—registered as “Grace Hurley of Boston”, was seen near the base of the mountain when a rainstorm began. She ran to a nearby residence and took shelter on the patio until asked inside. For a short time she played with the baby in the family, and then the couple who lived there brought her to West Brattleboro and left her at a small bridge that spanned a narrow brook. She matched the description of the woman seen on the mountain the next day by the young women.

At The Plaza, the woman talked with the proprietor concerning the mountain, asking if there was a path to the top and what was on the other side. She left The Plaza early Wednesday afternoon, about 1 o’clock, wearing a blue coat, blue hat and figured skirt and carrying an overnight case.

Officials scrambled, trying to piece together this mystery, and they got the break that they needed. They were able to get a serial number off of the gun that was found and contacted the manufacturer in Worcester, Massachusetts. They asked for their help to track the chain of custody to its sale, and they got a hit. A woman had purchased the .22 revolver just two days prior in a town some 65 miles away called White River Junction, and her name was Grace Hurley. The shop keeper remembered Grace and said she paid in cash, peeling off twenties from a roll of bills that looked like it had about $500.

Autopsy, “Grace” was recently pregnant

Dr. Arthur G. Weston, who performed the autopsy, discovered that Grace was recently pregnant, and had had an abortion shortly before her death. Though there were ways in 1936 to get a “back alley” abortion, it was an illegal practice, and because the conditions were often unsafe, many women died at the hands of doctors during the operation. Could Grace have been a victim of a botched abortion that was covered up with an elaborate fire?

Or perhaps a paramour had gotten her pregnant, and wanted to cover up the affair?

Despite thinking initially that Grace was a young woman, the autopsy and eyewitness descriptions revealed that she was actually between 38 and 50 and probably a mother of several children. She was quite short—between 4 foot 11 and 5 foot tall — and between 100 and 115 lbs.

Who is “Grace Hurley”?

The case was about to get even more complicated because authorities believed that Grace Hurley was actually a pseudonym.

Newspapers in the surrounding region had published, at the behest of law enforcement, a photograph of her signature, in the hopes that someone would recognize her name or her handwriting. Robert recognized the handwriting and the name Grace Hurley as belonging to his wife, and, knowing there was a dental plate available, asked Dr. Duprey, her dentist, to travel with him to assist with the identification.

Upon examination, the dental plate was confirmed and the identity of the mystery woman revealed: she was 50-year-old Mrs. Elizabeth Cannon Freel.

Elizabeth and Robert Freel, and their posh life in Clinton, MA

Robert was an executive of Wachusett Electric and Clinton Gas & Light Company in their home of Clinton, Massachusetts, about 70 miles away from the mountain where her body was found. He and Elizabeth had 3 children together: two daughters, Marie and Alice, who were about to graduate as seniors at Clinton high school, and Robert Jr., who was a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania and was studying to be a veterinarian. They lived on 121 Orange Street in Clinton, Massachusetts where she was born and raised.

Elizabeth had a robust social life and was active in the community. She was also part of the wealthier circles and women’s club in town who participated in charitable events.

Elizabeth was eccentric, and according to her husband had been suffering with a nervous disorder for about 15 years. This disorder often gave her wanderlust, and she would periodically leave home for days at a time on impulse and no notice. This time, she’d been gone since May 15th. But she always came back, he said.

He told detectives that their relationship was unusual, and he noticed changes in her behavior after the birth of their last child about 15-18 years ago. Both of the girls were born less than a year apart. It was around this time she began taking off on trips, and Robert said he didn’t stop her from going. He would usually leave around $50 at the house so she wouldn’t be without money. She would just say she felt like taking a little trip or needed to be alone and didn’t want to be inhibited, and would come back when the money ran out, which was usually after a few days.

Robert never asked questions about what she did while she was gone. Elizabeth’s spontaneous wanderlust was a part of their relationship.

“Grace Hurley” was Elizabeth Freel’s favorite persona.

He said his vivacious wife had a love for life, and that despite her nervous disorder and eccentric behavior, she wouldn’t have killed herself. He told the press “I don’t believe my wife died by suicide. I think she was murdered. She probably was attacked by some person wandering through that region, most likely with a motive of robbery.”

Wanderlust! Weeks leading up to her death

Investigators retraced Elizabeth’s trip, and realized she didn’t make one trip to the area, but two, likely returning home briefly between the trips for more money.

She’d first travelled to the area on May 4th, 1936, a few weeks before her later fateful visit, and checked into a well-known hotel near Rutland, Vermont under the name of Grace Hurley. That same day she purchased a revolver from the Windham Lang Hardware store in White River Junction, Vermont, around 8am.

Her next stop was Whitefield, New Hampshire on May 7th where she stayed at the Aldrich Hotel for four days before checking out and briefly heading back home to Clinton, Massachusetts.

The hotel’s owner, Harry Aldrich, recalled her vacant and aloof look and later told police “she seemed to be watching someone or looking for someone as she sat long hours at the front window looking for someone down the street. Sometimes she sat on the second story of the hotel veranda watching and waiting.”

He said she also asked a lot of questions about the nearby trails and would disappear for hours at a time on long walks up the railroad tracks or near the mountains: something that seems totally normal today, but for a ritzy middle-aged woman in 1935 wearing heels, was a bit odd.

She paid for her room in cash, and as she was leaving on May 11th she said, “I would like to stay longer, but I have only one dress with me and it’s dirty.” He said that she carried a small overnight suitcase.

After returning home for a few days, she left again on May 15th, taking the $50 Robert gave her. This was the last time Robert or her daughters saw her alive.

On Monday, May 18th, around 11am, she checked into the Gates River Apartment Hotel in White River Junction, Vermont. That same day she returned to the Windham Lang store with the revolver she’d purchased on May 4th and exchanged it for the .22 caliber revolver that was later found next to her at the crime scene. She claimed the first revolver was malfunctioning, and once again identified herself as Grace Hurley.

She then stopped by the Coolidge Garage to purchase some cleaning fluid but was told she needed a can, so she went to the city market and purchased a one-gallon maple syrup can.

After that she got a haircut at Foster’s Barbershop nearby, and went back to the city market and bought a pound of pressed ham, a box of crackers and a $0.10 can of fruit salad before returning to her room at the Gates River Hotel sometime in the afternoon.

The following morning, May 19th, Elizabeth left her room early, returning to Coolidge Garage to buy the gallon of cleaning fluid in the syrup can, and returned to her room around 10 am. In about 45 minutes, around 10:45, she told housekeeping not to change the bedding, since she’d be returning that evening. But Elizabeth never came back. The attendant said that while she didn’t act particularly nervous, there’s was something suspicious about her. She thought it was strange Elizabeth told her not to clean the room if she knew she wasn’t coming back.

She was next seen at a newsstand asking about bus tickets. When she told there was no bus, she went to the White River Junction train station in Rutland, and bought a ticket for Greenfield, Massachusetts that left at 11:42am. While at the train station there seemed to be a man either travelling with her, or following her. Witnesses later recalled that he maintained a steady distance, but watched her every move. He chatted with her briefly and they boarded at the same time, even sharing the same seat though the train was fairly empty with only about 15 passengers. When questioned, the train conductor said he didn’t pay any particular attention to any of the passengers and that he didn’t notice any strange behavior.

The man was about 6 feet tall with white hair and around 50-years-old, and police put out a call to find him for questioning. They both got off at the Brattleboro stop, and Elizabeth stayed the night at another hotel under her favorite pseudonym.

Police searched for the man without success, thinking he could possibly hold the key to this tangled mystery.

Could it be this man was following her? Her sudden disappearance from the White River Junction Hotel that same morning could be an indicator that she was trying to elude someone. Police also believed the purchase of the pistol strengthened the theory she may have been in danger.

A savvy barber in southern Maine overhears something he shouldn’t have…

The region was buzzing with discussion of this perplexing case. A barber in a small southern coastal town in Maine had a couple of men come in for cuts, and when he overheard some of their private conversation, he was convinced that they were up to no good.

One was apparently telling the other he needed to hit the back roads and get away. They drove away in a dusty coupe with New Hampshire license plates.

Police identified the two men, who were ex-convicts and known to authorities as illegal trappers, and learned that they had been temporarily living in a cabin only about one mile from the crime scene.

According to the barber, one of the men even had a burn on the side of his face. But nothing ever came from their search for the men.

One theory: Suicide

The fact that Elizabeth’s purchase of the gun, syrup can, and cleaning fluid that were all found at the crime scene suggested that she possibly hiked the mountain with suicide in mind. But the medical examiner insisted that her cause of death was from a cranial hemorrhage that resulted in a fracture at the base of her skull; this injury was caused by a person other than Elizabeth herself.

After visiting the potential crime scene, Vermont state detective Almo Franzoni, and police chief Howard LaDuke of Brattleboro stated there was no question in their mind but that Elizabeth had died by suicide.

The hardest piece of evidence to crack was figuring out how the blunt trauma happened to the back of her head. Olson insisted it was done by another person, but Franzoni pointed out that there was a jagged rock protruding from the ground about a foot from the spot where Elizabeth’s head had landed. He suggested that she could have fallen backward while seated and hit her head on the rock.

Franzoni’s theory is that after Elizabeth climbed the mountain with her suitcase and the can of gasoline, that she sat on the ground and set the gun out, emptied the liquid onto herself and threw the can aside 25 feet before setting her clothing on fire with the intention of using the gun immediately. But the flames caused her to fall backward instead, where she then hit her head on the sharp point of the rock that ultimately killed her before the fire did.

But what about the dentures that were found 12 and 15 feet away from her body?

When asked about the flashlight that was purchased that same day by a mystery man and found nearby, Franzoni stated there was no confirmed connection between Elizabeth and the buyer of the flashlight and it could be totally coincidental.

Perhaps most importantly, it was determined that her gun had never been fired. Whose rounds were those in the earth under her body?

Murder, but who?

From day one, the NH State medical examiner Dr Arthur Weston and Arthur Olson disagreed with all theories of suicide.

Both argued that she was probably unconscious or dead when the fire that nearly cremated her started, and pointed out that her suitcase probably was added to the fire to destroy evidence and her dentures may have been lost in a struggle.

He told the press “death was caused by intercranial hemorrhage as a result of the broken blows on the region of the back of the head. There was no bullet wound in any part of the body. Death was caused before the burning as indicated by the blood. The breaks in the arms and legs were traced to the heat, which caused contraction.” This explained her broken arms and legs.

He acknowledged the puzzling aspects of the case that pointed to suicide: the fact that she bought the gas and the gun and wasn’t seen with anyone else walking up the mountain, and her bizarre behavior leading up to her death. He suggested it was possible she had planned a suicide, but the trauma to the skull dispelled the possibility. He told press: “It’s murder and I don’t care what anybody thinks. That blow on the head couldn’t have been self-inflicted.”

A mystery reborn

I hope to one day visit Mount Wantastiquet. It looks beautiful. And I’m comforted to know that it is no longer overrun by hordes of venomous snakes. Hah! I looked it up online and found some photos of the hiking trails that traverse it.

Many young oaks adorn the mountain, no more than 20 years old, and I wonder if another fire, much more recent, didn’t claim the lives of many of the trees, making way for these new saplings.

Hardy conifers, that endure the harsh winters on the exposed rocky outcroppings of the summit, have built centuries of armor, one layer at a time.

Austere winters, with their deep snows and frozen waterfalls, melt into spring with the warmth of the sun—making way for vibrant new growth. Families flock there in the long summer, until finally, the mountain transforms again into a beautiful painting of yellows, oranges, and fiery reds in autumn.

I’ve scoured the digital newspaper archives, and Elizabeth Freel drops off the map in January of 1937, less than a year after her tragic end—just another piece of local history, beginning its long pathway to oblivion.

I imagine the course that it took: front page news fades to last year’s big case melts into that weird case that happened decades ago settles into history and finally, forgotten.

The last mention of this case in the papers comes in 1966 in the Brattleboro Reformer. It was an update that made me feel a little sad for Elizabeth. The clipping talked about how challenging and mysterious the case was, how it defied the efforts of everyone involved. But it was the paper that had the last word on the case:

“after 30 years it doesn’t matter much now; the case must be near the bottom of the dead file.”

But here we are in 2021, 85 winters later, and after laying dormant for 55 years, it is reborn.

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Sources For This Episode

Newspaper articles

Various articles from The Brattleboro Reformer, Bangor Daily News, Bennington Evening Banner, Burlington Daily News, Daily News, Fitchburg Sentinel, Herald and News, Montpelier Evening Argus, Reading Times, Rutland Daily Herald, St. Albans Daily Messenger, Sunday News, The Barre Daily Times, The Bennington Evening Banner, The Boston Globe, The Burlington Free Press, The Caledonian Record, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Landmark, The Newport Daily Express, The North Adams Transcript, and The San Francisco Examiner, here.

Written by various authors including Donald Willard, and George Dixon, as well as wire services Associated Press and Universal Service.

Photos

Photos from various newspaper articles and from AllTrails.

Credits

Created, researched, written, told, and edited by Kristen Seavey

Writing support and photo editing by Byron Willis

This episode was co-produced by AKA Studio Productions