Media Connection

In the early 1990s a bizarre, but brilliant television show was released  called Twin Peaks. The “whodunit” show centers on the small town murder of Laura Palmer, and the secrets that surface in the wake of her death. Turns out, the fictional story of Laura Palmer’s murder is based on a real life murder case. One of the shows co-creator Mark Frost was loosely inspired by a story his grandma use to tell him as a child about the murder of Hazel Drew in 1908.

Story

Known locally as the Teal Pond Mystery, Hazel Drew was only 20 years old when her body was found washed ashore with a corset string wrapped tight around her throat. Her death seamed to be caused by blunt force trauma to the back of her skull. Before her death, Hazel was last seen picking raspberries on the side of a local road, this image of innocence was one that was shared by the community. What was later discovered about her personal life came as a shock to the community. She had no known boyfriends, but after her murder the police discovered multiple  correspondence between Hazel and many different men. The only information the authorities had to identify these men she was writing too and meeting were their initials. This evidence showed that Hazel lived a complicated double life and with every lead announced by the police, a new person was added to the tapestry of suspects.

Suspects

One fo the first person suspected was Frank Smith, a farmhand Hazel knew, but he was cleared by his alibi. Next was Hazel’s uncle, William Taylor, who lived a mile away from where her body was found and was there to help pull her corpse out of the water. He was suspected as her murder because he was known as ‘suicidal’ and ‘melancholy’ but he was eventually cleared because there was no actual evidence to link him to the crime. The suspicious characters continued to pile up: a dentist that proposed to Hazel, a train conductor she may have been dating secret, local millionaire Henry Kramroth who was rumored to have a relationship with Hazel. Each of these suspects plus many more were all cleared, leaving the police with no one.

Outcome

Although Hazel’s injuries were consistent with murder, the authorities finalized a different theory, one that was probably made to calm the community. A statement from the police, explained that after careful investigation it seems that a motive for murder is lacking and that Hazel’s death was ruled an accident. This final theory explains why the murderer of Hazel Drew was never found.

Works Cited

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36451324/hazel-irene-drew