Murder at Breakheart Hill Farm: The Shocking 1900 Case that Gripped Boston's North Shore

Douglas L. Heath · Alison C. Simcox

Mar 2022 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Tom Beyer

About this audiobook

On a dark, rainy night in October 1900, George E. Bailey, caretaker of Breakheart Hill farm, disappeared. He no longer made his daily milk runs to town or stopped at the tavern for his favorite cherry rum. Some suspected foul play right away, as Bailey's "wife" had recently gone to Maine, leaving Bailey alone with his farmhand, John C. Best, who was known to be a drunk and a potentially violent man. Nine days later, when Bailey's dismembered body was fished out of a local pond, all eyes quickly focused on Best. Crowds descended on the farm, and the sensational murder captured headlines in Boston's newspapers. Using official records and newspaper archives, authors Douglas L. Heath and Alison C. Simcox uncover the facts and bizarre circumstances of this shocking tale.

About the author

Douglas L. Heath worked as a hydrogeologist at the US Geological Survey and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for thirty years. He is also an experienced genealogist, local historian, and photographer in using nineteenth-century glass plate methods.

Alison C. Simcox currently works in EPA's air quality program as a specialist in particle pollution and biomass energy. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer, bicycling, running and ocean kayaking.

Tom Beyer is a character actor who has appeared in over 100 TV shows, films, and commercials; has performed in innumerable plays and musicals; and has narrated many audiobooks. He has won awards for his stage work as both an actor and a director, and has adapted classical literature for the theater.