"The Representative," of Nevada, Iowa, recounts vividly the testimony given at the coroner’s inquest, resulting from the murder of George N. Kirkman at 2:30 am, May 9, 1875. It tells of how he was abruptly taken from his bed and dragged to a tree about 20 feet away, and hung by three unidentified men. There was a grand jury investigation, resulting in the arrest of several people, including several neighbors, his son, a son-in-law, and his wife. In the end, all were released due to a lack of evidence.

The newspaper tells of threats that had been made months earlier against Kirkman. He and his wife had separated for a while. She went to live with a daughter and son-in-law. During the time she was there, the son-in-law’s barn mysteriously burned down. Many thought Kirkman was to blame.

Mrs. Kirkman eventually returned to her husband. After her return, the front door was always kept locked. The night of the hanging, the door was unlocked, and the perpetrators were able to gain entrance to Kirkman’s bedroom undetected. Although Kirkman’s wife, daughter, and son-in-law were all in the house, none went for help until daylight.

After their release by authorities, the family never went back to the house. There had been stories of a large number of people seeing Kirkman "visiting the place of his late residence and the vicinity thereabouts, in a spiritualized form." He was said to be walking back and forth between his home and that of a neighbor, Mr. Woodman, one of the people who had been a suspect.

Kirkman had been one of the first to move to Indian Township, Story County, Iowa, when it was opened for settlement around 1853. Now that property that he had toiled over was deserted and left to "rack and ruin."