A WALK IN THE WOODS: Accident, Suicide or Murder?
Accident, Suicide or Murder?
Part Three
There were times when Will and Marion had clandestine walks in Helm’s Woods. Helm’s Woods in 1916 was an area on the estate of Edith Rockefeller McCormick, daughter of John D. Rockefeller. Today, the area is the backyards of homes in the Villa Turicum subdivision — http://villaturicum.com/today/index.html. It was believed, albeit wrongly, that Marion surrendered her virtue during one of the walks with Will in Helm’s Woods. The couple had a favorite spot to enjoy each other’s company, often sitting to have long talks.
As time went on, Will found another love interest at the University of Wisconsin. Her name was Celeste Youker and she eventually became his fiancee. Despite his newfound love and engagement, Marion continued to send letters to Will who attempted to end the relationship through letters back to Marion. His attempts were not successful. In one or more letters to Will, Marion implied she was pregnant. Will was certain this could not be the case based on his personal knowledge of their relationship and of biology. He decided only a face-to-face meeting could end the relationship.
In an effort to conceal his travel back to Lake Forest from his parents, Will took steps at school to make it appear he was in Madison. He boarded the train back to Lake Forest and spent the night in an outer building on the McCormick estate. When Will called Marion to arrange a meeting, her good friend, Josephine Davis, was at her home and learned of the planned rendezvous.
The morning of February 9, 1916, Marion and Josephine walked to the Sacred Heart Station as usual for their commute to school. Instead of boarding the train, Marion told Josephine she had to mail a letter and that she would board the next train. (It was reported she wanted to send a letter to her Sunday School teacher.) The last time Josephine saw Marion, she was walking toward the tree line of Helm’s Woods.
As was the routine, Marion’s father, Frank Lambert, waited for her at the station the evening of February 9, 1916. Marion did not exit the train as her father expected. Frank recalled her saying she might attend a party after school so he waited for her to arrive on later trains. She never stepped off any subsequent train. After searching for Marion that evening and her not home by morning, Frank went out looking for her the next morning. There are two versions of who found Marion. One claims her father saw her yellow jacket contrasting against the snow covered ground. Other reports say the police found Marion. Whatever the case, Marion’s body was discovered lying on the ground in Helm’s Woods with one glove removed and a powdery substance in her hand. Leading to the body were the tracks of a woman and a man.
old spirituals 
Another brilliant story from Nicola Di Crescenzo! The image of the girl standing in the rain and smiling with a black-stained mouth is very creepy!
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I am humbled by the compliment and very appreciative.
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Will definitely murdered Marion. If she lied about being pregnant, she was probably desperate to stop his new relationship. Who knows what else she would do? That was probably Will’s thinking anyway. Great story, Nicola!
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Thanks you, Ruby.
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What a sad story! Both Will and Marion seemed to be troubled young people. Possibly faking a pregnancy to win a boyfriend back isn’t the portrayal of a stable person. Will’s changing story of the meeting with Marion is troubling. Whatever happened, both families lives were destroyed. Will also lived a very unstable life after the tragedy. I’m not sure what really took place in those woods that day, but the jury must not have been convinced of murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
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You’re right about Will. He exemplifies the consequences of a bad life decision. He wanted to become a journalist to write stories, instead he became the story for other journalists to write about his entire life.
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Great research on this, Nicola! I’m always interested in what becomes of people after the story.
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That’s a great point. He escaped prison but there was some bit of justice. What a life he could have had!
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It’s a little creepy to think that Marion can still be seen off the side of the road. It’s hard to say what truly happened since we only know Will’s side of the story, although it’s odd his story kept changing and the case changed the trajectory of his entire life. I believe it was an accident whether it was him that gave her too much poison or her that took to much. She wanted love, not death. Will didn’t want her dead, he just wanted someone else. It seems like whatever she had planned to do, she would have told Josephine.
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Those are very good points! There was no malice between them. And Will told many versions of what happened but he certainly never told the truth. Curious what the author will say.
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I believe we have a meeting of the minds.
While researching this story, by pure coincidence, I spent a week in and around the Lake Forest area. I even drove Sheridan Road. I wasn’t aware of Marion’s apparition until later, so I didn’t try to experience it for myself. Suffice it to say, Will was Marion’s first true love which made him irresistible. I believe she would have done anything to continue a relationship with him. However, I do not believe she would have INTENTIONALLY committed suicide.
Conversely, I do not believe Will would have INTENTIONALLY poisoned Marion. Whatever the sequence of events, I believe the consumption of cyanide was intended for a reason other than murder. For me the case is a confluence of actions that resulted in an unintended consequence.
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just seems odd that Marion went into the woods by herself with an angry ex and didn’t ask her best friend to come with. Also seems odd that she actually did have a letter to send and still had it in her hand. It seems odd that Will only remembers walking off and then something happening to Marion after he turned around, it also seems odd that Josephine Davis her best friend didn’t go with her and also changed her story halfway through the trial and devastated the family. Weird
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I think so too! This is a Nicola post, I’m curious what he thinks!
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