In a grave in a Lawrence cemetery lies what some hope is the answer to a mystery that dates to the days of the Wild West.
The grave is in Oak Hill cemetery, lot 555. The man inside the wooden coffin was buried in 1879.
His death and the circumstances surrounding it prompted six trials and two U.S. Supreme Court decisions, one that created a legal ruling still used in courtrooms throughout the nation. Attorneys know it as Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Hillmon of 1892.
The mystery?
Was John Hillmon, 31, accidentally shot and killed, or did he and some buddies fake his death to pull off a scam so his "widow" would pocket $25,000 in insurance money? When the insurance companies became suspicious and would not pay up, Hillmon's widow sued.
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