Author's note: The Alford Massachusetts Mystery was a series of strange events that happened over the course of many months. The following dates contain information from police reports and from actual witnesses of the events that transpired. All dates occur in order of which they happened. All dates listed are only the dates of major events. Minor occurrences are not listed.
August 12th, 2005
A plumber by the name of Henry Miller was called upon by the Davis residence. The Davis family was complaining of a strange tapping noise coming from the bathroom walls. Mr. Davis suggested it was a plumbing problem. Miller was unable to find the source of the tapping.
August 15th, 2005
Mr. and Mrs. Davis were woken by the screams Jonathan Davis (ten to twelve weeks of age) at approximately 1:00 AM. The couple found the baby with bruises on his back and a small cut on his right cheek. They then called the police, who arrived shortly. The small investigation concluded the crib holding the baby was at fault for the injuries.
August 23rd, 2005
Mr. Davis left on a plane to Carson City, Nevada on a business trip at 7:00 AM. Mrs. Davis and her three children were alone at the residence. At approximately 9:30 PM Charlie Davis (three years of age) complained of a strange sound coming from Jonathan’s room. Mrs. Davis ran to the room only to find that Jonathan was not in the room. The police arrived at 9:47. The only evidence of disturbance was an open window and scratch marks on the crib. The scratch marks appeared to be human but contained no DNA evidence.
August 24th, 2005
Mr. Davis arrived home to his distraught family.
September 3rd, 2005
The police had been receiving multiple reports of a woman screaming and crying at the Davis residence. Police arrived quickly, only to find that nobody was at the house. The Davis family had decided to fly to Sacramento to be with the comfort of Mrs. Davis’s grandmother. The officers on duty at the scene reported that they heard no screaming or crying. However, they did report hearing a soft tapping on the walls.
October 6th, 2005
The Davis family decided they wanted to sell their house. “We decided that the house brought back too many bad memories. After the disappearance of Johnny, we could not even bring ourselves to look at the house,” stated Mr. Davis. Mrs. Davis refused to comment.
March 15th, 2006
The Hansen family moved into the house. They were reported to have heard the same soft tapping that had been plaguing the Davis Family.
March 18th, 2006
Colby Hansen (age seven) woke his parents up at 11:31 PM. He told his parents that he saw a thin man in the hallway. Mr. Hansen went to investigate, but found nothing. Colby slept in his parent’s room for the following week.
April 1st, 2006
Mr. Hansen was home from work early. He was reported to have been waiting for his wife to come home from cosmetic school. About the time his wife should have been home, he heard a voice whisper his name. He turned around only to see a brief glimpse of a white dress heading into the other room. He ran into the room but found nothing. He confided in his wife but she dismissed the story as an April Fools prank.
April 5th, 2006
Mrs. Hansen woke up at around 6:30. She reported that she had heard somebody calling her name. She sat up in time to see a white dress heading into Colby’s room. She ran to his bed in a panic, but nothing was out of the ordinary.
April 6th, 2006
Colby Hansen woke up in the morning very frightened. He told his parents about a frightening dream he had the previous night. He reported that he had seen his mother run into his room with a frantic look on her face. When she reached Colby’s room, she crouched down and made sure that her son was uninjured. Colby said that she seemed relieved, but behind him was a figure without eyes holding a crying baby. Mrs. Hansen did not tell her or anyone what had happened the night before.
April 10th, 2006
Mr. Hansen called the hospital. He told doctors that he thought something was very wrong with his wife. Mr. Hansen brought his wife to the hospital for evaluation.
April 11th, 2006
Mrs. Hansen’s doctor reported that she was undergoing symptoms similar to those of PTSD.
May 22nd, 2006
Mrs. Hansen’s mental state worsened to the point of insanity. Mr. Hansen reported that she was often rambling about “people in the walls” and “the baby doesn’t belong to you.” Mr. Hansen had been planning to take her to a mental institution and finally went through with the plan on this date.
May 31st, 2006
Mrs. Hansen was found dead in the bathroom of her institution. Nurses reported that she had locked herself inside the bathroom and would not come out. Police found that she had bitten through her radial artery. The words “CHECK THE WALLS” were written in her blood on the wall.
June 1st, 2006
Mr. Hansen learned about his wife the following day. He was hesitant to tell his son, because Colby had believed that there was still hope for his mother. Mr. Hansen was surprised to find that his son did not react with any emotion the incident. Colby simply stated, “Mother was right.”
June 5th, 2006
Approximately 4:30 PM
Mr. Hansen returned home from work. He saw his son’s backpack and books, but Colby was nowhere to be seen. Mr. Hansen soon found his soon hanging from a hook in the ceiling. The room was completely bare except for Colby’s bed. The bed was covered in scratches. A few of the scratches were near the bottom of the bed spelled out, “HE DID IT FOR THE BABY.”
June 5th, 2006, 4:37 PM
Mr. Hansen ran outside with his phone and called the police. The police reported that they could hardly hear what he was saying. All they were able to hear from Mr. Hansen was his address. The only other thing they could hear was a woman repeating the phrase, “Check the walls. Check the walls. Check the walls.”
June 5th, 2006, 4:49 PM
The police went into the house to find the body. Mr. Hansen was reported to be outside sobbing.
When police went into the house, it was completely empty. There was no furniture or other belongings in the house. Arrows, later found to be drawn in blood, led them to the room Colby had supposedly hanged himself in. A red “X” was printed on the wall with blood.
June 6th, 2006
The police had come to a decision to break through the wall. They hit the wall with an axe and immediately formed a dark hole in the wall. The room was reported to have a very strong odor as soon as the axe broke through the wall. The police found fourteen bodies hidden in the walls.
Aftermath
The Bodies:
The police found fifteen bodies in total. Eleven of them were related to a woman named Elizabeth Natalie Brooks. The walls contained her husband, both of her parents, her five children, her brother, and her two sisters. The twelfth body could not be identified. The thirteenth body was that of Colby Hansen, and the fourteenth was Jonathan Davis.
The Davis Family:
The family died in a plane crash on June 5th. The Davis family suffered the only casualties on the plane. Charlie Davis was found to have a journal on his person. He had written a short story about “The Woman in the Walls.”
Mr. Hansen:
Carl Hansen was sent in to a coma on March 15, 2007. He died on June 6th. Nurses reported hearing a soft tapping on the walls before he died.
Elizabeth Brooks:
Elizabeth brooks was born on June 6th, 1938. She married Edward Brooks in 1964. It was a fantastic relationship. Everything changed after their fifth child turned seven. Elizabeth wanted another child, but Edward refused. Elizabeth kept pestering him until he, like Elizabeth’s family, decided to beat her. She remained quiet for many years, until she decided to call for help in 1987. Edward caught her with the phone, so he grabbed Elizabeth and beat her to death. He hid her in the crawlspace between the walls. He also killed all of Elizabeth’s family, including his own children, just in case they started to become suspicious.
Edward later confessed the entire crime to the police, except for where he hid the bodies. He sent a letter directly to the police, and then shot himself.
Elizabeth’s body was not found until June 6th, 2006. Police found her in the crawlspace clutching the sixth child she so badly desired.
Written by Sundaydrinker
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