Murder and arson in the small Eastern Washington town of Newman Lake were rare. Neighbors looked out for each other and couldn’t have imagined that a member of their community, a single dad who was caring for two of his six children, would ever do what he was accused of, but how well do we really know our neighbors? What could drive a mild-mannered, middle-aged man to commit such a heinous act? Financial stress can cause people to do unimaginable things.Sources:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hbojAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mtAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3097%2C1925661

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=42NWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HfIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5907%2C8450

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19990601/2963955/arson-slaying-suspect-dies-in-apparent-suicide----spokane-county-man-accused-of-strangling-son

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19990309/2948477/did-boy-pay-deadly-price-for-fathers-debts----money-mattered-most-to-man-accused-of-killing-son-for-insurance-accusers-say

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1999/feb/13/boy-strangled-father-focus-of-probe-robert-wood/

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1999/feb/24/wood-arrested-as-suspect-in-sons-death-prosecutor/

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1999/may/14/accused-killer-charged-with-job-related-thefts/

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1999/feb/27/prosecutors-formally-charge-dad-wood-accused-of/

https://forensictales.com/a-cereal-killer/

Though the 1960s were a time of change that saw women becoming more vocal about their rights and lack thereof, access to reproductive choice was still years away. When Judy Hyams found herself unexpectedly pregnant, she turned to a family friend whom she trusted. After all, he was a doctor. Things became murky after Judy was introduced to someone who promised they could help her. Years later, a true crime show would shed light on the case but provide no new answers.

Sources:

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Judy_Hyams

https://charleyproject.org/case/judith-carole-himes

https://www.facebook.com/PIFortheMissing/posts/on-this-date-judith-carol-hyams-sometimes-spelled-himes-went-missing-on-septembe/386415725381250/

https://websleuths.com/threads/fl-judith-hyams-22-coral-gables-14-sept-1965.61731/page-2

https://mysterydelver.com/judging-judy/

https://reprorights.substack.com/p/before-roe-america-had-abortion-squads

https://bioethicstoday.org/blog/abortion-welcome-to-the-sixties/

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=04f0b513-fc12-45fb-bbeb-86ed47d25dff

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/23/health/abortion-lessons-jane-wellness

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/03/12/the-1960s-a-decade-of-change-for-women
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/powerful-complicated-legacy-betty-friedans-feminine-mystique-180976931/