Pod Insights Serial Killers & Murderous Minds The Killing Curse: Hex Hollow Pt. 2 About this episode John Blymire set out to break a curse... but what happened inside Nelson Rehmeyer's farmhouse went far beyond anything he or his young accomplices had planned. In this episode, Vanessa and Dr. Engels unpack how a mission to steal a lock of hair spiraled into a brutal murder that shocked 1920s Pennsylvania and made international headlines. As guilt consumed the killers and a trial put folk magic itself in the spotlight, the Hex Hollow case forced a community to confront the deadly consequences of belief taken to its extreme.
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Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:01 Vanessa Richardson? Hi, everyone. Before today's episode, there's another show I want to tell you about. It's called What the Fact with Connor Tomlinson from Netflix's Love on the Spectrum and Carter Roy. Every week, they take three unbelievable true facts from history and tell you the full story behind them. Plus, Connor's infectious energy that'll make you realize history is the most fascinating thing on earth. Follow What the Fact wherever you listen, or subscribe on YouTube at What the Fact Pod.
0:36 Speaker 01 This is Crime House.
0:41 Vanessa Richardson? Guilt plays a role in all our lives. Whether we've broken a promise to a friend or said something we regret, those guilty feelings help us make sure we don't make the same mistakes in the future. But for some, guilt can become all-consuming, especially after they've done something unthinkable. In 1920s Pennsylvania, a group of locals set out to face the dark, otherworldly forces they believed were plaguing their lives. But when the situation spiraled out of control and someone wound up dead, they realized there was no escaping the evil around them. And even after they'd paid the price, they'd remain haunted for the rest of their lives.
1:38 Vanessa Richardson? The human mind is powerful. It shapes how we think, feel, love, and hate. But sometimes, it drives people to commit the unthinkable. This is Serial Killers and Murderous Minds, a Crime House original. I'm Vanessa Richardson.
1:54 Tristin Engels? And I'm forensic psychologist Dr. Tristin Engels. Every Monday and Thursday, we uncover the darkest minds in history, analyzing what makes a killer.
2:04 Vanessa Richardson? Crime House is made possible by you. Follow Serial Killers and Murderous Minds and subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts for ad-free early access to each two-part series. Before we get started, be advised, this episode contains descriptions of violence and murder, so please listen with care.
2:24 Vanessa Richardson? Today, we conclude our deep dive into what's known as the Hex Hollow Murder. In the 1920s, in York County, Pennsylvania, witchcraft played a very real role in many people's lives. When a man named John Blymeier became convinced that he'd been cursed, he was desperate to find a way to end it. But this wasn't going to be an easy task, and John went to deadly extremes to make it happen.
2:48 Tristin Engels? As Vanessa goes through the story, I'll be talking about things like the line between planned and improvised murders, how some offenders justify their actions by claiming they were looking out for the greater good, and how mysterious aspects of a case like the supernatural can shape mindsets ahead of a trial.
3:07 Vanessa Richardson? And as always, we'll be asking the question, what makes a killer?
3:16 Vanessa Richardson? By the fall of 1928, 34-year-old John Blymeier believed that his lifelong suffering and illness was the result of a curse, which had been placed on him by 60-year-old Nelson Raymeier. Nelson was a well-respected hexenmeister, or witch doctor, in their hometown of York County, Pennsylvania. John had known Nelson his entire life. He couldn't understand why Nelson would want to harm him, but he was desperate to break the curse, and he'd finally learned how to break it, once and for all. Another local healer, Emma Knoll, had told John he either needed to bury a lock of Nelson's hair or burn one of his spiritual texts called "Long-Lost Friend." John knew that would be hard to do undetected. To do either of those,
4:01 Vanessa Richardson? John would have to go to Nelson's house and get in close quarters with him. So, he enlisted the help of 18-year-old Wilbert Hess and 14-year-old John Curry. Wilbert was the son of a local man, Milton Hess, who believed his family had also been cursed by Nelson, and Curry was John's protege. The first step in their plan was to suss out whether Nelson could put up a fight, and to try and locate Long-Lost Friend. Once they knew what they were up against, they'd come back to get either his hair or the book. So, on November 26, 1928, John and Curry made their way to Nelson's home. The area where Nelson lived was a remote part of York County called Raymeier's Hollow, and it was hard to navigate.
4:45 Vanessa Richardson? It was full of trees, a few farms, and little else.
4:49 Tristin Engels? So that remoteness matters psychologically because it can suggest there is physical separation that coincides with the social separation that John already has been suspicious of with Nelson. And for someone like John, who's already operating outside of what many would consider rational boundaries, being in a remote hollow where there's no witnesses and no accountability for what he's preparing to do, might feel like permission to him. Or something even more significant than that. Within his belief system, it may feel like a sign. And going back to the black and white thinking we discussed in episode one, there's also moral disengagement here. John has already justified this mission. In
5:30 Tristin Engels? his mind, he's not doing something wrong. He's the one who's been wronged. He is breaking a curse and restoring balance. And he's already reframed Nelson from a community member into someone with malicious intent for the community, which makes acting against him feel justified to him. So this black and white thinking connects directly to all of that. It's very rigid thinking. If Nelson is responsible and John is justified in his mind, then there's nothing for him to really wrestle with. And if this hollow exists outside of the boundaries of his community, then by that same logic, the moral or legal rules of that community might not also follow him there either.
6:14 Vanessa Richardson? As John made his way out there, he fantasized about what it would feel like to finally get rid of the curse. However, he had to pay close attention to where he was driving in order to avoid getting turned around. But as he made his way through the narrow, forested road, John realized he had a problem. He had no idea which house was Nelson's. The Ray Meyer family had lived in the hollow for generations, and multiple people's homes were scattered throughout it. John didn't want to spook anyone by showing up at the wrong house. However, he knew that Nelson's estranged wife, Alice, still lived in the hollow, and he knew where her house was. So he and Curry went there instead. They knocked on the door, and when Alice opened up, they asked where they could find her husband.
6:59 Vanessa Richardson? Alice wasn't surprised by this at all. A lot of people came to Nelson for help. In fact, the whole reason Alice had left him was because she got tired of all the people filing in and out of their house. So she assumed John and Curry were customers, and she gave them directions to Nelson's home. They thanked her and continued deeper into the hollow. When they finally arrived, Nelson welcomed them in and even invited them to stay the night, which they agreed to.
7:28 Tristin Engels? The choice to stay the night was most likely practical. I mean, you talked about that earlier. They were going to suss it out, see what Nelson was like. So if you think about it, it buys them time to do just that, to scope out the home, see if they can locate the book, or at least build Nelson's trust so they can either get close enough to him to obtain a lock of his hair, or at the very least, they have all three of them there, which means they can branch off and cover more ground. At the same time, for John, staying in the home of the man he believes cursed him requires a degree of psychological strength. John's been struggling with identity, worth, and self-concept for some time, which we discussed in episode one.
8:11 Tristin Engels? That night may have made him feel more in control, more superior and more powerful than he had in years, especially because he's got two younger individuals who are looking up to him. This reinforces that. So I think it was a practical decision, like you outlined, and likely part of their strategy. But there could also be more to it as well. It's really hard to say.
8:33 Vanessa Richardson? In the last episode, we talked about how trust functions in a traditional society. And especially in York County, they put so much trust in their local healers. How do you think Nelson perceived this visit? Do you think he saw any reason not to trust them?
8:47 Tristin Engels? I'm so glad you brought this up because my first instinct was exactly this. You think that if someone truly cursed people and then a group of them showed up on their doorstep, the last thing that they would likely do is let them into their home, let alone offer to let them spend the night, especially when you consider how remote the area is and that he was outnumbered. The fact that he did exactly that tells me he had no reason to distrust these men. He likely believed they were genuinely seeking his services and that nothing was out of the ordinary. And if you recall, John's family had come to Nelson before for help. What makes this so tragic is that Nelson's own character, like his openness, his generosity, and his desire to help people, which had already potentially affected his marriage.
9:32 Tristin Engels? Was what worked against him here. They preyed on his kindness and they did not stop to consider that his kindness was actually genuine. And his pattern of behavior that night does not appear to align with someone who is guilty of causing harm to these men.
9:47 Vanessa Richardson? The three of them sat down and chatted late into the night. While it's not clear exactly what they talked about, John spent the whole time sizing Nelson up. Nelson was a tall, husky guy. At six feet tall, he towered over the two others. And even at 60, he was in good shape. John realized if they were going to steal a lock of Nelson's hair, they might have their work cut out for them. And as John glanced around the house, he also realized that finding Nelson's copy of Long Lost Friend wouldn't be easy either. He didn't see the book anywhere. Eventually, the three of them went off to bed. And the next morning, John and Curry went home and told Wilbert how difficult their mission would be. Fortunately for them, Wilbert was a pretty big guy as well.
10:30 Vanessa Richardson? So the group felt like with him added into the mix, the three of them could overpower Nelson. That same day, November 27, 1928, the trio drove back out to Ray Meyer's Hollow. This time, John brought 25 feet of rope to bind Nelson with. But he promised Wilbert and Curry that their goal remained the same, to obtain one of the items needed to end the curse.
10:55 Tristin Engels? We know that this plan was premeditated even the first time that they went there. But this time around, with 25 feet of rope, that suggests a refined, even potential escalation of that plan. And that tells us something about where John was psychologically at this point. There is a degree of organized thinking here. He identified a problem. He's recruited help. He assessed the target fully already. And then he came prepared with a contingency. That's not the behavior of someone who has completely lost touch with reality. This suggests that John is still capable of planning and anticipating obstacles. But whether or not he genuinely believes that the plan remains the same, that they
11:36 Tristin Engels? get Nelson's hair or his book while bringing rope along just in case, is something that is difficult to say. But bringing the rope alone certainly elevates the risk for violence because it shifts the power balance. It escalates the stakes and it changes the psychological threshold of this entire plan. And let's not forget, from episode one, John once tried to kill his wife. He is capable of violence. Why do you think Wilbur and Curry didn't even question him? I think the answer to that is likely a combination of things. So for Curry, we already discussed that dynamic in episode one. He came from an unstable home and John became the authority figure or mentor that he attached to. Standing up to John would
12:20 Tristin Engels? mean risking the only stable relationship that he likely had at that time, and he's only 14. That makes him particularly susceptible to John's influence and perhaps even more vulnerable in that dynamic because it resembles grooming. Although arguably, the same can be said about both of them, both Wilbur and Curry, because both of them don't have fully formed frontal lobes. But also, they had all been inside Nelson's home at this point. They had attempted their plan. They were unable to locate the book and they had seen Nelson's size for themselves. The reality of overpowering him to obtain a lock of his hair had become very clear to them. In that context, the rope would have made logical
13:04 Tristin Engels? sense as a restraining tool and less alarming to them when it's framed as a safety measure. And if they genuinely believed they had already been harmed by Nelson, or at least, you know, Wilbur's dad was harmed by Nelson, they would have been willing to accept any idea that reduced the risk of further harm. So the group dynamic compounds all of that, too. John was the assumed leader. He's carrying both perceived spiritual authority and the credibility of having recruited them as well. He's also the mentor. And in that kind of dynamic, it's unlikely they will go against him even when the situation is escalating in ways that should make someone hesitate or back out.
13:47 Vanessa Richardson? When the group arrived at Nelson's house, John was still extremely agitated. He strode to the front door and knocked briskly. From inside, Nelson called out, "Who's there?" And John replied, saying he forgot a book at Nelson's house the previous day. Nelson came downstairs, unlocked the door, and let the three of them into his living room to have a look around. At some point, Nelson turned away, maybe to brew some tea for his guests. When he wasn't looking, John rushed toward him, threw his arms around him, and shouted for the others to come help. Wilbur and Curry sprung into action, wrestling Nelson to the floor. Once he was down, John told them to tie Nelson's legs with the rope they'd brought. But Nelson was too fast, and he escaped their clutches.
14:31 Vanessa Richardson? However, he was still on the ground when Wilbur and Curry started kicking him. And in that moment, John noticed a pile of firewood. He grabbed a log and smashed it against Nelson's head again and again. And he only got more violent from there. John then grabbed a wooden chair and slammed it on top of Nelson, sending wood chips flying across the room. The original plan to get a lock of hair now felt like a distant memory. Nelson tried to fight off his attackers, but he was getting weaker by the second. Finally, Wilbur and Curry managed to restrain him. But once that was done, John still wasn't satisfied. Fury rose in his chest as he grabbed the remaining piece of rope,
15:15 Vanessa Richardson? tied it into a noose, and placed it around Nelson's neck. Then he told Curry to choke Nelson. And that's exactly what the 14-year-old did. In a matter of minutes, Nelson Rehmeyer was dead.
15:31 Tristin Engels? So remember from episode 1 when we talked about how powerful desperation can be? When someone feels that they have nothing to lose or they have no other options, thinking narrows and behavioral restraints are reduced. So for John, everything had failed. The medical and psychiatric system failed him. The Hexenmeisters failed him. His family was gone. His health had never recovered. He went to Nelson's with a plan the first time, and it failed. Now he's gone back, and he came prepared with a revised plan that he likely believed would resolve everything. And now it was unraveling again in real time in front of him. That's when desperation kicks in because if Nelson escaped, it would have felt like the final door closing on him,
16:16 Tristin Engels? at least a final door to a resolution. And what's particularly interesting is that he didn't do it himself. He directed Curry to do it. That detail suggests that John maintained enough presence of mind to orchestrate rather than act directly. It's also very predatory because Curry's 14 years old. Curry doesn't know right from wrong in the way that an adult does. He doesn't have a fully formed prefrontal cortex. He doesn't understand judgment and reasoning or rational decision making and problem solving in the way that John's brain can do. That raises its own questions about what was driving him in that moment as well. Was it calculated control? Was it the diffusion of responsibility?
17:01 Tristin Engels? We also talked about in episode one. Or was this really his plan all along?
17:07 Vanessa Richardson? When John was sent to jail for attempting to kill his wife, do you think he's had murderous intent toward Nelson all along?
17:14 Tristin Engels? We can't know for sure, but I can speak to this from a forensic psychology perspective. One of the most consistent findings in the field is that historical behavior is among the strongest predictors of future behavior, particularly when it comes to violence. It's the foundation of most structured risk assessment tools used in forensic settings today. That's not to say that everyone with a history of violence will go on to commit more of it. But it is a risk marker, meaning there is an elevated probability, but it's not a certainty. When we evaluate risk, we're looking at a number of factors to calculate actuarial or clinical risk scores, depending on the tools and the approach that we use. John had already demonstrated a capacity for lethal violence.
17:58 Tristin Engels? He had crossed that threshold before and he went to jail for it. That alone doesn't tell us conclusively that he intended to kill Nelson, but it does tell us that under conditions of extreme psychological pressure, lethal violence was possible for him. And that night, every condition that had previously pushed him to that threshold was present and arguably maybe even more intense than before.
18:23 Vanessa Richardson? What began as a seemingly innocent visit had turned into a murderous rampage. But the dark forces around John Blymeier weren't done with him yet.
18:39 Speaker 03 Why have so many crop circles appeared around Britain? How did thousands of people demonstrate powers of telepathy? Can the dead suck the life from the living? Join me, Tim Harford, for a trip into the paranormal throughout Halloween month on Cautionary Tales. Listen to Cautionary Tales on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
19:08 Vanessa Richardson? On November 27th, 1928, 34-year-old John Blymeier, 18-year-old Wilbert Hess, and 14-year-old John Currie went to Nelson Raymeier's home and killed him. John had brought 25 feet of rope to restrain Nelson, but instead, he tied it around his neck and told Currie to choke him. Even though their original plan hadn't involved this level of violence, once the deed was done, John felt relieved. His goal had been to obtain a lock of Nelson's hair or one of his spiritual texts, then destroy the item. That would supposedly break the curse he believed Nelson had placed on him, as well as Wilbert's family.
19:49 Vanessa Richardson? But now, John believed that ending Nelson's life achieved the same outcome.
19:55 Tristin Engels? I hate to say this, but John is likely experiencing tremendous relief in this moment, which is absolutely tragic, given the circumstances. But it is consistent with what happens when someone who has been operating under extreme, prolonged psychological pressure or despair finally reaches what feels like a resolution. According to him, he spent years believing he was suffering because of an external source, believing he was cursed, gave his pain a cause, believing Nelson was responsible gave him a target, and Nelson's death became the ending to his perceived suffering. Regardless of his logic, everyone feels relief when prolonged distress or despair is lifted.
20:38 Tristin Engels? There's also a sudden absence of desperation, at least temporarily. And in its place, when that happens, there's often hope. But what's also worth noting is, and this is particularly true if he did not intend to kill Nelson that night... That John's mind now has to make sense of what just happened. It has to resolve cognitive dissonance because his belief that Nelson's death lifted the curse could also function as a resolution to the gap between what he came here to do and what he actually did. It gives the act meaning within his existing framework. And without that, what happened would be a new kind of distrust to live with, replacing the one he just theoretically in his mind got rid of.
21:22 Vanessa Richardson? In John's mind, he was free, and so was everyone else in York County, thanks to him. Now, all he has to do is destroy the evidence of what really happened. So John scanned the room. They'd viciously beaten Nelson before choking him, and there was blood everywhere, on the floor, the walls, and even his own clothes. Somewhere in Nelson's home, he found some cleaning rags. John tossed a couple to Wilbert and Curry and told them to get to work. But as John started wiping down the walls, Wilbert just stood there, frozen. He couldn't believe what he'd become a part of. He thought they were going to retrieve a lock of hair or a book, not commit murder.
22:04 Tristin Engels? One of two things could be happening here with Wilbert in this moment. The first is an active threat response. Wilbert just watched two people kill someone. He is in a remote location, he's outnumbered, and he is now a witness to a murder, and the two who committed the murder are telling him he needs to clean it up. If any part of his nervous system is registering John and Curry as a potential threat to his own safety, which would be absolutely rational, given what he just witnessed, then what we're seeing may be an active freeze response because fight and flight feel unavailable in that moment. He's overpowered. Freezing and not drawing attention to himself may be the safest option his nervous system
22:45 Tristin Engels? can identify, followed by fawning, meaning he feels safest next by going along with them, staying quiet, not challenging what's happening around him. The second possibility is the beginning of acute shock. Wilbert is also confronting a reality that is in stark contrast to what he believed he had agreed to. The gap is so drastic, it can produce disorientation, emotional overwhelm, and difficulty processing what just happened. Both can be operating simultaneously as well. And in Wilbert's case, it's very likely that they are.
23:21 Vanessa Richardson? So when someone experiences this sort of unexpected or uncontrolled trauma or violence, what sort of aftercare is recommended?
23:29 Tristin Engels? The priority is stabilization. It's not about asking a bunch of questions or providing therapy in that moment to process trauma. That's harmful and ineffective in an acute state like this. In the immediate aftermath, it's about helping the nervous system return to a regulated state. And that typically means finding physical safety measures, grounding techniques, and connecting them with someone they trust. Bring them water, a blanket, find them a place to sit down. Those are examples. And in the days and weeks that follow the acute state, we generally do psychological debriefing with them and then link them to providers that are trained in trauma-informed therapy and find them social support systems as well.
24:13 Vanessa Richardson? Unfortunately, Wilbert didn't have a chance to process things. John barely acknowledged what he was feeling. Instead, he threw his rag to the ground and told them they had to burn everything, including Nelson himself. Neither of John's young accomplices argued with him. Together, the three of them covered Nelson's body with a flammable straw mattress and doused it in lamp oil. Then Curry struck a match and passed it to John, who dropped it onto the mattress. In an instant, the entire scene was set ablaze. They darted out into the cold as Nelson's farmhouse went up in flames. Then, they stood under the night sky, watching it burn, until all of a sudden, they noticed someone watching them.
24:58 Vanessa Richardson? When the three accomplices looked toward the road, they saw a shadowy, ghostly figure staring back at them. Terrified, they turned and fled into the woods, and they didn't stop until they reached the Hess farm almost seven miles away.
25:13 Tristin Engels? All three of them had just participated in the killing of a man, set a fire, and were standing in a remote location in the dark in a heightened state of acute stress. They are flooded with adrenaline, hypervigilance, and operating within a belief system that already involved supernatural forces, and their threat responses are high. The mind under that kind of stress actively searches for danger, and they can find it in shadows or shapes and movement like that. There's also the concept of social contagion. If one person in a group reacts to something or says they saw something, the others will orient toward it immediately. And if they're in a state of shared hypervigilance, that can become a shared perception.
25:58 Tristin Engels? One person's fear becomes the group's reality. And also, within their belief system, a ghostly figure watching them in that moment would have been entirely consistent with what they expected the supernatural world to look like, especially after murdering a, quote, "witch" they believed was malicious enough to curse members of their own community.
26:19 Vanessa Richardson? You mentioned social contagion. In general, how common is it for multiple people to have this exact same immediate response to trauma?
26:28 Tristin Engels? This is so much more common than people might expect. When a group has been through the same traumatic experience together, shared perceptual responses can happen, and they do happen. If one person reacts to something, the others pick it up immediately and respond to it as if it's real. That's why when you see someone panic and run, you're inclined to panic and possibly even run too, even before you know what you're panicking or running from. There's also something called social referencing. So, under conditions of uncertainty or threat, people look to others to interpret what's happening around them. If someone in your group signals danger, that signal becomes your reality. The threat Response moves faster than your conscious thought can.
27:12 Tristin Engels? And that doesn't just happen in close groups, like within people that you know. It happens between complete strangers. Think about what happens in a crowded public space when someone reacts to a perceived threat. A sound that resembles a gunshot, someone suddenly running. Within seconds, an entire crowd of people who have never met can be moving in the same direction, responding to the same perceived danger before anyone has verified if a danger actually exists or what actually happened. The emotional contagion spreads again faster than the information does. That's because the human threat detection system is wired to treat other people's fear responses as reliable data. That's how mass panic happens.
27:57 Vanessa Richardson? Well, once they felt a safe distance away, the group decided they must have scared themselves. They told themselves the figure in the road wasn't real. But what was real was the trouble they'd face if anyone found out what they'd done. So John told Wilbert and Curry to keep their mouths shut. The two boys promised to keep it a secret. But that promise only lasted about a day. It was as if the old curse had been replaced with a new one, this time in the form of guilt. After the murder, Wilbert couldn't sleep. His shame gnawed at him, and the image of everything that had happened plagued him throughout the night.
28:35 Tristin Engels? The symptoms Wilbert is describing is his nervous system remaining in an active state because it hasn't been able to process what happened and reach any kind of resolution. After acute trauma, the brain continues replaying the experience intrusively. It's an involuntary attempt to process something it couldn't absorb in real time. And those intrusive images or flashbacks that Wilbert is experiencing are a result of that. Guilt adds a specific layer to that because it turns it inward. So in Wilbert's case, his guilt is causing a sustained state of distress that the nervous system doesn't know how to resolve because what he did can't be undone.
29:16 Tristin Engels? That doesn't mean the guilt of this magnitude can't be worked through over time. With the right support, people can reach a place of accountability and integration that allows them to function and even heal. But in this moment, that process hasn't begun. It hasn't even started. And without it, the nervous system has nowhere to go or doesn't know what to do. Now regarding his sleep, you need to feel safe and comfortable enough to lower your guard in order to go to sleep. So for someone in Wilbert's state, carrying both acute aftermath or trauma and the weight of his guilt, the feeling of safety isn't there. And so his nervous system is not in a state that will allow him to sleep.
29:56 Vanessa Richardson? Do you think it's possible that Wilbert knew he was the least responsible out of all three assailants? And therefore felt like he had the most burden to own up? And if so, how would that specific form of guilt manifest physiologically?
30:09 Tristin Engels? I think that's very likely. In Wilbert's case, he's likely experiencing survivor's guilt. Survivor's guilt is a psychological condition where an individual feels guilty for surviving a traumatic event when others did not. Wilbert came in with the least investment in the curse. He participated at his father's direction. He didn't bring the rope. He didn't tie the noose. He didn't give the order. He wasn't buying into anything that happened that night. But he was there and he participated in what happened afterward. That can produce a particularly acute form of guilt because he didn't have the same framework to justify this the way John did. Wilbert had nothing that made what happened
30:52 Tristin Engels? feel necessary or inevitable for him. Physiologically, we talked about how it impacts sleep, but it also creates hyperarousal, which is the inability to relax, racing thoughts or restlessness. It can create somatic symptoms like chronic headaches, appetite loss, nausea or digestive issues, and intrusive thoughts or flashbacks like we talked about.
31:14 Vanessa Richardson? By the following morning, Wilbert couldn't take it anymore. He had to confess. And Wilbert didn't just tell one person. He told three. His mother, brother and sister-in-law all heard about the murder of Nelson Rehmeyer in great detail. However, they didn't turn him in. If anything, they tried to comfort Wilbert, saying it just sounded like things got out of hand. Unfortunately for Wilbert, that was just the beginning of his problems. Because unbeknownst to him or the other accomplices, the fire at Nelson Rehmeyer's home had gone out quickly. And pretty soon, there'd be no place for them to hide.
31:55 Speaker 04 Ghosts aren't real. At least, that's what journalist Tristan Redmond always believed. Sure, odd things happened in his childhood bedroom, but ultimately, he shrugged them off. Until he discovered that he wasn't alone, that everyone who lived there after him also had bizarre experiences they couldn't explain. And it gets even weirder. It just so happens that his wife's great-grandmother was murdered in the house next door. Is this ghost somehow connected to her murder? He decides to go where no son-in-law should, digging up a cold case and asking questions that nobody wants answered. Like, could his wife's great-grandfather have gotten away with the perfect crime? This is a podcast about family secrets, overwhelming coincidence, and the things
32:38 Speaker 04 that come back to haunt us. For the best bingeable series like Ghost Story, listen to the Audible True Crime Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can get all episodes early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
32:57 Vanessa Richardson? In November of 1928, shortly after Nelson Rehmeyer was killed, 18-year-old Wilbert Hess told his family what he, John Blymeyer, and John Curry had done. Wilbert's family tried to reassure him that it was an accident, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. And soon, someone would uncover the cold, hard facts. On Thanksgiving Day, 1928, two days after the murder, a man named David Vanover stepped outside his farmhouse. Immediately, something felt off. David heard the cries of livestock from over the hills a few miles away. They were coming from his neighbor, Nelson Rehmeyer's land. David found this odd.
33:40 Vanessa Richardson? Nelson always took great care of his animals. It didn't make sense that they'd be crying as though they hadn't been fed for days. David found this concerning enough to pay Nelson a visit. He walked to his neighbor's farm, and sure enough, all the animals seemed restless. But Nelson was nowhere in sight, so David stopped to feed them and give them water. Then, as he approached the farmhouse, something else caught his attention: an unusual and unpleasant smell, like burnt wood.
34:12 Tristin Engels? David is experiencing intuition. And intuition isn't random. It's the product of pattern recognition. The brain is continuously processing environmental information like sounds and smells, behaviors, or subtle changes from what's expected. And when something doesn't fit the established pattern or the expected pattern, it sends a signal. And that signal is a gut feeling, or what sometimes people call a gut feeling. It arrives before most people can figure out why. And in David's case, several things are registering at the same time. And none of those individually may have been alarming, but the combination of them is what's alarming. What's also worth noting is that people vary significantly in how they trust or act on their intuition.
34:57 Tristin Engels? David followed his, and in this case, that instinct was correct.
35:03 Vanessa Richardson? David felt uneasy, and he was hesitant to keep investigating on his own. So he went to get another neighbor, Oscar Gladfelter. Together, they walked over to Nelson's house, and they were immediately struck by the signs of charring on the outside. Panicked, they knocked on the door, but no one answered, which was unusual for Nelson. So David and Oscar circled the home until they found a window. They peeked inside, and what they saw horrified them. Nelson was face down on the floor with his head twisted at an unnatural angle against a pile of firewood. There was rope looped around his neck. And even though parts of the room were scorched, they could see blood spatter on the floor and walls.
35:47 Vanessa Richardson? The situation was undeniable. Nelson Rehmeyer had been brutally killed. David and Oscar immediately notified the authorities. In such a small community, news like that traveled fast. For the people of York County, it was hard to imagine who could do such a thing. But one person had a pretty strong hunch: Nelson's wife, Alice. She remembered the visit from John Blymeier and John Curry just a couple of nights before, and she immediately told the police about it. Officers followed up on the tip and quickly tracked down both John Blymeier and John Curry to question them. Within no time, they also learned about Wilbert Hesse's involvement. By December 1st, four days after the murder,
36:32 Vanessa Richardson? local newspapers published confessions from all three of them. It wasn't long before journalists from out of town descended on York County. And as the case developed, the motive for Nelson's murder turned the story into an international spectacle. This wasn't a love triangle gone awry, or a robbery gone wrong. Nelson was murdered because he was a practicing witch doctor. To many of the non-local papers, it seemed outrageous that someone could be killed because they practiced witchcraft. It seemed like something that would have happened hundreds of years ago, not in the 20th century.
37:08 Tristin Engels? It is shocking. The elements of this murder feel culturally sensational. And unfortunately, that becomes the story, while everything else around it can get distorted. That's difficult enough for the community to process. But imagine a jury, the press, and the general public, people who may have no familiarity with these practices, or rituals, or beliefs, and who may struggle to separate their judgment from the facts of the case. And then the press sensationalizes it to further sell the story. They attach a label, something like "Men murder witch," for example, and then that frames the entire case. That shapes what information the public receives and how they filter it.
37:48 Tristin Engels? What should be understood as a psychologically complex case becomes a story instead about witchcraft. And stories about witchcraft tend to produce verdicts about witchcraft, instead of the specific realities of what actually happened. That can also shape how the jury views Nelson. If he is remembered primarily as a "witch doctor," rather than as a family man, or someone who helped his community, that can influence how his death is regarded and how much justice might feel necessary, especially if members of the jury believe that witchcraft is satanic or against their own religion. And conversely, because of John's beliefs, the system may assume he suffers from a psychotic
38:30 Tristin Engels? condition, even if that's not an accurate clinical picture of him. And that assumption can shape his entire defense strategy, for better or worse.
38:41 Vanessa Richardson? The headlines talked about the quote unquote "simple" people of York County, a place where spells and curses still posed a real threat. But the truth was witchcraft felt very real to the three defendants and their families. Wilbert's own mother told the press that after Nelson died, all the troubles on their farm disappeared. The cows produced milk, the chickens laid eggs, and everything was back to normal. In fact, the whole family was healthier. Nobody has gotten seriously ill since that night back in November. Wilbert's mother believed that he, John Curry, and John Blymeyer had done the necessary thing to free themselves from dark magic.
39:21 Tristin Engels? This is truly sad that his own mother has now implicated Nelson as well. If she had believed that Nelson was cursing people in the town prior to his murder, then what's happening here would be her own confirmation bias. She's seeing this improvement on her farm as confirmation that the curse had been lifted rather than neutral or totally unrelated events. But we don't know that she believed her son was cursing people before his murder. And I would like to think that she believed in her son the way the rest of the town did before all this happened, that he was generous, caring, and a contributing member of their community despite his differences. If that was in fact the case, then this would be best described as another illusory correlation,
40:06 Tristin Engels? which we talked about early in episode one. As a reminder, it's the tendency to perceive a relationship between two things, even when it doesn't exist. She believed that the farm's recovery was caused by Nelson's death, which makes this particularly powerful. Whether it's due to confirmation bias or an illusory correlation is that the recovery was real. The farm did improve. And as a result, it can become very difficult to challenge this because the evidence from where she's standing appears to speak for itself. And that belief is shared in that community that reinforced that, more so than her own belief in her son.
40:48 Vanessa Richardson? Well, Wilbert's mother had her opinion, and of course, the jury would have theirs. On January 7, 1929, the trials began. John Blymeier, John Currie, and Wilbert Hess were all tried separately for their crimes. And even though they'd all supposedly confessed, they all took their chances in court. The defense had different strategies for each defendant. Wilbert and Currie were painted as superstitious children who were swayed by John Blymeier into committing a crime they thought would help their families. And John Blymeier was presented as an insane troubled person, whose delusions of witches and curses drove him to commit a terrible act. But despite the defense's best efforts, it just wasn't enough to convince the jury.
41:33 Vanessa Richardson? In January of 1929, all three defendants were found guilty of murder. Wilbert Hess was sentenced to 10 to 20 years behind bars for second-degree murder, and both John Blymeier and John Currie received life sentences for murder in the first degree. However, none of them served their full sentences. They were all released early. Wilbert was released in 1939 after serving 10 years. That same year, John Currie was released under one condition: that he joined the Army. Finally, John Blymeier spent 23 years at Eastern State Penitentiary, which is notoriously haunted.
42:15 Vanessa Richardson? But by and large, all three of these men lived the rest of their lives with little fanfare and no more curses. To this day, the murder of Nelson Raymeier haunts the woods of York County. To some, it's just another local ghost story, but to others, his death was a senseless tragedy.
42:51 Vanessa Richardson? Thanks so much for listening. Come back next time for a deep dive into the mind of another murderer.
42:57 Tristin Engels? Serial Killers and Murderous Minds is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you liked what you heard today, reach out on Instagram at @CrimeHouse. And don't forget to rate, review, and follow Serial Killers and Murderous Minds wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference.
43:19 Vanessa Richardson? And to enhance your listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode of Serial Killers and Murderous Minds ad-free, along with early access to each thrilling two-part series.
43:35 Vanessa Richardson? Serial Killers and Murderous Minds is hosted by me, Vanessa Richardson, and forensic psychologist Dr. Tristin Engels, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Serial Killers and Murderous Minds team: Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Lori Marinelli, Natalie Pritzowski, Alyssa Fox, Sarah Bachelor, and Carrie Murphy. Thank you for listening.
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