In a time when superstition ruled, the tragic fate of Etta Fairchild, a Kalamazoo resident who was murdered after accusations of witchcraft, reminds us of the dangers lurking behind friendly facades.
Before we get into the story of this senseless and brutal murder that took place in 1929, it’s important to put this witch hunt in perspective. The Salem witch trials ended in 1692, according to the Library of Congress. The last known witch trial in America took place in 1878 in Massachusetts, according to Historic Ipswich. The fact that a Kalamazoo family accused a neighbor of being a witch only to kill her over 200 years after the Salem Witch Trials is mind-boggling.
Etta Fairchild was a 75-year-old widow at the time of her brutal murder. Eugene and Pearl Burgess invited the 75-year-old widow, Etta Fairchild, over for dinner. What Etta did not know when she accepted the invite was that the family planned to end her life. The Burgess family then sneak-attacked the elderly woman at the dinner table, according to the Detroit Free Press article published in July of 1929…