By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Ortonville-Today the quiet northern Michigan town of Kalkaska is known for the trout festival and great snowmobiling in the winter.
But a former resident cared more about murder then outdoor activities.
Between 1887 and 1903, serial killer Kalakaska native Mary McKnight, murdered between 12 and 18 people including her own family with strychnine poisoning—the reason she liked funerals.
At 7 p.m., Nov. 29 the Brandon Township Public Library, 304 South St., will be hosting the third presentation in their ‘True Crime Thursdays’ series, titled Infamous Michigan Murders.
“I’ll be talking about some interesting cases of true crime throughout Michigan,” said Tom Carr, author of Michigan true crime books Blood on the Mitten and MI Bad. “Some are historical in nature, or are just some of the most bizarre or sensational. I tell stories from both of my books, but I focus on my newer book, MI Bad.”
Carr will be discussing murders in Michigan from the 1700s to today.
“I was a reporter for about 25 years, and I covered several murders and crimes throughout my career as a journalist,” he said. “That’s how I came to it, but then I hear about a lot of these stories from people who I talk to, they mention things I should look up. I have a whole list of them for future projects. This state of ours is really fascinating.”
The new book, MI Bad, talks about stories of train robberies, stage coach robberies, and other true crime throughout the state. “They’re things you wouldn’t associate with Michigan,” said Carr. “And even some things that happened in this decade.”
Anyone interested can register at brandonlibrary.org or by calling 248-627-1460. Carr will also have books available for purchase after the talk.