Jealousy on the Farm: The 1940 Murder of Nellie Kail

A devoted farm wife, a jealous husband, and a fatal morning confrontation – unraveling the tragic, forgotten story of Nellie Vansickle Kail.

Content warning: If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here for resources to find help for you, a friend, or a family member.

Effie Nellie Vansickle (1893-1940) was born in Missouri to Robert Vansickle (1868-1936) and Julia L. Scott (1869-1926). Her father, originally from Tuscarawas County, moved to Missouri by 1889, where he married Julia that August. The couple settled into farm life and began raising their family. The Vansickles moved to Pawnee County, Oklahoma by 1900, where they farmed and raised Nellie alongside her three siblings. The family returned to Robert’s native Tuscarawas County, Ohio sometime before 1910. Nellie was recorded living with her father, a new stepmother, and five siblings in the census for that year.

Nellie married Roy T. Kail (1886–1943) on October 23, 1912, in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Roy was born in the same county to Edmund Kail (1860–1915) and Melissa Alice Gilmore (1861–1936). He spent his early years on the family farm with his five siblings and attended school locally. In 1903, Roy suffered a serious accident at a sawmill when he was struck below the knee with an axe, leaving him unconscious and causing a grave injury that likely contributed to later health issues, including a major operation in 1908. Despite these setbacks, he secured work as a fireman for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Dennison, Ohio, by late 1909.

After Roy and Nellie Kail began their married life together they lived, for a brief period, in Primrose, Pennsylvania. The couple moved to Chester County, West Virginia by 1917, where Roy continued his work as a fireman for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Roy and Nellie returned to Tuscarawas County, Ohio, by 1920 where they lived with Roy’s brother and operated one of the family farms – a livelihood they would maintain through the following decades. Roy’s earlier injury, and a later stroke that paralyzed his right arm, made it difficult or him to work so Roy and Nellie hired a farm hand (also named Roy) in the fall of 1939. The farm hand lived with them and helped with the day-to-day needs of the farm.

By the spring of 1940, Roy Kail had become consumed with the belief that Nellie and the farm hand were involved in an affair. On the morning of May 1, 1940, driven by jealousy and suspicion, Roy borrowed a 12-gauge single-barreled shotgun from a neighbor and approached the barn around 6:00 a.m., where Nellie and the farm hand were milking. Roy yelled out to the farm hand to come out of the barn but Nellie saw Kail approaching with the weapon. She stepped out into the farmyard to confront her husband, and Roy fired a shot into her abdomen, causing her to collapse. The farm hand rushed from the barn and managed to disarm Kail before he could reload, but the damage had been done and Nellie died thirty minutes later.

The Kails’ farmhand was held in the county jail as a material witness in the case and denied any affair with Nellie Kail. He told investigators that Roy Kail was either “insanely jealous” or simply “insane.” Law enforcement appeared to believe the latter and sent Roy Kail to the Massillon State Hospital for evaluation. The examination there led doctors to conclude that he was indeed insane and incompetent to stand trial. On May 9, 1940, Roy Kail was transferred to the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He was never formally charged with any crime.

Roy was permitted to attend Nellie Vansickle Kail’s funeral when she was buried in West Union Cemetery in Gilmore. Roy Kail’s stay at the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane lasted less than four years. He suffered a stroke in October 1943 and died three weeks later. He was buried next to the wife whose life he took in a fit of jealousy and insanity. Though they rest side by side, their story endures as a haunting chapter in the history of Tuscarawas County.

Enjoy my stories?

© Noel B. Poirier, 2024.