Episode 33: Found in a Cave

Murderous Roots with Denise & Zelda

One summer day in 1979, a family in Idaho decided to explore Buffalo Cave in a search for arrowheads. Instead, they found something no one wants to find—a headless torso inside an old burlap sack. Twelve years later, a girl would find a hand. Who was this person? That question would be answered in 2019 with the help of the DNA Doe Project. The body was that of Joseph Henry Loveless, a prison escapee from 1916 who had been accused of murdering his wife.
In this episode. listen as we discuss the events leading to his disappearance, including the murder of his wife, Agnes Octavia Caldwell Loveless. Our guest this week, Julie Dixon Jackson, genetic genealogist and podcast host of Cut-Off Genes, helps us understand how Loveless was identified using forensic genealogy. Then, of course, Denise discusses Loveless’s family history, tied to the history of the Mormon church, and what happened to his children after his disappearance.