William J. Burns International Detective Agency
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Search complete. 4 mentions across 4 episodes found for "William J. Burns International Detective Agency".
Oct 7, 2026
EmilyHOST
Great.
SaraHOST
So this man named James Wilkerson, who was a detective with the Burns Detective Agency, he believed this man was William Blackie Mansfield, who he believed was responsible for the axe murders of a family in Paola, Kansas, just four days before the murder of the Moore family in Villisca.
EmilyHOST
Okay.
SaraHOST
The murders had many similarities.
PatHOST
So here's suspect number two, William "Blackie" Mansfield.
PatHOST
In 1916, James Wilkerson, a detective with Burns Detective Agency, claimed Jones had hired a man named William Mansfield to do the killings, like he didn't do it himself.
RebeccaHOST
Mm, gotcha.
PatHOST
Mansfield was arrested and brought to Iowa, but payroll records put him working in Illinois at the time, and a grand jury declined to indict, indict him in July of 1916, and he later won a lawsuit against the Burns Agency itself.
Carman CarrionHOST
The theory that Jones was behind the murders didn't gain real traction until a private detective came to town.
Carman CarrionHOST
His name was James Wilkerson, and he worked for the William J. Burns Detective Agency, one of the most famous private investigation firms in the country.
Carman CarrionHOST
Wilkerson spent years on the Villisca case, and he became convinced of a very specific story.
Carman CarrionHOST
In Wilkerson's version, Frank Jones and his son Albert had hired a killer to murder Joe Moore.
Carman CarrionHOST
The theory that Jones was behind the murders didn't gain real traction until a private detective came to town.
Carman CarrionHOST
His name was James Wilkerson, and he worked for the William J. Burns Detective Agency.
Carman CarrionHOST
one of the most famous private investigation firms in the country.
Carman CarrionHOST
Wilkerson spent years on the Villisca case, and he became convinced of a very specific story.