The story of Ray Sink’s disappearance and the subsequent trial of William Magers is a compelling tale that intertwines the complexities of justice, media influence, and societal biases in the late 19th century. What began as a quiet mystery in…
The letter below was written by W. G. Magers on the night before he was hanged in Dallas, Oregon. He had been convicted of the murder of Ray Sink, a man he claimed was his friend. Magers always said he…
Doubt, Not Certainty Trials don’t always come down to what’s true. Sometimes, they hinge on what can’t be proven. In the Will Magers trial defense, the goal wasn’t to build a perfect alibi. It was to slow things down. Raise…
A Timeline of the 1898 Murder Case Some crimes don’t unravel all at once. They unfold across quiet mornings, empty roads, and whispered rumors. In the case of Ray Sink and Will Magers, the details live in the margins. The…
A Shadow at the Edge of the Story Trials don’t always play out the way we expect. Sometimes the facts line up neatly, but other times, the story gets messy. People vanish. Truth gets tangled with rumor. And guilt, or…
Listen to an AI generated podcast based on the newspaper articles of the trials. Ray Sink, a 37-year-old prosperous farmer from Sherman County, Oregon, traveled to the Willamette Valley and stayed with his farmhand Will Magers’ brother. During his visit,…
