The Murders on Smuttynose Island
A robbery gone awry ends with two horrific murders
Smuttynose Island in Kittery, Maine is located 6 miles off the New Hampshire coast among the Isles of Shoals. It gets its unusual name from fishermen who thought the heavy seaweed on one end resembled the “smutty nose” of an enormous sea creature.
What the island is truly known for though is much darker. On March 6, 1873, two Norwegian women were murdered there. Karen Christensen was bludgeoned to death and her sister-in-law, Anethe Christensen, was strangled. A third woman, Maren Hontvet, got away. The hiding place she chose saved her and came to be known as “Maren’s Rock” in later years.
It was Maren who identified the killer, Louis Wagner. He worked as a fisherman after having migrated from Germany, his country of birth. Wagner eked out a living by fishing the coastal waters, barely making enough to survive. When he met John and Maren Hontvet, they wanted to help him. They made sure he had food and warm clothes. Eventually, he was included in John’s…
