Ring of the Rail Spur: Why Heather's Gold Seal Killed Her

Ring of the Rail Spur: Why Heather's Gold Seal Killed Her A gold signet ring found on a bare hand in nine-degree January light tied a woman’s death to a land scheme that had been plotted months earlier; the ring’s reversed R was not jewelry but a recorded receipt that transferred her property without her informed consent. How did a ring made by a local silversmith become the hinge between a staged transaction and Heather Underwood’s body four blocks from home? In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the evening Heather left choir practice to the discovery of her body and the filings that followed, laying out who knew what and when. What exactly did that signet ring represent on paper, and why did it make murder look like ledger work? Person: Heather Underwood Date: January 9, 1883 (body found) Location: Setter Creek, Barlow Flats Person: Craig Farrell Event: Farrell-Kessler Grazing Company brand registration filed December 29, 1882 - Heather Underwood was thirty-eight and had been a widow since summer 1881. - Heather walked four blocks home from choir practice on January 7, 1883, and did not arrive. - Curtis Hansen’s pointer dog first locked on frozen mud forty feet south of the sandstone outcropping before finding the body. - Craig Farrell, age thirty-one, commissioned a gold signet ring with a reversed capital R in November 1882 from silversmith Art Noonan. - Farrell filed an affidavit on December 29, 1882 claiming Heather’s two sections of grassland were unencumbered, with Margaret Kessler named as co-partner. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].