On a frigid night in 1805, Amos Babcock murdered his sister. Acting on what he believed were instructions from God, Babcock stabbed and disembowelled Mercy Hall, then dumped her body in a snowbank. We know the who and the how. Now we know the why.

The Ballad of Jacob Peck is an absorbing account of how isolation, duplicity, and religious mania drove a decent man to commit a heinous act. In this re-investigation of a crime from the Canadian frontier, the saga of Jacob Peck, Amos Babcock, and Mercy Hall remains as controversial and riveting today as it was two centuries ago. Forensic scientist Debra Komar dissects the historical record to answer the question: was the itinerant preacher Jacob Peck â who gave "God's instructions" to Amos â legally culpable in the slaying?