On August 23, 1925, a teenage boy was walking by a reedy marsh in El Cerrito when he spotted something odd among the vegetation: part of a woman’s ear. Piece by piece, more gruesome discoveries followed, launching a murder investigation that shocked the Bay Area and briefly made El Cerrito a byword for horror..

Now, exactly 100 years later, local author Virginia Burns will speak to us about the murder that inspired her new novel, Rustville.

Burns is a poet, screenwriter, former editor, U.S. Foreign service veteran, and fourth generation El Cerritan. Her great-grandfather was Joseph T. Breneman, El Cerrito’s first doctor. In late August, 1925, as investigators scoured the tule marsh, the Breneman house became a makeshift morgue. Burns will speak about how family history and lore shaped the research and writing of her new book.

The free program starts at 4 p.m. in the Garden Room of the Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane, El Cerrito. Light refreshments will be served..