On March 20, 1865, an explosives expert named Ringo Kelly accidentally detonated explosives inside the Hoosac Tunnel in northwestern Massachusetts. Two of his co-workers, Ned Brinkman and Billy Nash, were still near the blast site. Both men were killed.
Kelly knew the explosion was an accident, but the people around him were not convinced. Many believed he had deliberately killed his co-workers. Unable to escape the guilt and suspicion, he eventually left town.
One year later, Kelly returned to the same tunnel to pay his respects to the two men. But the next morning, workers found his body deep underground. He had been strangled to death.
Who killed Ringo Kelly? Why was his body found at the exact location of the earlier explosion? And could the deaths of Ned and Billy have had something to do with his mysterious murder?
The Fatal Explosion Inside the Hoosac Tunnel
A Routine Day of Underground Excavation
On the afternoon of March 20, 1865, Ringo Kelly was working deep inside the Hoosac Tunnel with two fellow workers, Ned Brinkman and Billy Nash.
The three men were part of an excavation team building a massive railroad tunnel through Hoosac Mountain in northwestern Massachusetts. The tunnel was expected to stretch approximately five miles through the mountain.
By this point, the team had already excavated about two miles. Their next task was to continue drilling through the rock using explosives.
Kelly was an explosives expert and was responsible for supervising the operation. His job included preparing the detonator and setting off the explosives once everyone had reached a safe distance.
The work was dangerous, but it was part of their daily routine. The three men were relaxed, joking with each other and discussing their plans after the shift.
The Explosives Were Ready
Ned and Billy drilled holes into the rock wall at the end of the tunnel. They then placed sticks of dynamite inside the holes.
Each explosive charge was connected through wiring to a main line. This line ran back through the tunnel to a detonator positioned at a safer distance from the blast site.
Kelly was responsible for operating the detonator.
Once Ned and Billy had almost finished preparing the explosives, Kelly told them he would walk back to the detonator station. He wanted to prepare everything so the team could set off the blast as soon as his co-workers joined him.
Kelly made his way back through the tunnel while Ned and Billy continued working.
Kelly Accidentally Triggers the Explosion
When Kelly reached the detonator, he connected the main wire and checked the equipment.
He kept looking down the tunnel, waiting for Ned and Billy to finish their work and join him.
As he handled the detonator, something went terribly wrong.
Kelly accidentally pressed the detonator.
Within seconds, a massive explosion erupted deep inside the tunnel.
A wave of smoke, dust and debris rushed toward him. Kelly covered himself as the blast spread through the underground passage.
When the dust settled, he realized what had happened.
Ned and Billy were still near the explosives.
Kelly immediately feared that he had killed both men.
The Deaths of Ned Brinkman and Billy Nash
Kelly Rushes to Get Help
Kelly knew that Ned and Billy might be buried under the rubble. Even if they had survived the initial explosion, they could be seriously injured.
He also understood that rescuing them would require more workers and equipment.
Instead of attempting the rescue alone, he decided to get help.
He climbed onto a manual pump cart that workers used to travel along the tunnel tracks. He then rushed toward the entrance.
During the journey, Kelly struggled to process what had happened. He could not hear his co-workers and feared the worst.
When he finally reached the entrance, he found other workers nearby.
At first, they did not understand the emergency. Explosions were a normal part of tunnel construction, so the sound alone had not alerted them to anything unusual.
Kelly explained that he had triggered the explosives too early and that Ned and Billy were still inside.
The Rescue Team Finds Both Men Dead
The workers immediately joined Kelly and rushed back into the tunnel.
They travelled toward the two-mile mark, where the explosion had occurred.
When they reached the site, Ned and Billy were nowhere to be seen. Both men were buried beneath the debris.
The other miners began a difficult recovery operation. After removing a large amount of rubble, they recovered the bodies of the two workers.
Both Ned Brinkman and Billy Nash had died in the explosion.
For Kelly, the accident was devastating. He had not intended to hurt anyone, but his mistake had cost two people their lives.
The Town Turns Against Ringo Kelly
People Suspect the Explosion Was Deliberate
Kelly expected his fellow workers and the local community to understand that the explosion had been an accident.
Instead, suspicion quickly grew.
Some miners and local residents began questioning whether Kelly had really triggered the detonator by mistake.
They believed he might have deliberately killed Ned and Billy.
There was no clear evidence that the explosion had been intentional, but the rumours spread.
Kelly was now viewed as a murderer rather than a worker involved in a tragic accident.
Kelly Leaves His Job and Moves Away
The accusations became difficult for Kelly to tolerate.
He soon quit his job at the tunnel. But leaving his workplace did not solve the problem.
People in town continued to treat him with suspicion. He felt unwelcome and struggled to find a place where he could live without being reminded of the accident.
Eventually, Kelly left town.
He tried to find work elsewhere, but his biggest problem was not simply his reputation. He was struggling with intense guilt.
He knew the deaths had been accidental, but he could not stop thinking about the two men who had died because of his mistake.
He became increasingly isolated and spent much of his time alone.
Ringo Kelly Returns to the Tunnel One Year Later
He Wants to Pay His Respects
As the first anniversary of the explosion approached, Kelly began thinking about Ned and Billy.
Although he had left town, he was still close enough to visit the tunnel.
He decided that he wanted to return to the exact location where the explosion had happened.
His intention was to pay his respects to the two men and perhaps find some peace after spending an entire year living with guilt.
By then, construction had progressed further into the mountain. The workers were excavating beyond the original two-mile mark.
Kelly knew he could not visit during working hours without attracting attention.
A Midnight Visit to the Hoosac Tunnel
Kelly waited until after midnight on the anniversary of the accident.
He knew the workers would be gone and the tunnel would be mostly empty.
Carrying a lantern, he approached the entrance and looked into the dark underground passage.
He then began walking toward the two-mile mark.
That was the last known sighting of Ringo Kelly.
He had entered the tunnel intending to remember two men whose deaths had changed his life.
But he never came back out.
Workers Discover Ringo Kelly’s Body
A Shocking Discovery Deep Underground
Several hours later, early the next morning, a new work crew arrived at the Hoosac Tunnel.
Their job was to continue excavation near the three-mile mark.
They boarded the manual cart and travelled deep into the tunnel.
As they approached the two-mile mark, they noticed something lying on the ground.
At first, they could not identify it. They slowed the cart, got off and walked closer.
They soon realized that it was a dead person.
The workers were shocked. Nobody expected to find someone inside the tunnel, especially so deep underground.
When they examined the body more closely, they recognized the dead man.
It was Ringo Kelly.
The same man who had accidentally triggered the explosion that killed Ned and Billy one year earlier was now dead at almost the exact same location.
Authorities Investigate His Death
The discovery raised several questions.
Why had Kelly returned to the tunnel?
How had he died?
And had someone followed him underground?
Authorities were called to investigate.
At first, the circumstances were confusing. Kelly was lying in the walking section of the tunnel, away from the cart tracks.
There was no obvious debris around him that could have fallen and killed him.
Investigators also found no clear external injuries that explained his death.
He was not known to have serious health problems, and there was no obvious reason for him to have died suddenly.
His body was sent for a medical examination.
The Medical Examiner Finds Evidence of Murder
The medical examination revealed an important detail.
Kelly had strangulation marks around his neck.
The findings indicated that he had likely been strangled by another person. Someone had apparently used their hands to choke him to death.
This changed the investigation.
Kelly had not simply died inside the tunnel. The evidence suggested that someone had murdered him.
But investigators now faced an even bigger mystery.
Who Would Want to Kill Ringo Kelly?
Kelly had a bad reputation in the community because of the deaths of Ned and Billy.
Some people disliked him, and there were likely residents who never forgave him for the explosion.
However, a year had passed since the accident.
Investigators could not identify anyone with a clear motive to kill him.
There was also the unusual location of the body.
If someone had strangled Kelly, why was his body found at the two-mile mark?
And why were there no obvious signs of a struggle?
The circumstances made it difficult to understand what had happened.
The Unsolved Murder of Ringo Kelly
Despite an extensive investigation, authorities could not determine who had killed Kelly.
Potential suspects were considered, but none could be connected convincingly to the murder.
There was no clear explanation for how he had been attacked or why his body had been left deep inside the tunnel.
Eventually, the investigation failed to produce an answer.
The murder of Ringo Kelly remained unsolved.
Was His Body Placed There Deliberately?
One possibility was that someone had killed Kelly somewhere else and then carried his body into the tunnel.
If this happened, the location may have been chosen deliberately.
Kelly had caused the deaths of Ned and Billy at the two-mile mark. Leaving his body at almost the same location could have been an attempt to connect his murder to the earlier explosion.
Another possibility was that someone had followed him into the tunnel and killed him there.
However, neither explanation could be confirmed.
Investigators never established who was responsible or how the murder had taken place.
Did the Ghosts of Ned and Billy Kill Ringo Kelly?
The strange circumstances surrounding Kelly’s death eventually encouraged a darker explanation.
Some people in the community began wondering whether the ghosts of Ned Brinkman and Billy Nash had returned to take revenge.
According to this theory, Kelly had gone back into the tunnel to remember the two men he had killed accidentally.
But perhaps they were waiting for him.
Perhaps the two men had returned as spirits and strangled him at the exact place where they had died.
Of course, there was no evidence supporting a supernatural explanation.
The medical findings suggested murder, but investigators could not identify a human killer.
The idea of revenge from beyond the grave remained a theory rather than an established fact.
Conclusion: A Tragic Accident Followed by an Unsolved Murder
The story of Ringo Kelly began with a terrible workplace accident in the Hoosac Tunnel on March 20, 1865.
An accidental press of a detonator killed two workers, Ned Brinkman and Billy Nash. Although Kelly maintained no intention to hurt them, the deaths destroyed his reputation and left him struggling with guilt.
One year later, he returned to the tunnel to pay his respects.
Instead, workers found his body at the same location where the earlier explosion had occurred. Medical examination suggested that he had been strangled, but authorities never identified his killer.
Was Kelly murdered by someone seeking revenge for the deaths of Ned and Billy? Was his body deliberately placed at the explosion site? Or was there another explanation that investigators failed to uncover?
The available account provides no definitive answers.
What remains is a disturbing mystery involving an accidental explosion, two lost lives and a man whose own death became another unsolved tragedy.