Acorn 4,

Not so. In The Knoxville Girl he beats her with a stick, in Tom Dooley and in Pretty Polly he stabs her, in Little Sadie he shoots her, in some he uses a whip, etc.

However, drowning does have several advantages. One, it could happen by accident, so if you found a person drowned it wouldn't necessarily be foul play. Two, the person doesn't bleed, so there won't be pesky bloodstains to explain. Three, if you pick a swift river the person could be carried far from the spot where the drowning occurred, further confusing the facts of the case. This makes it a better method of murder than shooting, stabbing, or beating someone to death, especially in the days before CSI.