Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1864-09-01
The English Railway murder Case.

The singular train of circumstances
which have led 10 the arrest of Franz
Muller, who is charged with committing
u murder in a railway carriage near
London several weeks ago shows that
TO be a successful and undetected muir
derer requires more than ordinary care
and precaution. Now that the detec-
tion OF crime has become q speciality
which has scores Of professionals in ev-
cry place of any considerable size and
importance, it takes a rare combination
of wickedness and shrewdness to enable
man single handed to elude all the
eager detectives that wait for him at
every corner. But in the case of this
young German there seems TO have been
not the slightest attempt at conceal
meEt. Feeling sure that no one saw
him do the muderous deed, he seems to
have felt perfectly secure, and scarcely
had his victim ceased to breathe when
with all the GOODNESS possible he shows
the watch he had taken from the muir
dered mans pocket. Not once in a
thousand times does man bad enough
to take another's life exhibit so little
care as to the detection of his crime.
On the evening of July 9th the body
of a Mr.. Briggs London bank clerk,
was found bruised and inSensible by the
side of the railroad track on one of the
roads near London. Examination
showed that his pocket-book was undis-
turbed as well as valuable diamond
ring, things which a murderer for pelf
would naturally appropriate. But Mr..
Briggs watch and chain and hat were
missing, and upon the seat in the rail
way carriage which he had occupied
were marks of blood and a strangers
hat. Two days after Muller went to
jewellers and exchanged the stolen
watch and chain for one of less value,
receiving for the balance ring, which
with the watch, was placed in a box, on
the inside of whose cover was stamped
the name of the ieweler, Death. The
ieweler saw the advertisements of the
theft and murder, and handed over the
watch and chain which were at once
recognized and identified. A day or
two further on, and hacknan, Jona-
than Matthew's saw the hat advertised,
and went and identified it as one he had
bought for Muller several months be-
fore. Moreover, he said that Muller had
been to his house, had showed a new
watch and chain to his wife, and given
iewelry box to his daughter as play
thing. The boz was found, and Mr..
| Deaths name was found upon the cover.
| INQUIRY was then made for Muller at his
| lodgings but he had gone to America,
| so his landlady said. BY means of a
photograph it was found that the orig
| inal of it had sailed for America, and
| that he had kindly taken a sailing ves-
sci so that the officers might take a
steamer and get TO America before him.
4 Two detectives and the ieweler and
| hackman left Liverpool July 20, and
reached New York August 5. They
waited patiently till last Wednesday
night, when the Victoria entered New
York bay, and Muller was confronted
by both detectives and witnesses and
arrested. Nothing in Muller's general
conduct had excited notice, and the cap
tain of the vessel had no idea that hC
was carrying a murderer until he took
on board pilot Muller was greatly
confused when arrested but speedily
recovered himself, and denied any knowl
edge of the crime. He was brought in
to court Thursday for examination, bu
having no counsel, it was assigned him
and the examination was postponed un
til Friday. The line of circumstance:
is so convincingly straight that there il
not so much as a shadow of doubt rela
tive to his guilt. The watch was wha
he sought, and it does not appear tina
he bore any malice toward Mr.. Briggs
but simply murdered him because h
was attracted by the watch and chain
The chain he pawned in London an,
sold the pawn ticket to a 1iend; tn
watch was found in his trunk at Ney
York, and also the hat formerly wor
by Mr.. Briggs. 1t is only singular tha
he did not better realize the difficulty i
these modern days of concealing a muf
der.