Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-01-18

WARD NOME. WITH CHARi1i
Y, MINNESOTA, THU
A CONNECTICUT MYSTERY.
Triple Murder near tho Village Of
| wina~oF Locks;
About two miles west Of the village
Of Windsor Locks stands d house.
known as Bull thln; which for pdst
YEARS lbs ,bor4e aii evil, reputation: f
Was kept hy Timeshy Eillihes ana wife:
Within it's wallis have gathered women
aid men of the basest sort, who have
reveiled in siu and vice: Il has been
bloody assaults, Ind arouiil tie place
there clings the h''rror of sudden and
violent death. Several years ago a
man hanged himself there, and
q few months ago one OF the wretched
inmates, sick of her dreadful life, pro-
cured poison, and going to the Catho-
lie cemetery, not far away, swallowed
the deadly draueht and lay down to
Die Byeh, go lately as last fall a
wrecked nsan, after d Will 81 Eight
spent in debasing sin, went out from
the place to the woods near by and
ended his miserable existence. And
now; TO crown the record OF wretched-
ness and eriMe, and teadet the place
forever aocursed, there comes tragedy
unequaled in the annals of local crime,
TRIPLE MURDER,
Whose attendant circumstances are hor
rible almost beyond belief.
The deed is supposed to have been
committed about three o'clock yester-
day afternoon, as two peddlers named
Myer St0kart and Jacob Newsbomb.
who was passing by on their way from
East CRANKY to Sufield, heard a faint
voice from withing saying, "Come in. :"
Stokart laid down his pack and went to
the back door, which he opened a little
way, and saw what he supposed to be
the body OF d woman stretched on the
floor. After asking three or four times
what *as wanted Of him and getting no
answer, he pushed the door wide open.
and then he discovered
THE BODY OF A WOMAN
lying ifeless in pool of blood on the
floor: Horritied at the sight, he i'm.
mediately ran away and told his COM
panion. The two then picked up their
packs and started in the direction of
two men who were at work in field
near by spreading tobacco stalks: They
told their story and then started for
Sufaeld.
The two laborers, whose names are
Henry Baker and Samuel McCarroll,
at first thought they had better not 70
to the house, fearing they might get
into trouble, but finally they went,
and, looking in at the door, saw the
woman lying dead on the floor, as des.
cribed by the peddlers. Baker says he
saw two men wearing light overcoats
and high rubber boots running from
the house just before the peddlers ar-
preached.
THE AUTHORITIES CALLED IN.
The authorities were not notified un-
til o'clock last evening. Baker was
in q saloon in Windsor Locks at that
hour, and casually remarked to the
proprietor, Mr.. Wood, "that there had
been a murder over at the Run" Wood
astonished, asked what he meant, and
Baker repeated lis statement, and
stated what he saw. Wood at once
hunted up the civil authorities, and
repeated the story to them. A party
at once started for the house, reaching
there about 8 o'clock. Lamrs were
lighted, the door opened, the party en-
tered, and
HORRIBLE SPECTACLE
presented itself. Billings, the proprie-
tor of the place, sat on a stool, with
tion OF his skull had been beaten away
with an axe or some other heavy and
murderous instrument, and blood and
brains were oozing from the ghastly
and ragged wound, and dripping upon
the floor. His pockets were turned
inside out, and few pennies were scat
tered about the floor. In an adioininp
NSom Lay the dead body of a woman in
a half .congealed pool of blood. This
was Billings wife. She was stabbed
in the neck with knife and struck in
the forehead with an axe. She had evi.
IDENTIFY fought for her life, for the room
presented every appearance of a fearful
struggle. Her clothing had been set
on fire, and one of her arms was nearly
burned of, and her lower limbs were
charred. 1t was apparent that kero-
sene had been sprintled on her cloth.
ing, with the intention of burning the
house. In another room was found
A THIRD VICTIM,
also o woman, who lay on her back, all
bedabblcd with blood, which had
gushed out from terrible wound in
her head. This was the body of Julia
Hay, alias Gowdy, an inmate of the
house, about 25 years of age. A blue
curl OF smoke crept up around the
body, and as the horrifed spectators
lifted up the helpless weight, it was
found that her clothing was on fire.
Water was brought and the fame was
extinguished. It was then found that
the smouldering fire had burned a hole
through the floor, and that the design
of the murderers to burn the house and
its slaughtered inmates together had
been fOiled by the blood of one of the
victims, which had so dampened the
boards that they would not ignite. The
girl had been stabbed in the neck and
struck in the back of the head with the
axe, indicating that after receiving the
knife wound she had tried to escape,
but was struck down in her flight.
THE OBJECT OF THE CRIME.
The object of the crime was plunder.
OF this there is no doubt. The condi-
tion of the murdered mans pockets
show this, as also the fact that gold
watch and chain, generally worn by
him was missing. About 800 was
found in the house, with articles of
value, but all of Billings clothing was
gone: Appearances indicate that the
murderers were frightened away from
the house, probably by the approach
OF the peddlers, and that they left be-
fore having had time to thoroughly
| search the various rooms,
It is said that Billings was in the
habit Of carrying money about him,
generally having from 800 to $500 in
bills rolled mp in his vest pocket. He
sold his tobacco or Tuesday, and re-.
ceived the money therefor, which fact
was probably known to the murderers.
| THE INQUEST.
At the inquest this morning Bakers
story correspondent exactly with that
told by him on Tuesday evening. and
McCarroll corroborated it. When ask.
ed why he did not at once inform the
authorities, he replied that he was
| k~~s Il h.