Middletown transcript., 1872-12-14
Local and State AaAirs.
rte Doves sssssor

Local ana Cteto A0olf0s
rte Dsvss ssssssr
"Ths Fatal Accident al Dover anaouurvd in
our last bas tusned out ~ Be horrible murder,
of which he dssails are Of must sickenlny
4 njyS1 ebsriky 1srs,1 4 l.ss v-sk /.
'tssoSk fvpos4 of al Ell siu9 was' hease from y
tos4 oecupis1 - % elAcsby soe isaac West,
mss was all SvsssJ ma,iis,s1 is ma1e stsck-
ie9 usassse. The head, alst asl hends wvrc
uvosing, aud Il vas q hsst suPpossd that West
bad becn espcsimssting with Rns ard that the
retort had exploded and thus fatally injured the
operator, but the mysterious disappearancs Of
the hsad, seet snd bands OF the deccnsed, and
the diMppcarnce al the same time OF 4 we'll
known negro named Cooch Turner led 10 grave
suspirioas on the part Of many Of foul play, and
they Al oacs set 10 work 10 unravcl the terrible
mystery. West vas sraesd TO Delmar, where
all trace Of him was lost, when he suddenly ap.
rsarsd % shs Railroad train eu route iue Dover,
In order - he told the conductor, TO give him
self up." Word was Immediately tsleGraphsd
to Sheriff Hargadins, Al Dsver, that west was
| on the train, and on is arrival as Dover the
Sheriff Who was In waiting ns enee arrested the
murderer and carried him TO .hc jail. Ia the
sssan,imc n large and excited crowd had gather
Cd around the depot, and for tine threats were
made to lynch the prisoncr. wes, freely and
candidiy confessed the murder, but asserted that
II was done In self.defcaee, that the negro, who
| had been employed ~ him 20 do some work In
his Office, attacked him ON Monday Of last week
with q siedge hammer, dcma asdng his money,
and threatening his life in cass Of refusal. wesi
aays ne then In self-deiencc struck the negro
with heavy bar Of iron killing him instantly
lie then, being afraid Of the consequences Of his
deed. sndesvored to dispose Of the body, and
deliberately proceeded 10 cut II up and bury II.
lie took or the bead, feet and hands, with the
intention Of burying them, but the ground was
froxca 70 hard that he could not dig into Il. CON
ssquen,ly that plan had to be abandoned Tic
aexi conceived the plan Of setting fire 10 the Of
6cs in hope that the aegros body would be So
eharred asd ds6gurcd by the FIRE as TO become
| uurecognixsbie and be taken for his own, under
the supposiiisn that he had been killed by an
explosion Of the gas. To reader 1t more impos.
si6le to rcceguils the body he Hayed II, and
having piled dry wood and other hammablc ma
,erisi over IL he igui,ed some papers in the roon
leaving q quantity Of gunpowder exposed SO tha'
II would explode aud shatter the building, but
his scheme fsilsd, aud he was arrested and now
awaits In Jail the day of trial Tor his crime.
when asked why II he killed the negro in
sclfdsfeucs he did not at once make II known
that he might be exhoncra,cd from crime, he re-
piled that he was 30 horrifed al the commission
Of the crime that he did not know wha, to Do
and said to the qucsiioasr ''you never had dead
Niger on your hands and don't know wha, you
wsuld have done under the circumstances"
Two theories Of the cause for committing the
crime prevail Ht Dover. One Is that West, whos'
life was Insured for Sc5, 900, conceived the idea
Of killing the negro and disHguring the remains
so that they might be takan for his own, he dis
appearing; that the Insurance Company would pa,
over the amour, TO his wife, and that she would
afterwards join hin, and they would live upon
the ili-gotien wealth. The other and NOR,
plausible is that wss, cniiced the negro to in
hale the gas with which he was experimenting
which had different effect from what he ex
pcc,ed and killed the negro.
West Is young man Of about 30 years Of age
He is = native Of baltimore Hundred Ia SUISSE,
county, Del. but great part CT his life has beer
spea, In Dover, where he Taught school for .
number OF years. lie graduated at Dickinson
College, Carlisle, IA. In 1868. OF late he hai
been experimenting with gas which he claim
people suppose, injured his brain, and ,ha, h
had become insane. Hence the commission o
the horrible deed, and the Singular manner ID
which he acted afterwards.
MtAalesswn Academy.
Il The regular examination Of the students Of III,
Academy, for the presen, fall term will begin OF
Tuesday next, nt l o'clock, ?. n. and contina,
until Friday night. A general Invitation is cx
tended 10 parents and others who may be inter
csied. The following is the order OF examina
tion in each study;
TUESDAY, 81.
I o'clock, A Grammar and A Geography.
Mental Arithmetic aud d Arithmetic
History.
"WEDNESDAY, A. N.
so'clock, Grammar and German.
10 A aad ID Algebra classes.