The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1872-12-17
A Man Murdered and Skinned.


The citizens of Dover, Del, were excited
last Wednesday by the discovery of the
body of a murdered man with the head and
feet missing, and the skin removed so as to
make recognition impossible. At first it
was supposed to be the BODY of DIR. West
as it was in his Office where it was found,
bnt subsequent developments caused sus-
picion to arise that he had committed the
murder himself, that bis wife could obtain
$25, 900 insurance he had ON his life.
DIR. West delivered himself up on the
evening of the 9th, and made full con-
iession before the Coroner, of which the
following is the substance:
''0n Monday morning, December 2, Twas
taking a bucket of water, in my room, in
the morning Henry Turner, the deceased,
came along, and said, Boss, l will carry
that up for you. told him l would carry
1t up, as had some work for him to do, if
he would do it, took out my pocket
book and paid him 25 cents. He said,
Boss, you seem to be pretty flush, then he
Said, won't you give me some money to get
me drink. 1 said would if he would go
down to the bar next door.
1t was a short time after that met him
near Hofiecker & Stewards store, on the
corner talking with some colored men;'.I
passed him and went on up to my loom in
Kirbin's building, just got there and un-
locked the room, when he came up; went
on up stairs ahead of him and unlocked the
room door up stairs and went in ahead of
him 1 had taken my gas apparatus to
pieces that day, intending to fasten a small
sledge-hammer to the weights /; the sledge-
hammer was sitting just inside the door !;
the other weights were near the corner
about feet further on; one of the weights
was bolt or piece of an axle it was about
3 feet long and about 1! inches in diameter;
just got over about where this bolt was sit
Sing, when turned and saw Turner with this
sledge- hammer in his hand soon as Tur-
ner saw that / saw him with the hammer
Turner says give me your pocket-book or
will kill you; snatched up the bolt or
piece of axle, and just as did so he struck
at me with the hammer: he struck me on
top of my hat, denting the hat in, but did
not touch my head. as was STOPPING over;
4 then struck him with the bolt or piece of
axle, intending to strike him on the head,
but missed his head and struck him on the
neck, think below the ear lie fell, and
and don't think he ever breathed after
that; this was just about sunset, he fell
over on his side;I then felt of his pulse,
and found that he was dead did not in
tened to kill him, but only intended to
knock him down so that he would not kill
me-"
After killing the dalkey, the doctor spent
three days trying to remove traces o his
crime by carrying away portions Of the
body, but found difficulty in disposing OF
them. Failing in this he skinned it and
tried to set fire to the building, but the fire
went out, and the doctor was afraid to re-
turn to renew it, as he had placed powder
near the body
His life was insured for $25, 900, and by
some it is supposed that he deliberately
murdered the negro and set fire to the
building in order to destroy the body ant
give out the impression that he himself hat
been killed by an explosion of the gas hi
was making and by this means Obtain
through his wife the insurance on his life.