Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1873-11-25

De discovered. UdderZook, being in
constant dread of his return. is be-
lieved to have determined to take his
life and thus rid himself of him forev-
er. Accordingly, on Monday, June
80, he got off the cars at Penn Station,
ell the Baltimore Central Railroad, in
company with stranger, and that
evening both took lodging at Mr.. S. f.
Jefferts's hotel at JennervilIe. The
following day (Udderzook) hired a
horse and trap, and rode to Penning-
| tonville, and on the way back stopped
at his brother-inlaw's, Samuel Rhodes,
and remained some time, after which
he continued his journey.
Rhodes testifies that he endeavored
to induce him to join in the conspira-
cy to rob or murder Goss, but he deci-
ded to have nothing to do with the
transaction. Rhodes made no repIy
to his letter on the subject, and he
| thought no more of the matter until
the lst of July, when Undertook put
IN his personal appearance at his
mothers, at 0ennerville, i'll Chester
| County, and from there came on to
the residence of Mr. Ehodes, but he
not being at home, he, with his sister,
| Mr.. Rhodes's wife, went after him at
| MIR. Baldwin's, where he was harvest
| ing, and informed him that he had his
| friend with him at Jennerville, and
that he wanted him to join HIM in
| robbing him, that they could procure
something at the drug store to render
| him unconscious, when the money
| could be obtained. He desired Rhodes
] to loan him his horse and wagon to
bring this friend of his up to his
(Rhodes's) house, for few days, so
| that this deed could be done there, to
| all of which Mr.. Rhodes peremptori-
| ly declined. and remarked that he had
| better abandon such ideas and go
home.
He remarked that he was going to
| do it anyhow, and left him, coming to
Penningtonville. Hiring a horse and
buggy of Mr.. \. G. Baldwin. he left,
saying he was going to JenTerville for
his friend to bring him up to his sis
ter's for few days. He went to Jen-
nerville. got his friend, and they were
seen to leave the village about six
o'clock in the evening. and that was
the last seen of the man alive. The
horse and buggy was returned to Mr..
Baldwin that night about midnight,
Win OllC lOSS vi VII ClOJIl, CGCs
Nothing was thought about the loss OF
these articles. as it was presumed the
man was or had beOn under the influ-
ence ofliquor. The price ofthe blank
cts was demanded, and was paid by
Undertook, and thus the matter ended.
Mr.. Rhodes disclosed his suspicious to
several of his friends, and among the
number was q. =. Moore, Vino. on
hunting through the woods on the
evenig of Friday, July II, accidentally
discovered the dead body of a man,
with the arms and limbs both cut off,
the throat cut, and four or five stabs i'll
the chest and body, any one of which
would have caused death. When these
facts were made known the buggy was
! carefully eXami1ed. and blood was
found upon it in several places, the
dash was bent and the leather of it
| torn, besides the bows being broken,
showing that the act of killing was
done in the buggy. In the buggy was
| found handsome ring, which has
! been identified as the one the murder
ed man wore. The body having lain
from July tOrJuly IL was too much
| decompOsed for Identification from
the features. but the general appears
ance, size, color of hair and whiskers,
left no doubt that this was the friend
Undertook left Jennerville with Oh the
evening of July /.
After returning the horse and wagon.
Udderzook visited his mothers house,
where his clothing was washed, and
then left for Baltimore, where he re-
mained quietly at work until his ar
rest on the 22d Of July. He betrayed
considerable surprise at the time of his
arrest, although he expressed conf
IDENTIFY his belief of proving his innO-
cence. On his way to West Chester
he was disposed to be quite communi-
cative, and only ceased at the sugges-
ton of the Sheriff. He told the story
of how he was suspected of the crime
in the following words. Il came up
the Baltimore Central Railroad one
evening in the latter part of June, and
while sitting in the car stranger
asked me to get him a drink, as he felt
badly, to which request L acceded, and
from this we formed partial acquain-
tance, and so we talked and went to
Philadelphia. On the evening of the
30th of June we got off the cars at West
Grove station, on the Baltimore Cen
tral Railroad, and from there the stran-
ger and | walked to Jennerville, where
we put up for the night. During the
night the man was very sick and re-
quired my attention at intervals. The
next morning | hired horse to take
! ride, but tile horse wouldn't drive,
so | rode him to Penningtonville,
| where / hired another horse and Wag-
on, with which to return to Jenner-
vile, leading the first-named horse. -
From Jennerville in the evening |
took the stranger riding, aud left him
at Cochraneville, from which place he
said he was going to Parkesburg, which
was the last | saw of the man. After
quitting him drove back to Penning-
tonville alone"
The insurance companies as well as
| the officers of the commonwealth have
been actively engaged in securing tes-
! timony, and they have long since
gathered a mass of circumstancial evil
dence of the most startling character
This is unquestionably one of the
most interesting murder trials ever
| held in Chester County, and one in
| which the citizens of Baltimare also
| feel special interest. 1t is almost
| like romance in its details. The
| seal ring and the set of teeth will be
important yet silent witnesses, and
there is wonderful similarity in the
fact that the body of the murdered
man seemed to have been almost as
skilfully dissected before burial as if it
had passed through the hands of an
experienced surgeon, as probably did
| the shapeless trunk which was palmed
off as the remains of Goss after the
burning of his shop in Baltimore in
the winter of 1872. II would be diff
cult to imagine the dreadful terror of
those who were implicated in the plot
to defraud the insurance companies (;
| and the accidental discovery of the re-
mains of the murdered man through
the agency of buzzards, who literally
picked them from their shallow grave,
recalls the story of Eugene Aram.-