The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1873-10-04
THE LAST BROOKLYN TRAGEDY.
A Woman Robbed and Murdered by
AN Old Frtend-AttemPtt to Comeeah
the Crime by Burning the B0dy.
IErnn, f,,a Nep Ynrk Snn. Sent. 6.


On Thursday night David Coe saw
smoke ascending from the top floor OF the
tenement in the rear of 1919 Ninth street,
Williamsburgh, in the apartments ocetl-
pied by James Merrigan and his wife.
Mr.. Coe extinguished the fire with few
pals of water. Captain Woglom and
Officer Edmund Brown examined tne-
premises. On the upper floor room and
bedroom are ON each side of the hall. Mer-
rigan's apartments were on the right slde
of the hall, over the rooms of Mrs. Kip
and her soii-in-law, Mr.. David COe.
The officers entered the bedroom. As
they passed to open the shutters they
stumbled over the burned bed and discoy-
cred the partly charred body Of woman.
Her head was resting on the floor near the
door. She was nude and there We're no.
evidences of her clothing to be found.
Her head and breast were blistered ana dis
figured. The body was not cont0rfed.
The limbs were straight, and the arms
laid by her side She did not seem TO nave
been burned to death. Tightly wound
about the neck and imbedded in the flesh
was a piece of BEDFORD, blackened with
the smoke.
Merrigan and his wife said that they
knew nothing about the woman, but they
were arrested. and on the way TO the po-
lice station they told so many contradlcto-
nv stories that supicions of their guilt were
deepened.
WHO SHE WAS.
1t has been learned that the dead woman
was Miss Margaret Hamlnill, OF Fortyr
eighth street, New York, and that she was
visiting the arrested persons. with Mrs.
Merrigan she had been intimate Ter years,
as they were school girls together.
NF;ee, ;lI 1xraC fha sister Qf lanes
and Peter Hamnill, iron merchants at the
foot of Gansevoort street, New York.
She was wealthy, having at the death oi
her father received as her share OF lnc
property number of houses IN East Ienfn
street. She was supported by the interest
of her money. Nearly every month she
visited Mrs. Merrigan, remaining for days
with her. On Tuesday afternoon she en-
tered Mrs. Merrigan's apartments and mad
not been seen until her body was dlscoV-
cred. 1fiai stfeiH #H4 ia gt,I
Mrs. Kipp saw her enter the yard by the
alley on Thursday. She noticed ner par
| tieularly because shewas so richly dressed
Al gold chain wound about her neck re Iell II
coils on her breast. She passed Mrs. hlpp,s
| door, smiling at her, and passed up tile
narrow stairway. &, h 80 i5 sla
| 81. STRUGGLE IN MERRIGAN's ROOMS.
About II O'Clock that night Mrs. Kipp
heard subdued screams and shuffiing of
feet in Merrigan's rooms. The NOISE
seemed to be in the corner Of the room Dy
the closet. She says that she heard 9
woman's voice cry, Don't, don't; mas mas
said, ssShut up: sit down. Then there
was noise as though they were dragging
some one across the floor. This was fol-
lowed by crash, and voice like mans
said, ''There, damn you, sit DOWN. ~
The next morning Mrs. Merrigan closed
her rooms and quit the house. She yislir
ed one of the neighb0rs, to whom she
gave a white basque trimmed with black
i lace. The woman was surprised at the
gift. but on Mrs. Merrigan saying that she
] wished to reconpense her daughter for
| favors. she accepted it. This woman said
that Mrs. Merrigan seemed excited. : Her
/ face was red and puffed," but | attributed
! that to the fact that she must have been
drinking more than usual. She was ae-
i customed to have her beer regularly"
/ OTHER GIFTS.
On Wednesday night neither Mr.. Merfi-
/ gan nor his wife was at home. On Thurs
/ day morning Mrs. Merrigan was seen i'll
her room. She remained there only q few
i moments and went away. About noon
/ she called on a neighbor, to whose daugh-
/ ter she gave costly recticule. In the ey-
ering she was seen by Mrs. kipp in the
yard walking about with her child IN her
i arms and talking to her husband, who
stood at the alleyway door. aIaI9Q $50
4 Shortly before 8 O'Clock Mrs. Kipp heard
her walkingin her room and then go down
stairs to the yard. Mrs. Kipp ran to the
yard and called her, saying: - !. Mrs, Mer-
rigan, something has happened in your
room.'' Mrs. Merrigan turned but Gid
not reply. Mrs. Kipp called to her son
! in-law, who seeing the smoke asked Mrs.
Merrigan as he ran up stairs whether her
baby was in the room. She did not ans
wer, but held out her arms, in which was
resting the child.
/ MRS. srERRIGAN's STORY.
While the police and fremen were ex-
/ tinguishing the fire, she stood on the walk
in the street, bitterly bewailing to her
neighbors the absence of her husband at
the lodge to which he had gone contrary
i to her wishes, For" she said, Il told him
and he knew that something would hap
pen.' sh 41
When told that the dead body of a
woman was found in the room, she
dropped her child and fell to the walk.
| To the police she said: Miss Hammill
was drunk when she came to my house,
and continued in that condition. On
Thursday she told me she. would ge out
and get some coffee, and that was the last
/ saw of her.
/ Merrigan viii not say anything. sa
4 PROOFS OF MURDER. s
Yesterday morning Captain Woglom
and Sergeant Bunee thoroughly examined
the house. The property distributed by
Mrs. Merrigan in the neighborhood was
/ given to the police and identified as belong
ing to Miss Hammill. The windows were
closely fastened. The bed and bedding,
floor, and carpets, were saturated with
kerosene oil Until Thursday oil never
was burned in their room. They used
candles. In the unoccupied room oppo-
site Mrs. Kipp's apartments were found
most of Merrigan's furniture. Hidden be
hind some rubbish in the bed was found
Miss Hammill's silk parasol. 'Asiat
AT noon Mr.. Peter Hammill, her broth
er. visited the Morgue, but was unable to