The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-09-08
4 RICH WOMAN MURDERED.
Attempt to Conceal the Crime by
burning her BODY.

burning her BODY.
On Thursday night David Coe saw
smoke ascending from the top floor of the
tenement in the rear of 1919 Ninth street.
Willlamsburgh in the apartments occu-
pied by James Merrigan and his wife Mr..
Coe extnguished the fire with few pals
of water. Capt Woglom and officer Ed.
mund Brown examined the premises. On
the upper floor loom and bedroom are on
each side of the hall. Merrgan's apart
ments were on the right side of the hall,
over the rooms of Mrs. Kip and her SON
in-law, Mr.. David Coc.
The officers entered the bedroom. As
they passed to open the shutters they STUN
bled over the burned bed and discovered
the partly charred body of woman. Her
head was resting on the floor near the door.
She was nude and there were no evidences
of her clothing to be found. Her head and
breast were blstcrcd and disfgurcd The
body was not contortcd. The limbs were
straight, and the arms laid by her side. She
did not seem to have been burned to death
Tightly wound about her neck and imbed-
ded in the flesh was piece of bed cord,
blackencd with the smoke.
Merrigan and his wife said that they
knew nothing about the woman. hut they
were arrested and on the way to the police
station they told SO many contradictory
stories that suspicious of their guilt were
dcepencd.
VINO SHE WAS.
1t has been learned that the dead woman
was Miss Margaret IIammll of Forty
eighth street, New York, and she was visi-
ting the arrested persons. With Mrs.
Merrigan she had been intimate for years,
as they had been school girls together.
Miss Hammll was the sister of James
and Peter Hammill, iron merchants at the
foot of Gansevoort street, New York. She
was wealthy, having at the death of her
father received as her share of the prop
erty a number of houses in East Tenth
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
entered Mrs. Mcrrigans apartments and
had not been seen until her body was dis
covered.
Mrs. Kipp saw her enter the yard by the
alley on Thursday. She noticed her partic-
ularly because she was so richly dressed.
A gold chain wound about her neck fell in
coils on her breast. She passed Mrs
Kipp's door, smiling at her, and passed up
the narrow stairway.
a STRUGGLE IN MERRIGAN's ROOMS.
About II o'clock that night Mrs Kipp
heard subdued screams and shuffiing of feet
in Merrigans rooms. The noise seemed to
be in the corner of the room by the closet
She says that she heard woman's voice
cry. Don't don't; that's mine" After
another scuflle gruff voice said, "Shut
up; sit down. Then there was a noise as
though they were dragging some one across
the floor. This was followed by crash,
and voice like mans said, "Therc.
uamn you, SIT down
The next morning Mrs Merrigan closed
her rooms, and quit the house. She visited
one of the ncighbors, to whom she gave a
white basque trimmed with black lace
The woman was surprised at the gift, but
on Mrs. Merrigan saying that she wished to
recompcnsc her daughter for favors, she
accepted it. This woman said that Mrs
Alerrigan seemed excited. Her face was
red and pulled, she said, "but attributed
that to the fact that she must have been
drinking more than usual, She was ac-
customed to have her beer regularly"
OTHER GIFTS.
On Wednesday night neither Mrs. Mer-
rigan nor his wife was at home On Thurs
day morning Mrs. Merrigan was seen in
her room. She remained there only few
moments and went away, About noon she
called on neighbor, to whose daughter she
gave costly recticulc In the evening she
was seen by Mr.. Kipp in the yard walking
about with her child in her arms and talk
ing to her husband, who stood at the alley
way door.
Shortly before o'clock Mrs. Kipp
heard her walking in her room and then 60
down stairs to the yard. As she reached
the door there was crash in the ROOM
Mrs. kipp ran to the yard and called to
her, saying: Mrs Merrigan, something
has happened in your ROOM Mrs. Merr-
gan turned but did not reply. Mrs. Kipp
called to her son-in-law, who seeing the
smoke asked Mrs Merrigan as he ran up
the whether her baby was in the room.
She did not answer, but held out her arms,
in which was resting the child.
MRS. MERRIGAN's STORY.
While the police and fircmcn were cxtin-
gushing the fire, she stood on the walk in
the street, bitterly bewailing to her neigh
bors the absence of her husband at his
lodge, to which he had gone contrary to
her wishes, ''for," she said, 81 told him,
and he knew that something would hap
pen"
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 po-
lice she said: "Miss Hammill was drunk
when she came to my house, and continued
in that condition On Thursday she told
me she would go out and get some coffee,
and that was the last / saw of her."
PROOFS OF MURDER.
Friday morning, Captain Woglom and
and Sergeant Bunce thoroughly examined
the house. The property distributed by
Mrs. Merrigan in the ncighborhood was
given to the police and identified as belong