Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-02-21
Murder Near salem N. j..
PARTICULARS OF THE RECENT TRAdfpH NEA
sALEM-GREAr ExCIrEMENT ovkR THE IRA

PARTICULARS OF THE RECENT TRAdfpN NEAn
| sALEM-GREAT ExCIrEMENT ovER THE TRAG.
| EDY.
| SALlM. y j Feb. - The wllicst excitement
| prevails lhTUugh Salem county reShfdluC = the
murder OF widow lady named Dilks, which
was pcrpeirsted on Saturday last upon the tai III
| OF John LovI, about three miles from THIS town.
| The circumstances surrounding the crime are
shrouccd IN the deepest veil of mystery, and the
party or plitirs.who committed II have not yet
| been apprehended The scene vi the tragedy Is
a lonely farm house which stands back from the
Harrsonvllc road the meadows in Lower
Penn's Neck, where it Is comparatively isolated,
the nearest habltitpn being at least tdrcc-quai
tiers OF II mile.
The otcnpant OF the premise, i, John L7vJ,
who is a youn; bachelor, the family conslsIin,
OF Mrs Abigail D,lks, the house keeper, wise
farm haud, and small negro boy.
Ga Saturday afternoon last th" family ate an
early supper, ailer which Loyd hilch,d up u
team for The purpose of driving INTO Salem to
mako some purchases. The hired min had len
for tie same place some time previous, t"klns
the negro wth him Lloyd 10 he drove out at
the yaId, stopped by the front door of the i,iui-
house, and held lew moments conversation
" It'll his house keeper and lett her landing there
waving her hand at hm
After trausactiug his business lie returned
home, ariNin4 there about ha'l-pa,t II O'clock
at night. No one was found in the house, and
the woman had disappeared, lcaI ng the sup
1t had been left when he had set out for Salem.
The house-keepsr was a very iidy lady. and the
condition OF the room mostly frtqucntcd showed
that she had failed to set it TO nights. Her ah-
sence somewhat alarmed Lloyd. snd lie sat ny
till long after midnight waiting for her TO return,
but at last hc and the rest o: the. family went
TO bed, with the conclusion that the woman had
goneto pay visit some one of the farm-houses
in the neighborhood, and had concluded to stay all
night.
The next day, which was last Sunday the house
keeper did not return, and fearing that some foul
play had befallen her, Lloyd began vigorous
search on the premises. pom examining the
garden in the rear o; the house lie was horritfed
upon discovering the body Of the woman lying In
q path, dead.
There was no evidence that any scuiIe or strug-
gle had taken place between the victim and her
murderer. la an Old iron pot which stood some
twenty-five yards away from the spot ra1 )r was
found. the instrument beng the property OF the
h'Ied man. and had been taken from the house.
There was No blood upon the blade, and il il sup
posed that after the CT ime was done the razor was
washed of
A post-moltem examination was nade ly Dr.
Waddington, OF Salem, aided by a detective
from PLiladelphia. the tw5 came to the conclusion
that tie womau had been choked to death trst
aud the throat cut GlterS ards The gashes
were found to have htPu made by pair at scis-
sors
FUur men were arrested upon sasp cion immc-
diately. These were the hired farm hand, the
negro boy, and two other colorcd men who rcsid-
ed on farms in the vicinity. The prisoners are
all lodged in the jail at Salem awaiting n hearing
which is expected to take place on Saturday. The
body OF the murdered woman has been sent TO
Mantus, Gloucester county, where her relatives
reside. She about thirty-ive years of age,
and woman of prepossessing appearance, intel
ligent and Of good moral character. John
Lloyd Is sand to have been engaged to be married
to her.
The motive Of the deed is thought TO have been
an Outrage as the house was not plundsred, and
ii is also conceded that after the murderous act
the clothing OF the woman was taken off and other
garments substituted. The widest most and ex-
aggerated rumors are about concerning the affair,
and the excitement is most intense. The scene
Is visited by hundreds OF curious people who come
both en- foot and in carriages.