The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1875-03-17
HORRIBLE.
An U Unprecedented Case of Grave
Robbing.
Violation of a Corpse.

4 -riT Violation of a Corpse.
From the Louisville (Ky.) Courier Journal
The subject matter of the letter here
given is so Incredibly horrible as to jus
tify the statement that it comes from an
unquestionable source. Our readers can
bear witness that the Weekly Courier
Journal never panders to depraved taste.
The statement below would seem to be
the last argument in support of the theo-
ry of "total depravity."
| Correspondence of the courier-JournaI
| Ir9- 2 LEXINGTON, VA, Feb. 20, 1875.
On the 18th or 18th of February Miss
Eva Mullen, a young lady of this place,
in very good health, while at the dinner
table, was stricken with paralysis. and
shortly afterward died. She was be-
tween 16 and 30 years of age. On the
evening of Saturday, February 13, she
was buried. On the following Monday
some person noticed pair of white un-
der-garments lying not far from her
grave, but thought nothing of the cir
cumstance, and therefore said nothing
about it. 1t was not until half of the
week had passed away that any of the
town authorities heard of it, but as soon
as it became known, persons were sent
to examine the grave. Spades were pro-
cured, and two inches below the ground
the diggers rerr
FOUND A FULL SET OF WOMEN'S CLOTHES.
AT short distance from the grave a
new shoe-knife was found When the
coffin was at last reached, the lid of it
was found to have been ehiseled open
and broken in two. Raising the coffin
lid, the corpse was still to be found
there, but not in its natural position.
Every vestage of clothing except the
stockings had been cut and ripped from
the body by means of the shOe-knife,
and in this naked condition the body
was lying on its side and covered with
dirt. The coffin was lifted from the
grave, and the body of the girl was roll
ed out upon a board, so as to give her
friends who were present an opportunity
to remove the dirt from the body The
coffin was half full of earth and it was
removed. After all this had been ac-
complished, the body was wrapped up
in a white sheet, the cotfin-lid was fixed
and screwed up and it was again inter-
red.
~ SUSPECTED PARTIES.
There are number of young gentle
men in Lexington who are studying
medicine under Dr. j. H. Morrison, and
they were at once suspected of having
dug up the body to make use of it in the
dissecting room That is, that late
Saturday night the body was dug up,
but that daylight coming on before they
could get the body away they were com
PEELED to pitch it into the coffin again,
to throw the dirt on, and hasten rapidly
away. The report reaching the ears of
the above young men, they went at once
and swOre before magistrate, that they
knew nothing of the matter whatever
The new shoe-knife found near the grave
was then taken, and efforts made to find
from what store in town it had been sold.
At last it was taken to Deavor, a shoe
maker in Livingston. He recognized it
as one that he had sold, and stated that
he knew the man to whom he had sold
it and that he would swear to his identi-
ty. This mans name was found to be
e- CERTAIN WAT. HILLS,
a shoemaker also, whom [ believe was
in the employment of Deaver. He was
arrested and imprisoned; his tools were
examined, and among them was found a
large chisel caked over with dirt This
Wat. Hills is man very forbidding in
appearance, and some years ago he cut
prostitutes throat in Indiana, from ear
to ear. He was tried and acquitted,
however, on the plea of seIf-defense
Various rumoTs were afloat concerning
the mans reasons for digging up dead
bodies and ship them off to certain cities;
others that he had q BaaniE for gaziIag upon
naked aoonaelo. Under these circumstances
it was thought best to have the body dug
up again and examined by doctors. The
chisel caked with dirt was taken, and
when the coffin was reached, certain
marks on it (the coffin) were found to
exactly correspond with the size of the
chisel mentioned. The body was taken
out of the coffin again, and delivered in
to the hands of three doctors, who con-
veyed it to room, and made an examina-
ton of it, A most careful examination
was held and now the astounding, dis
gusting and horrifying news is made
known that this miserable creature,
Hills, dignified with the name of man,
disinterred the young girl and then
RAvIsHED THE COLD AND LIFELEss BODY
The man has only had a preliminary
trial, but the facts against him were all
SO clear that his guilt cannot be doubted.
/ verify believe this case is without paral-
lei in the whole category of remarkable,
horrible and sickening crimes Whether
any provision has been made by law for
the punishment of such crime, | am
unable to say. But if the law does not
dispose of him properly, venture to say
that Wat Hills VIII never leave the
town of Lexington alive. In this place
such an unusual occurrence has created
intense excitement 1t has been the
constant talk of every one ever since the
deed was committed, aud bids fair to
continue so for goodness knows how
long. j.
CHASTITY Machine.
A strange clock is said to have
i i II l.