Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-02-18
THE MCCORMICK MURDER.

killing of One of Mt. Vernon's
M Prominent Business
Men-NO Clue to the MUIR
derer-Heavy Reward
Offered.
Our citizens were startled on Satur.
day morning by report that our we'll.
known fellow-citizen, Mr.. John Nc
COrmlck, Casualty called Deacon Nc
Cormick), iron Merchant in the Krem-
lin Building, had been murdered in his
store on the night previous. We has.
tened to the premises any found large
crowd of people in front of the store,
but the room being already full the Of
ticers were compelled to lock the door
against further intrusion.
HOW THE MURDER WAS DISCOVERED.
Mr.. Harvey Braryan, blacksmith,
on Front street, (who was one of Mr.,
McC0rmisk's customers,) went to the
store about O'Clock on Saturday morn
ing, for the purpose of buying horse
shoe nails. Knowing Mr.. Mccormick 8
habits of early rising he was surprised
to find that the blinds had not yet been
removed from the front door and win
dow. He noticed, however, that the
door was ajar, put his hand on the knod
and pushed it open. All was darkness
inside. He entered and paused mo-
ment to ascertain if any person was in
the room. By this time his eyes, adapt
ing themselves to the darker atmos-
phere of the store, discovered what ap-
peared to be the body of a man lying
on the floor about the center of the room
near the stove, He approached. and
was amazed and horrified to find the
dead body of the man he was looking
for stretched on the floor, his skull
broken, and his head lying in a pool
of blood! Mr.. Branyan ran out and
communicated the awful news to Geo.
Bum and others, and in moment the
store-roOm was crowded with people.
1t was soon found necessary for the
officers to request all persons to leave
whose business there was merely Curl
Osity.
WHEN LAST SEEN ALIVE.
The last person who saw and CONVEX
ed with the murdered man was JEFF.
Sapp, who keeps grocery store next
door. Here Mr.. Mccormick entered
about O'Clock the previous evening,
sat and chatted for about an hour, -ap-
pearing to be in unusal good SPIRITS
He went into his door, and proceeded, +,
it is supposed; to read his daily paper
(the Cincinnati Gazette), as has been
his custom for years. 9.-'
HOW AND WHEN THE MURDER WAS
COMMITTED.
As the deceased has always been very
regular in his habits, leaving his store
room about 9 o'clock in the evening for
his boarding house; and then retiring
for the night, the murder was unqnes-
tionably committed between the hours
of 1880 and 9 O'Clock on Friday evening.
From the appearance of things in the
morning the conclusion, is irresistible
that one Or-mOre persons entered the
store between the hours mentioned,
under the pretense of buying some iron
but really to commit robbery. The
newspaper which the deceased had
been reading was found thrown care
lessly on pile of iron back of the spot
where his chair stood, near the stove,
as though he had laid it there while
waiting upon customers. Two slips of
light iron, one round and the other a
flat bar, were found on the scales, which
were balanced. On the iron block on
which the iron is cut, was found rod
of half-inch round iron, a piece of which
was partly cnt off. These facts go to
prove that the murderer or murderers
did not come to buy iron, but to COM
init robbery, as it was generally un-
derstOod that the deceased had large
sum of money, supposed 70 be from
81 ,OO0 to 81, 900, in pocket-koOk, which
he kept concealed somewhere in the
store. This pocket-boOk probably be-
ing produced to make change, when |
the slips of iron on the scales were
the murderers pretended to
want little more iron, in order more |
to carry out their purpose;
and it is believed that while Mr.. Nc
Cormick was STOPPING down, one knee
on the floor, in the act of cutting off
the other slip of lion, he was struck on
the head three or four blows with
hammer, breaking his skull and pro-
ducing instant death. Blood was found
On the floor near where the cutting was
done, as it had spurted in a small
stream from a wound, and blood and
hair were found On two hammers, close
to where the dead body rested, one
small coal chisel hammer, and the
other sledge weighing about eight
pounds, the very one used by the de-
ceased in cutting iron, which was no
1oubt taken from his hand after the
irst blow had been given with the
mall hammer. When discovered the
body was stretched on the floor, the
head toward the Cor west enterance,
md the feet about two yards from the
ron cutting block. This goes to show
hat the first blow had been given by
he small hammer leach one of which
)rode the skull and would have pro-
luced desth) the deceased struggled
md fell over on the floor at the spot
when, to complete their
nurderOus and horrible work, heavy
,low was given on the top of the head
with sledge, which mashed the skull
n horrible manner, the blood and
,rains pc uring out upon the floor!
THE ROBBERY.
Deacon Mccormick always kept a
arge sum of moneys, $40, $50, $50,
md 800 notes, in large pocket-bOOk
which he desposited in his safe during
,usines hours, which, it is supposed,
le concealed behind the piles ofirOn be- /
ore he left the store at night. This
is missing, and it is believ- {
ID it was the only thing valuable the
robbers obtained. Various !
mall sums of money, watch, and
ther articles, were found in the pock-
is of the deceased untouched. There II
vas also some change in the safe, and
bout $50 i'm small currency in drawer
,ehind the counter, which were undis-
urbed. The safe, which was found !
Unlocked in the morning, indicated
hat it had been searched hastily, but {
lot thoroughly, as the small change
vas untouched in the drawers. The
afe is and old-fashioned one, which
vas not considered burglar-proof, and
or this reason Mr. Mc(nrmick did not