Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-03-24
MURDE,x W1LE. OU =.
Detection After Nine Years-A True
story that Heads Like n
Egnanance.
From the New York Herald.

From the New York Herald.
In 1867 the little village of Stewart
vile, n. J.. was Mortified at the an
nouncemeut of a most brutal murder.
\ beautiful young woman named Mar
garet iieys was found corpse in the
hnu7e Of her husband, her body hav-
ing been cropped into fragments with
a Ratchet, and the sickening mas
thrust into trap C liar Oh the prem
Uses. Every exertion was made to dis
cover the guilty party. The husband
was driven away 10y grief and suspl-
cion. One yeas passed, and ano her,
without furnishing any clue, and now
comes the most wonderful p TT of the
story. It seems almost like fiction
too strange to be true. 1t has been
nine years since the murder and dur
ing all this time the mystery has grown
deeper and deeper. The scene, how
ever, now hAnges from the quiet little
village of StewartvIile to d large and
| fourishing city i'll the West-trom the
| little house along the Morris Canal, IN
New Jer -ey, to No. 43 Garfield street,
| Cleveland, Ohio. In this house. upon
certain night, man named John
| Cunningham is fufiousiy beating his
wife; he has he, down upon the floor
and is about to crush her face with his
heel, when i'll terror. she cries out:
| Don't. don't, for G DDS sake or you
will murder me- as Y III murdered that
woman in Jersey.
! Cunningham few days after was
p!ac ID in quod' for abusing his wife.
The cry which the woman uttered was
overheard by one James o. Duffy. a
| lawyer, who, as soon as Cunningham
left the house, approached the woman
| j II 4 J. II 81,
made while Gun ingham was beating
| her. He aAked her first what it meant.
The woman appeared terribly alarmad
aud refused to tell She said she hated
Cunningham aud deeply feared him,
yet when IN his presence did everything
he asked her to. Fina ~, after much
urging, she told everything found IN
tie ST quel.
THE WOMAN S STATEMENT.
NV name is E izabeth Reido Though
[ have lived with Johu Cunningham a
great many years, and had chlldrea by
him, we have never been married.
Nine years ago we lived opposite
Ilastun, Pa, III New Jersey. One
morning il Feb.u,ry, 1867, Cunning
ham arose early IN the morning and
told me he WAS going off. He took q
hatchet with him that [ had cut kind
ling wooG with the night before. He
had worked on the NJ ,rris and ESSEX
Railroad He came back in the even
ing looking very strangely. [ saw that
he had blood upon his clothing. [ as
alarmed, aud asked him what he had
been doing. Ii said that he had been
down the road a few miles. Then
taking hold of me. he told me that he
had killed woman aud thrown her
down a little hatchway. [ saw that be
. did not have the Ratchet with him. BE
said that he had gone into the house
to get her money, fer it was just after
, her husbands pay Gay, and that he
fearing the woman would elbow" OF
him he bad killed her with the Ratchet
He said the struggle was avery hard one
and that at one time the woman
almost got the best of him. He then
cautioned me to keep still. [ feared the
, man so that dared not tell; if he ever
gets freefrom law again am sure he will
> kill me as he killed her. The next day
[ heard every one talking about the
terrible affair. Cunningham wen
away and was gone three months
during which time | had letter from
him, in which he wanted to know
whether there were any rumors abou
the affair. Ii was onty Ine Otucf E'Eu
when l thought that he was going t.
kill me that / betrayed the secret l haG
J kept so long.
ARREST OF CUNNINGHAN.
Officers from Stewartsville were sen
for and went to the place whore Gnu
ningham was held for beating his wife
; arrested bin, and he is now in Jai
awaiting trial.
rae husband of the murdered
woman has not been heard from fol
! three years, but il is hoped that this &C
count will meet his eye, as his evidence
vii! be valuable in fixing the guilt O
. the accused.