The daily gazette., 1877-04-23
A BRUTAL MURDER.
A Mans Head Nearly Severed
From His Body. 4 -
Arrest and Confession N
of the Murderer.

OF the Murderer.
DISCOVERY OF THE CRIME--THE Ex-
CITEMENT IN THE CITY-EvIDENcE
AT THE coRoNER's INQUEsT-THE
PRISONER COMMITTED, &c. h.lI.
This community yesterday morning,
was startled by the announcement that a
horrible and revolving murder had. been
committed O,i the causeway, near the
city. For awhile it was supposed that
the report was only another April fool
hoax, but soon the flying rumors received
continuation, and it was definitely known
that terrible murder had been COM
mitted, and that James Temple, well
known colored man, for several wears
past engaged in the night scavengering
business, was the victim.
The circumstances of the murder were
OF the most revolving character. The
victim, when discovered In the morning,
presented horrible spectacle, his head
being
NEARLY SEVERED FROM THE SHOULD
EBs,
while fearful cash extended across the
face, and removed the lobe of the left
ear. The skull was also fractured. In
life, the murdered man had been possess.
ed of most ugly and unprepossessing
face, which was rendered infinitely more
hideous and disgusting by his appalling
death. gtNF. ,.a.ff = :
The news of the murder as it flew
from lip to lip caused ..l iu
A GREAT e icITEMENT,
and hundreds of-people focked around
the police station, where the murderer
was confined, and around undertaken
Fox's office, corner of Sixth and Shipley
streets, to which place the body had been
removed. All day long the crowd hov-
cred between these two places, and
people eagerly discussed such rumors of
the affair as were from time to time
obtainable. .. .l.
THE CAUSE OF THE MURDER
was undoubtedly .jealously. For some
years past the murderer, a mulatto man
named John Rhodes, had been the para.
mour Of negro woman named Lucinda
Duckery, who resides with her parents
in house in New Castle Hundred, close
to the causeway, and just outside the
city limits. Recently James Temple, the
victim, has been successfully paying
court to the same woman, and this fault
aroused. jealous feud between the two
men, which gcuhminated in the horrid
tragedy herein narrated.
HOW THE MURDER WAS DISCOVERED.
Between 10 and IL O'Clock Saturday
night, as Perry DENLY, a colored man in
the employ of Randolph Peters, nursery
man, was going along the causeway to
his home, accompanied by his son, he
discovered the body of man lying in
the middle Of the road, just few feet
beyond Garashe's lane. Supposng it to
be that of drunken man, he dragged
the body to one. side of the road. He
then passed on until he came to Duck
ery's house where he stopped, according
to his statement, although the Duckery's
deny that he stopped there), where he
told of the body he had seen, Duckery, |
he says then stated that the body must be
that of Jim Temple, murdered, as Tenn |
pie had not been to his (Duckery's)
house that night, as was his usual Gus
tom. DENLY treated this assertion as
joke and went on to his home.
John Thompson, who is also in the en-
ploy Of Randolph Peters, saw the body |
about 1870 o'clock, as he was driving
home, and his horse was frightened at it. |
The next morning he spoke of the cir
by the latter that the body was that of |
colored man.
THE CORONER NOTIFIED.
Between and 9 o'clock Sunday morn
ing, Deputy Coroner McCaffrey was
aroused by colored man, who informed
him that the body of a murdered man |
had been found upon the causeway. He |
communicated with Coron-
er Rose, and together they proceeded to |
the scene Of tie tragedy. -.
Arriving at the place they found the |
body of the murdered man, lying in a |
pool of blood in the middle Of the road,
and surrounded by party of negroes. |
All around the body they found the road
torn up as ifby most desperate struggle
and to the left were discovered deep foot |
steps in the earth, as though the muir
derer had leaped away from the road
and into the field when he had finished
his bloody work. AS soon as the Coro-
ner and his deputy approached, one of |
the parties around the corpse-Mrs.
Duckery- said that if they would "arrest
John Rhodes
THEY WOULD GET THE RIGHT MAN.
as be had committed the murder"
Going back to the city, the Coroner Sc
cured the attendance of officers Jones |
and Cloud, and returned to the scene of |
the murder. Here another of the spec
tators, Lucinda Duckery, who appears to |
be the person who caused the jealous |
feud between the murderer and his vic
tim, pointed to piece of iron Stag lying
beside the body, and said that Temple |
had been knocked down with it. About |
this time Lucinda's shawl was observed |
to be quite bloody, and suspicioning that |
she was connected somewhat with the |
murder, the Coroner caused her to be ar
rested. Officer Jones measured the foot |
steps at the side of the road and found |
them about four feet apart, the second
one being about four and half feet from
the ditch at the left Of the causeway,
showing that the murderer had made two |