The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-11-15
BODY.SNATCHING.
Tho Tomb of A. T. Stewart Piundered Of Its
Dcad-singuiarity and Mystery Attaching
to the Despicable Crime.

Tho Tomb Of A. Il. Stewart Piundered Of Its
Dcad-singularity and Mystery Attaching
To the Despicable Crime.
New York Cor. Chicago Tribune.l
The grave of the late Alexander i.
Stewart was successfully robbed be-
tween midnight and sunrise this morn
ing, and his remains carried off, evil
IDENTIFY in the hope of obtaining a large
ransom for their return. The scene of
the outrage was old st. Marks church
yard, which occupies the irregular end
OF the block bounded by Second
avenue, Stuyvesant, and East Eleventh
streets. The church, facing on Stuyve-
SAINT street, divides the yard into two
strips of green turf, dotted with small
square marble slabs. These slabs indi-
cate the vaults, which form a perfect
honeycomb under ground. The Stewart
family vault is about in the center, and
is surrounded by spiked iron fence
ten feet high, and exceedingly difficult
to climb. A more exposed position for
grave robbery could hardly be found.
The yard fronts on three streets, with
houses opposite on all sides, and four
street-lamps throw light into it. The
Stewart vault entrance is covered by
three stone slabs, all of which had to be
removed.
On the morning of Oct. 9, the sexton
of st. Marks, George w. Hammill, dis
covered that the Stewart slab had been
tempered with during the preceding
night. Somebody had lifted it and evil
IDENTIFY let it drop in hurry. There
seems to be no doubt, in the light Of to-
days discoveries, that an attempt was
then made to steal the body, and that
the robbers were frightened away just
as they got fairly to work. Judge Hill
ton was notified, and made an examina-
ton of the premises. He had new locks
put on the gates, and moved the slab
fifteen feet south to mislead future spo-
hators. He also employed a private
night-watchman, who WAS required to
visit the yard once every hour. This
Waterman was discharged on Friday
last, it being thought no further attempt
would be made. This morning the eek
tons assistant found the vault opened
and the body gone. The police and
Judge Hilton were notified, and every
effort is being made to ferret ont the
mystery. Only one man saw anything
unusual about the cemetery last night.
A dentist, returning home at midnight,
saw five men standing near the ceme-
terry fence. The night was dark and
stormy. Three patrolmen who pass the
cemetery saw nothing suspicious. A
deep feeling of Indignation is expressed
at the outrage.
Judge Hilton thinks there is some
thing strange in Sexton Hammel's ac-
tons. The Judge says he could imagine
no reason why any one should steal Mr..
Stewards body except to recover a re-
ward. The silver plate was the only
thing to tempt robbers. The Judge
himself could not have accurately point
ed out the vault entrance. The robbers
must have had reliable information. The
sexton and his assistant were the only
persons who knew the entrance.
When Hilton reached the vault he
found piece of the sexton's rope which
that person did not satisfactorily nc
count for. The sexton and his assist
ant were taken to headquarters and ex-
amined. Their stories agree. While
suspected, they are not under arrest.
Judge Hilton believes the thieves
went out the gate with the body, and
must have had duplicate keys. The
job was done with great skill, the rob-
bers evidently knowing the location
perfectly. A small shovel and lantern
were found in the vault There were
five boxes in the vault, and one was
crushed in, probably by stepping on it.
This is the first time the Metropolitan
police have ever had case of body
snatching reported. This time was
chosen undoubtedly because the body
was soon to be removed to a crypt in the
Garden City Cathedral.
Mrs. Stewart was very i'll at the time
of the affair. She is in her 10Th year,
and has been ailing much lately
Judge Hilton did not break the news
until late hour to-day. He said it was
one of the most painful tasks that had
ever fallen to him. He put it off as long
as possible. In the afternoon, when the
newsboys began to cry the story in the
streets, they seemed to loiter about the
lady's residence, and to cry more loudly
and persistently than usual. Mrs. Stew
art takes q lively interest in current
events, and exhibited singular interest
to know what event was cried on the
streets. Judge Hilton then related care
fully the story of the robbery of her
husbands grave. Mrs. Stewart bore the
shock with heroism, but it proved at
length too great strain on her weak
ened strength, and>she sank perceptibly
under the blow.
Judge Hilton said the terrible affcir
proved cruelty to the estimable lady diff
ficult to conceive. tits feared the result
may prove very serious to Mrs. Stewart.