St. Landry democrat., 1878-06-22
HE Fate Of Miss Leblanc.
SIX YEARS AFTER HER MURDER HER
SKELETON DISCOVERED.
ABDUCTED AND KILLED BY A REJECTED
sUITOR-IDENTIFIED By MEANS OF
HER JEWELRY AFTER ALL OTHER
THINGS HAD GONE TOT DECAY.
IErom the ST. Inuis Post,


Tn july, 1872, Julie Leblanc, then IS
Years OF age, daughter Of Francois Lee
blanc, farmer of Jefferson county,
Mo, mysteriousIy disappeared from
home. She had dressed with the III
teuton OF attending q party to bC gwen
in a Deiyhbor's house, and Was last seeii
nv her mother and father IN their gar
den DlucLinc flowers for bouquet.
Tie family supposed that Mr.. James
Leonard, the most favored OF her many
admirers, who was her intended escort
to the partv, had called, and that she
had zone with him. Her parents were
not alarmed that night, but as she was
still absent the next morning they be-
came anxious. The persons who gave
the party said that she had not been at
their house, although Leonard was there
/ the entire evening, having escorted his
sister instead of Miss Leblanc. Other
neishburs had neither seen nor heard OF
Julie. Companies OF men searched the
woods, and there they found traces OF
the footsteps of man and woman m
| The latter were the imprint made by
shoes of the same size as those worn by
| the missing girl. These tracks led to q
creek, where boat, the property OF Mi.
! Leblanc, had been moored. The boat
was missing. :,
Search was made for several miles
down the bank of the creek and along
those of Crystal, large stream flowing
into the Mississippi, into which the
small creek emptied, but without sue
cess. The despairing parents gave up
their daughter as lost.
The fathers suspicious rested on
Phillip Kenealey, who had been an ar
dent admirer OF jules from her child
hood, and who had been dismissed fol
the favor of Leonard. But his wife re-
fused to let him have Kenealy arrested
The suspected man went to Leblanc
few days after jules disappearance
and telling him of his love for her, and
how little he cared to remain in the
neigh borhood now that she was missing
said that he was going to New Orleans
where he had been offered permanent
situation at good compensation IN
large wholesale store. That same even
, ing he quietly departed. He has moi
: since been seen.
, Now, after these Intervening years
the mystery has been cleared up. Ben
iamin F. Aiken, a colored hand, who il
/ in the employ of Ferdinand Maher, q
farmer OF New Madrid county, Mo.
, near Point Pleasant, while shooting
? snipe along the river bank on Monday
morning last, saw an object having
= the appearance OF skitf floating with
: the current down the river toward him
p, Procuring a long pole he waited the OBJ
=. ject's approach. lie caught 1t ana dreV
it to shore. Lying in the bottom OF thu
boa, was a skeleton. The bones hat
been heached by the sun and rain unit
they We're Of a pure snowy wmteness.
The skeleton was that OF a woman
: Not "a particle of flesh vas on the bones
= out on the right side Of the skull Was
= piece of skin, dried and shrivel!ed b.
t The heat of the sun. Three teeth in th
: upper part of the mouth were tilie'
=, with gold, and two of the lower teet|
: were missing. By her side, in the bot
[ tom OF The boat, lay a piece ct jeweir
a having Some resemblance to a hreastpln
/, but it was worn by the action Of water
On the wrists Of the skeleton were gol'
+ bracelets of q very fine quality, an
t having some peculiar marks. In tn
sktf were parts of a tarpaulin that hat
f Gecayed before the ravages OF rain an
V heat during lapse of many years. IT,
+ boat was of the class known as lit
= boats. 1t contained water to the dept
n of ten inches, which had accumulate
y from many rains.
J Aiken lnoored the boat, and took tn
: jewelry to Mr.. Maher, and that gentle
+ man summoned d Coroner; but tia
o official deemed it unnecessary to hol
p an inquest over the bones OF a perso
it who had been dead for a number c
3 years. The bracelets and breastpi
g were given to the Coroner by Aike1
). The bones were buried on the rive
l. bank.
it Mr.. Leblanc, having heard of tn
e discovery, visited New Madrid count.
e on last Thursday, Mr. Maher conducte
e him to the Coroner. The bracelets wer
II shown him, and he identified then
e The skiff was also identified as the on
b which had been his property. He mad
e preparations for removing the bones {
1T his daughter to his home. A coffin ws
r brought, and men were hired to di
e, them up. The river bank was searche
J. in vain for the place of burial it coul
,, not be found. The bank had eithe
: caved in or the river had washed thel
u away.
d MI. Leblanc has no doubt that h
daughter was abducted from the gal
l. den by Kenealy, and that her murdere
e strangled her to death and put her bod
d into the boat, covering it With tarpar
is lin, intending to make way with it at
|. more favorable time. The boat wa
'e securely fastened to the creek bank {
- a place where the underground was S
S thick it could not be detected withor
,, exceedingly close Inspection, and &
( Kenealy could not visit the place alon
)" without exciting suspicion, the boat la
there until the ropes decayed and thu
e loosened the boat, which foate
y, down the creek into the Platin or Cry