The New York herald., 1879-07-06
No Clew to the Identity Of the Person
Who Ssot Mr.. Seymour.
THEORIES OF TIE CRIME.
The Suicide Hypothesis Aban-
doned by the Police.

circumstances far they were able to do so.
The details of the story. Us told in yesterdays
HERALD. were in fact. as much as they knew of the
last night excepting that they had by inquiry
learned considerable about Mr.. Seymour and his
life and circumstances. Concerning his death
they are still in the dark and frankly
admit that there is little probability Of
their reaching q solution OF the mystery.
Mr.. Seymour was stated yesterday. was sixty
one years Of age. large and finely built and weigh
ing about two hundred and twenty five pounds. He
had been . crockery merchant and the head of the
hrm bearing his name, and was ut one time in very
prosperous circumstances. Half dozen years ago
he failed. and has not since been engaged in busi
ness but with his wife has lived with her brother.
Bishop Seymour the Dean Of the General
Theological Seminary in this city and the
recently elected Bishop Of Illinois. On Thurs
day evening he told his wife that he would go out
to the grounds around the house for a walk, and
accordingly passed out of the house. little while
after Bishop Seymour came in and being told by his
sister that her husband outside he left the door
unbolted. Mrs. seymour soon after fell asleep. but
soon awakening she missed her husband, and arous
ing her brother they went in search Of him. They
found hIm lying on the grass dead from bullet
wound. ~
"THE POLICE CAN DO NOTHING"
These facts. with the many details significant and
known. and Captain Ryan, in whose precinct 1t
occurred said yesterday. "The police do nothing.
for there is clew by which they tell what to
do The only thing possible is to search for clew
and this search was kept up through the day. It
was ut first supposed by the police that the
one of suicide and Bishop Seymour and hts sister
were made very indignant by too hasty assump-
tfon and too blunt statement of this
hypothesis. Yesterday the most careful in
suicide theory almost conclusvey In the first place.
no motiue for suicide for supposing it
by temperament. all his family associations
most pleasant and on Thursday last he in his
usual excellent spirits. He was deeply attached to
his wife. to whom he had been married many years.
She was q distant relative and bore the same name
before as after her marriage. They had three chill
dren. all daughters. married happily aud well.
For one OF these daughters they had recently
built house in this city, giving 1t to her
tor several in the Deans residence the latter
beng bachelor. The Dean thought highly OF his
as he said yesterday in speaking Of
the atters DEATH and the three expected shortly
go together to the ulinoisan diocese of which the
Dean is now Bishop. He was man of superior
executive ability, and was to have charge of my
business matters in Springfield" said the Bishop;
aud he continued, 1--WE all lived very happily to-
gether and whore one went all would CO."
II there was no motive discovered, neither any
weapon found although the ground for o hundred
feet around where the dead man was found was
fully and minutely searched and yesterday in defer
epce to half dozen suggestions and to the wishes Of
Bishop Seymour. the long grass cut and raked
away to make the search mole thorough. To-mor-
row all the grass on the grounds is to be moved,
although the poIiSa think this superduous. Bishop
Sey mour. however. wishes nothing be left un-
done. Mr.. Seymour never known to have
pistol and relatives scout the idea of his having
even had one with him when he died.
ALMOST CERTAINLY A SUICIDE
The third reason for concluding that Mr. Seymour
did not kill himself is that it is declared by the
physicians in the highest degree improbable. If not
impossible. for man to have inflicted on himself
such wound as Mr.. Seymour received. On this
point Dr. f. ID. Hudson. Jr.. OF No. 227 West Twenty
second street. was very emphatic. He. with DIR. d.
A. Cushman of No. ITO Ninth avenue, was sum-
ana he was present when the autopsy was
made on the following day by DIR. Miller
the Deputy Coroner. He said:-"There was
. worry small, clean,y cut wound tha
surface with slight discoloration about It, caused
by the settling or tho blood. Before entering the
body the ball passed only through linen shirt and
hghtsundershirt tfor his coat was thrown pack)
making hole a. sharp us you could make with
bell punch There not the slightest scorching
or trace OF powder on the shirt rne bail entered
the breast bone and little to the right OF it.
and passed through the aorta, making two holes in
it. each SIDE Continuing its it lodged
between the seventh and eighth ribs. near the
spine aud little to the right of it,. Its
course therefore very slightly inclined down.
ward, though not enough to argue against the pos
sibillly OF the shot having been red by stand
ing directly in front of HIM. very slight detection
OF pistol presented point blank would account
the downward OF the ball. 1t such q
wouno ~ hah couio not make on nimseii, or II ne
could possibly do 1t he would not be in the least
degree iikely to-"
Dr. Miller. alter making the autopsy. ut first said
that the wound might self-inhlcted, but after
ward said that it not at all probable that it was
The wounded man must have died. the physicians
say. almost instantly, and IL he had held ANYTHING
III his hand would have dropped 1t. and probably
could not have thrown 1t away.
Driven by these facts from their primary suppo-
sition that they had found suicide the police have
been trying to dcduce from wnat il known OF the
circums tances theory that would At the case. and
they have found three Inspector Diks. Captain
Ryan, Sergeant Blair and Detective King were all
engaged on the case yesterday. and they acknowl-
edged that there was no to suppose that Mr..
Seymour had committed suicide.
WAS IT A RANDOM SHOT?
The first and most obvious theory ~ the which
they believe Is the If it is true it relieves
the police of all responsibility. Tor they could not
have prevented the occurrence and cannot possibly
discover, unless by accident, the person who rcd
the shot. They claim to believe that Mr.. Seymour
was walking in the grounds and was struck by a
random shot 1t was the night of July g. at
about midnight. when the firing OF pistols, guns
aud hrecrackers was general al over city. and the
shot would have attracted no attention And they
say IL Mr.. Seymour met his death in this way IT IL
very probable that the person who nred the shot
did not know what he had done.
The second theory s that he killed by some
one who was shooting at cat and the third is that
he became engaged in an alteration with some
stranger or intruder ON the grounds and shot
by him. Toward the solution of the problem the
position OF the body when found and the descrip-
OF these theories is but in there seems
to be little proved by either. 1t is not certain IN
what position the body first found. Bishop
seymour says tht 1t was lying the face Ser
geant Blair, who saw ii afterward, says when ne
Sine 70 the spo, p r T. Lay & on the back Whether IT. was
time IL found is not certain. II is not known
what she did in the excitement OF the moment, and
she was yesterday i'll 10 talk to any one about
the matter. The physicians say that the position,
anyway tells nothing to the direction from which
the bullet came. tor the dying man may have turned
~ he fell.
AS to the bullet there is considerable doubt what
kind of o weapon IL came IRON. 1t is not furrowod
or msshapen at all and there rs question whether
IT came from pistol or parlor rifle. small bit
Of rubber found with the bullet in tho wound indi
Gates that II WAS contained In new fashioned
rubber cartridge. such are used with paror rifles.
II II came from pistol the person who fired It must
have been within short distance to have nfiicted
wound 10 clean AS the one In question. for so snail
u ball III In 10 22lW inch size) would not be carried
w.tn 10 co great distance by pistol of carrespond
ing calibrc. IL IL came from par.or rifle u may
have como 20U OF aOO yer,ls. .4,.
The only reason Tor suppo. ing that some one was
shooting ut cat and killed Mr. Seymour by acci-
dent IL that shooting ut cats IL said to be by no