New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-06-12
THE HILL MURDER.

Again a dreadful ana mysterious muIueI
sends a shock through the community re-
minding us how little safety there Is for
human life, after all, even in the midst OF a
dense population, and under the shield OF
boosted law and government. A woman Is
murdered, most brutally murdered in her
own house, in which a score OF persons sleep
till the day dawns. absolutely ignorant, 1t
would seem, of the CHASTITY tragedy In pro-
gress under the same roof. The robbers-for
they appear to have been only robbers III
intention, and murderers merely by ac-
cident-succeed in etfecting an entrance
TO the house without attracting notice,
and in overpowering the unfortunate woman
without allowing a cry for help to escape
her. She is gagged and blindfolded, and
bound to her bed as if on the rack ; a strip
of shawl is even passed about her neck to
complete this gagging and binding process.
The work is so clumsily and brutally done
that it is very much overdone. Efforts are
made to revive her, as seems to be shown by
the scent Of cologne about the body, and the
singed marks upon the eyebrows, near which
q candle has apparently been held to see II
there is no life in the eyes. But she dies,
and of suffocation. Her rings are wrenched
from her fingers whether before or after the
murder makes little diiference), the lock OF
her trunk is broken open, and her jewels and
other articles of value are taken. During all
This time not sound is noticed by any
inmate of the house except servant, who hears
a cry to which she attaches no Importance.
The shocking crime ends in the same
dread silence and mystery in which 1t began.
The robbers and murderers, for they are both
now, disappear--somewhere. Day begins, the
dead body of the murdered woman Is
found still strapped to the bed, and 10 effort
of the police can discover, during the first day
of investigation, at least, any clew leading out
of the house or the slightest reason to sus-
pect any one within it. All this takes place
in handsome mansion, on one of our widest
streets. and midway between two of our prin-
cipal avenues.
Civilization seems almost failure In the
presence of crimes like the Nathan murder or
this latest mysterious homicide, which in
crotesoue brutality and dark secrecy far out
does that famous tragedy. 1t is, indeed, an
impressive moral lesson to be startlingly re-
minded now and then that all the humanizng
Influences which we see in active operation
around us, and upon which we pride our
selves, count for nothing against the lawess
passions of men once aroused. 1t Is lesson
of another sort, but still an impressive one, to
find that our complicated machinery of gov
ernment is so pOwerless to protect us,
after all. Mr. Rogers was murdered,
several years ago, while standing on
his own sidewalk in broad daylight, and his
murderer has never been discovered Mr..
Nathan was murdered in his own house, which
stood opposite one of our largest hotels; his
murderer has never been found. Mrs. Hull
has been murdered in house fairly filled
with people, and while 1t would be rash to
predict that this case will also remain ill.,
volved IN mystery, thus far there seems to
be little prospect that it will be calculated.
Even admitting that il is impossible to de-
wise any system of police espionage SO per-
feet that rOgues cannot find an interval in
which to ply their trade, it Is evil
dent that there is something grossly
defective in system under which
these crimes are possible. Is it not about