Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1880-03-11
THE HEADLEsS WOMAN.
The Mystery of a Murder The Nail
of Finger and the Nail of a Door
"A Detectives ShreWdness.

"do SdIlicieu vi TIC pavement
ut No. 43 Rue de Collisse, Paris,
on the morning of the 9Th of
March, 1872.
During the night a terrible
murder had been committed in
an apartment OH the second
floor, the whole Of which was
occupied by M. Louis Capin
and his wife, Madame Louise.
At eight o'clock one of the two
servants employed by the coup
lie knocked at the chamber door
Of Madame, as was usually her
custom, to receive her orders for
the morning. Obtaining no re-
ply she tapped again. Think
ing her mistress was still sleep
ing, she went away, and half an
hour after returned. Again
there was no response to the
knocking. Turning the knob
she found the door unlocked,
and pushing it open, entered
the room. AT glance she saw
that her mistress bed had been
undisturbed. Surprised at this,
the girl passed through the part
Ily-open door which led to the
apartment fronting upon the
street, and which was used by
them in the double capacity of
reception and sitting-room.
From this a side door led into
the parlor.
The moment the girl crossed
the threshold of this door she
uttered an exclamation of hor-
ror, and staggered back against
the wall appalled, at the ghostly
spectacle SO suddenly and aw-
fully brought to her vision.
There, upon the richly-car-
peted floor, lay the body of her
mistress, almost floating in the
pool of blood which had gushed
in torrents from her neck, from
which the head was severed as
perfectly as if she had suffered
death by the guillotine. The
head was not there. The mur-
dered woman was clad in the
dress in which she returned
from the Theatre Franchise on
the preceding evening; the bo-
som of the dress was torn open,
and in her hand, as if clutched
in last agonlzed effort of de-
tense, was the fragment of the
collar band of a fine cambria
shirt.
The servant recovering from
the spell of horror into which
she was momentalily thrown,
ran shrieking into the passage
way. The tenants of tile floor
above ran down in time to see
the girl plunging wildly down
the stairs to the street.
Presently two or three Ser
geants de Vile, or policemen,
came and took possession of
the premises. The girl who
tainted upon reaching the pave
ment was brought in and soon
restored TO consciousness. Then
an examination into the case be-
gan, the Commissaire having
arrived.
"Madame came home and en-
tered the apartment in company
with M. Granville, her friend,
at twelve o'clock last night"
said the girl, Historically an
swering the questions of the
CommlSSalre.
"Where were you then, in
this room or her bedchamber?'
81 waited for her in her own
room. Jean, Monsieur's valet,
had leave to visit his mother at
Versailles. He went away at
nine o'clock, and has not yet re-
turned"
"And Monsieur, Madame's
husband, where is hep"
ale came in just after Jean,
the valet, was gone. When l
told him Madame had gone to
the Franchise he became furious,
and rushed out. He was jeal-
Gus of Madame. They were al
ways quarreling. Monsieur l
have not seen since"
A rigid search of the premis-
es failed to discover the dissev-
cred head. No trace of blood
was found outside the room in
which the body lay. The bu-
reaus, closets, all were minutely |
searched. At length, on the
top Of an ornamental wardrobe
in Madame's bedroom-and the
top was but a few inches below
the ceiling-one of the officers
found the remaining portions of
the shirt from which the collar
band so tightly clutched in the
fingers of the dead victim had
been torn. At the bottom of |
the bosom, in indelible ink, were
stamped a crest and the name,
"Louis Capin, Rue de Colisse,
.43."