Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1880-08-27
Ths Mysterious Murder Of signor George.
HOW THE SON OF A NAPLES NOBLE
MAN FAILED TO INHERIT
LARGE FORTUNE.

" DIS 1Uuuu III b lUucly WOoe1 40 A~oS>-Ae y "a
ley, Long Island, is still involved In mys-
terry. causing excitement among the people
il the vicinity. The real name OF the de-
ceased is said to have been Genara Premi-
cherio. Tie reason OF his change OF name
possesses the elements of romance and ad-
venture. He was Neapolitan by birth.
His father, it is claimed by member of
the family. was an Italian noblenan and
at one time mayor of Naples. Young Pre-
micherio was placed in a boarding school
at a tender age, and even then gave pro-
mise of musical talents. At the age OF IA
his playing so pleased the King that His
Majesty presented the youthful musician
with French horn and appointed him
master of the Royal Band. He was at the
same time, by order of the King, placed at
the musical academy. there to complete
his education. The royal piano, So much
priced in tine academy, by some accident or
mischance suffered at his hands, and be-
coming all. med lest he should be punish
| ed, he fl, the academy Slowing himself
only discovered when hunger drove him
from his hiding place. He gave false
name and became known IT, the captain
and crew by the name which he bore up to
| the date of his lonely and mysterious
death in strip of woods near Locust al
| ley. Many years ago his father died i'll
Rome, leaving the bulk of his fortune to
Slgnor George. the eldest born male child.
Upon this information being conveyed to
him he took passagein sailing vessel from
| New York, intending to return home and
claim the possession he had fallen heir to.
The vessel had not proceeded far on her
| voyage when head winds drove her out OF
her course. The captains nautical super
stition at once led him to conclude that
there was some one passenger on board
| that was net destined to reach Naples.
| Calling the passengers about him, the cap
tain told them that the only way Boreas
and Neptune we're to be appeased Was by
casting lots to see which one of the pas
sengers was to be put on shore. This be-
| ing done, the lot fell on Signor George, and
he was accordingly landed at the first IA
vorable opportunity. When he reached
home, to the great CONSERVATION of his
| family, he learned that the cholera was
raging in Naples, and he was therefore
forced to relinquish his determination of
again taking passage for his native land.
The N. Y. ''Sun' contains some further
particulars of the discovery Of Signor
Georges body. 1t says:
There seems no longer to be any doubt
that the body of the aged man found in
cedar grove near this village Locust Val
ley) is that of Signor e.. George, but the
mystery attending his death remains I'M
solved. There is no dot 1t that he was
robbed, either at the time OF his death Oh
sometime after, by some person who accl-
dentally found his body. The pockets, that
were turned wrong side out. projected stiff
| " in way, it is believed, they would not
| have done If there had teen a heavy rain
after they had been tempered with.
| With the exception of the separation OF
| the head from the body, the discovery of
several pieces of calico near the body is
regarded as the most mysterious circum-
stance connected with the case. Two OF
these pieces were found by Coroner Val
entine Bayles on bushes within dozen
have been torn from the dress and apron OF
some woman by thorny underground,
called in this region ''cat brier." The
| third piece, which is the smallest of the
three, being about half the size OF WO-
mans hand Twas found wrapped up in one
of the papers in the pile described above.
This piece is OF exactly the same pattern as
one of the others. Tuesday Coroner
Bayles visited the houses of Mrs. Phoebe
Ball and her d'ugh.er, Mrs. ElchenhoIst,
| who saw the body on Sunday last. tie
was accompanied by Robert Townsend,
his counsel, and others. Each of the wo-
men produced all The dresses She said she
| had. but none of them was found to cor
| respond in pattern with any OF the rags IN
the Coroner's possession. Each also rela-
led in detail how they came to find the
body.
| Their story is that while they were
roaming through the woods IN search OF
berries they lost their way, SO far, at least,
| TO lroi Tn
that they would know where they were.
While pushing through the underbrush
| for this purpose they came suddenly upon
the body. The wind was blowing upon
| their backs.
s.There,' said Mrs. Eichenhorst to her
mother, ''is the body of man."
| sNo," said Mrs. Bell, sit is horse"
| Soon, however, she Saw the left foot ly-
| ing on the cedar log, and so she became
convinced that it was the body of man.
When she appro lched a little closer she
| suddenly exclaimed
''His head is cut off"
| The only conversation that either can
remember is that the mother kept saying !:
Pm afraid. Come. away while the
daughter. said: 1.-The poor old man is dy-
ing alone with nobody to help him. am
not afraid. We never did him any HARM
| Mrs. Eichenhorst says that she stayed near
/
| ed it closely. On the top of the half-cov-
cred pile of papers was one lying loose
| This she picked up. On one side there was
| a picture of religious character and on
the other side printed verse beginning,
| she remembers with The words 20 Lord. :"
| In the verse something was said about a
wanderer. She read the verse aloud all
| through to her mother, but her mother
does not remember that she did so, al
though she noticed her pick up the piece
| of paper. When Mrs. EichenhOrst had
| finished reading the paper she dropped it,.
| This paper has not yet been found by the
| Coroner.
| There is another story, apparently au-
| thentic, that reaches Locust Valley Mon
| day evening. Two men, whose names are
| for the present withheld, while at work
about month ago on the shore Of the
| Sound little west Of point opposite the
spot where the body YVES found, saw an
old man whose appearance corresponds
man approached and asked for drink of
water, after getting which he went away.
| With him was woman, known to both of
| the men, and whose name for the present
| is also withheld. They went away in the
direction Of the woods, where the body was
| found.
A gentleman who called at the ''Sun"
Office yesterday said that he was certain
| that the body found in the woods was that
| Of Signor George, whom he knew in Balti-
more many years ago. Signor George was
| there known by no other name. He came
from Norfolk, Va, during the war, bring
| ing with him his daughter, Nine. Bona
vita, and two grown-up sons. Nine. Bona
| vita had with her daughter, who must
now be twenty years of age. Slgnor George
and his daughter both taught music. He
was very popular for time, the gentle
man said, but his egotism injured his sue
cess in the course Of years. 1t was said
that he had been band-master in the
army. He was then beyond the middle