Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-05-30
MURDER AND SUICIDE.
IN AWFUL TRAGEDY NEAR MARIETTA.

MURDER AND SUICIDE.
ANAwFUL TRAGEDY NEAR MARIETTA.
the CoyIs I" Ferryman's Son Kills . Girl
and Tries to XIII Himself
Special Dispatch to lATRLLIGIxcRR
MARIETTA, May 80.
This morning at about half-past five
o'clocka murder and attempted suicide
occurred 1t COyle's Ferry across the river
from this place in York county and direct
ly opposite tho Pennsylvania railroad
depot John Coyle, the only son Of the
well-known ferryman by the same name,
shot and killed Emily Myers, a young
girl who had been servant in the family
during the past winter !; and then made
two unsuccessful attempts to end his own
life. At an early hour = number OF per
sons had gathered at the scene OF the
tragedy awaiting tho arrival of the coro-
nor, J. Frank Magee, of Wrightsville,
who with Constable Shoenberger arrived
and took possession of the premises. On
opening the door of the stable, which
stands about twenty-five yards from the
house, the young girl was found lying i'm
mediately outside of one of the stalls
where cows are kept. Tho examination
of witnesses by the coroner's jury elected
the. facts that she had got up early
to milk her COWS and after sew
eral pistol reports had been heard
John came walking into the house with
blood on his clothes. His mother asked
him how he got SO bloody. He answered /:
81 shot myself and l shot En-. she is ly-
ing out in the stable dead" A revolver
was found lying near her head and Drs.
G.. A. Rebman and J. A. Thompson, OF
Wrightsville, examined the body, finding
only one wound, the ball having entered
the breast about five inches from the top
of the sternum and made its exit on
the right side between the eighth and
ninth rib, five and half inches from the
centre of tho spinal column. The &c
ceased was from Chambersburg, where
she had been living with her grandfather
and grandmother, her parents being dead .
She was about twenty years Of age and
rather prepOssessing in appearance.
Her murderer is twenty six years of age,
Of unsteady habits, and claimed to he of
unsound mind. He had fallen desperately
in love with tho girl, and AYERS that she
had promised to marry him, but she seem.
ed to be trifling with him, and he says he
made up his mind to shoot her. Frequent
ly they would have quarrels, and sOmo
days ago he shot revolver over her head
in one Of these scenes.
All through the excitement, until the
inquest was over, COyle lay in 4 room on
the second floor on a bed and al examine
ton of his wounds disclosed nothing scri-
Gus. One ball had struck the stcrnum
bone and glanced off and the other struck
tho occipital bone on the right side of the
head, also glancing. Ho was considered
to be in fit condition to be driven to
Wrightsville, where he was taken to be
sent to York. The parting scene with his
mother, who was almost frantic with
grief, was sad indeed.
Coyle's father is well-tO-do man, pro-
prietor of the hotel and ferry the mother
had son who was killed in the late war :;
the boys training was not of the charac-
ter to most improve his disposition and
there was a'good deal Of wrangling around
the house as precantion against tragedy
the elder Coyle recently broke to pieces all
the guns ON the premises.
Young Coyle is an only child.
1t seems that young Coyle shot at Miss
Meyers on Saturday, and his father knew
it and hid his pistol. IIe seems to have
procured another, Smith & Wesson
seven shooter, and accostcd the girl
this morning. after she had fin
ished her milking. She had set
her pals down to let the COWS out /;
and was just picking them up when he
asked her if she would marry him.
She replied "No, nor any one
else," when he pulled out his pistol
and shot her. He shot at himself twice
and thought he had discharged all the
loads. He afterwards asked his father
for pistol to finish tho job on
himself. Miss n. was q distant
relative of Mr.. Coyle and very
respectfully connected. When her murder
or threatened to shoot her, she lightly told
him he was too big coward to even kill
a woman. But he was just coward enough
to do it.