Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-08-03
ANOTHER MURDER.
Richiand County the Scene or the Horrible Murder
OF an Aged LADY.

Richland County the Scene Of the Horrible Marder
OF an Aged Lady.
The authorities of Richland County
are now exercised to as great degree
as.are the officers of Grant county over
murder most foul, committed within
their boundaries. The date was July
10 and the victim Mrs. Driscoll. So far
In the Richland COUNTY case none of the
physicians have endeavored to make it
out case of suicide; although there
may be cases cited where person has
committed suicide with a club and some
sharp instrument, and then removed it
self from one place to another. Muir
ders are becoming altogether too fire.
quent and committed for paltry sums
and small motives. The people ere long
will find it necessary to protect them
selves, and while the Dial is constitu-
tionally opposed to mob law and favor
able to capital punishment, it thinks q
little rope stretching, administered by
competent persons, would have a very
quoting effect on the average man of
blood &N
The scene of the tragedy in Richland
county is located not far from Brady's
post Office, and near Mike Hernan's
place, a brother of the victim. The
murdered woman was widow named
Coleman, who had married a second
husband named Driscoll, her second
husband, however, has never been seen
by the people where she resided Mrs.
Driscoll-or Coleman, as she was gener-
ally called-liyed alone with son aged
about IS years of age. Her home was on
what is known as the ''McDermont
farm and she owned land about three
miles distant from her residence. 1t
was on or near the latter land that the
deed was committed.
So far all that had been learned of the
matter has come from the boy above
spoken of. 1t seems that on Wednesday
morning Mrs. Coleman told the boy to
go to Excelsior and purchase some
goods that were needed. The boy OBJ
jected to going, saying that he could not
spare the time as the corn required all
his attention. The mother told him if
he would work until noon and then go
she would 90 to the field and
work in his place. The boy
went out, as he says, worked until
noon and then went to his uncle's, Mike
Hernan's for dinner After dinner he
went home after some money he claimed
was in his pants pocket, with which he
intended to make his purchases. Arriv-
| ing at home he found the house locked,
but pulled the staple and went in. His
mother was not around. and the money
he expected to find was also missing.
He says he then stayed around the house
that afternoon unwilling to go to town
without money and surprising that his
mother had gone to her brothers or
elsewhere, he gave her no further
thought. The next morning, Thursday,
he went back to the field to work but
found that the hoe, which he had left
where ne quit the day before, was not in
its place, nor could he find it. He went
to his uncle's, inquired for his mother,
found no trace of her, took dinner there
and then in the evening made some fur
| Their inquiries, without any result fur
ther than arousing the neighbOrhood.
On Friday morning the neighbors in
stituted search, securing the roads,
fields and woods all the forenoon. They
came down hollow for dinner, passing
as it afterwards proved, within short
distance of the body. While eating dim
ner, a small boy named German came
in and reported that near. the corn field
he had noticed some logs and rotten
chunks piled at the root of the old fall
len tree. and that the work seemed re-
Gently done. The searching party re-
paired to the place indicated by the boy
and found hole filled with freshly bro
ken chunks. Removing these they dis
covered a large pool of blood on the
leaves, that had evidently been occupied
by some dead body They also found a
plain trail of blood extending down the
hill across the routes they had followed a
short time previous, when going to dim
ner. Following the trail they soon
found another log pile, in ditch, and
beneath was the bloated remains of Mrs.
Coleman. The top of the head was
crushed in by club, the back part of
the head cut away by some sharp in
strument The body was so discolored
and bloated as to be hardly recogniz-
able.
The party, by whom the body was
found, declare that the bloody trail was
not across the old road when they
passed down TO dinner, and that the
body had been removed liz the interval;
but, as the same party had failed to note
| equally plain signs on an upper road,
Ewhere the woman had evidently met
her death, many people received the
opinion with grave doubts. Certainly
she had been murdered in the upper or
new road, at q spot plainly spattered
with blood, near which was found
bloody iron-wood club about four feet
long. She had been dragged few rods
and concealed at the roots of an up
turned tree, and afterwards had been
removed some ten rods and placed in
the ditch where found.
No real clue, Wednesday July 26, to
the murderer has been found, nor any
evidence that would tend to fasten the
crime on any one, but suspicion points
strongly to the boy, and many there are
who firmly believe the boy could tell the
particulars of the horrible affair If he
would. The motive for the murder is
supposed to be robbery, as it was repor-
ted that Mrs. Coleman had money
about her person.
The victim was well-to-do lady,
about 60 years of age, and much respec-
by her neighbors. Several years since
she parted from her second husband in
New York state, and came to Wisconsin
bringing with her a family of three or
four small children, whom she had
raised in respectable manner; but one
of them being at home at the time of the
murder
Henry Pickett, Justice of the Peace,
empaneled jury and held a coroners
inquest over the body, the verdict being
1at FxR0n ua{sa n n.
means OF a club and sharp instrument
IN the hands of some person, or persons,
to them unknown Dial.