Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-04-11
MURDERED FOR HER MONEY.
MRS. HANNAH s sUNDERLlN KILLED II
BED-NIcE DETECTIVE WORK.

MRS. HANNAH 8 sUNDERLlN KILLED IN
BED-NICE DETECTIVE WORK.
NEW YORK, April 1O.-Mrs. Haunah s.
Sunderliu, widow, aged sixty, living near
the little village Of West Patterson, Putnam
county, was found on the afternoon of
" edne'dsy, March 9th, with one side of
her skull crushed in. She died on the follow
ing morning. The village is en- the line Of
the New York and New England railway,
and the house OF Mrs. Sunderlin is about
enc mile from the station. The old lady was
worth about $4,000 in real and personal
properly. Molt OF this was in ready money,
which she loaned to the farmers in the vi
cinily. Amoag The igoorant people OF the
neighborhood there We're many who believed
Mrs. Sunderlin Kept considerable sums of
money in the house. 1t was known TO her
friends, however, that this WAS not true. Sac
WAS l,at teen alive about o'clock pm. on
Tuesday, March 26ih, by Mrs. J. 2. Rodgers.
who lives opposite Mrs.. SunderlIn was then
near her front door. About 1 o'clock pm.
on the following day Mrs. Rodgers went
over to MIRA. Sunderlin's 10 tell her that she
had rented a shanty near by to a coloIed
family. The curtains Of the house were
down and the front door was locked.
Going ~ the rear door, abe gained an
entrance. Mrs. SuBderlin was not found either
in the kitchen or sittiog-room. Two cats ran
from bedroom while Mira. Rodgers wsv in
the house. Mira. Rodgers supposed that
Mrs. Sunderlin bad gone 10 call on 4 nsigh-
Dor, and did not look fsEtas=-THo- hours
later Mrs. Rodgers sent her daughtsr-in-lsw
over TO Mrs. Suuderlip, TO acquaint her with
what she herself had gone to tell. Young
Mrs Rodgers, finding Mrs. Sunderlin was
not about the house, went TO the bedroom.
The cats, which the elder Mrs. Rodgers had
seen, ran cat az the visitor entered. On the
bed was the owner of the house, sleeping,
aud presenting ghaslly appearance. Mrs.
Rodgsrs's frat impression was that Mrs.
Sundsrlin had died durirg the night, and
that the cats were eating the corpse. She
rEE to the door and screamed. Her husband
aud mother in-law rsn 10 her.
An investigation showed hat a burglsry
had ben committed, and that the old lady
had been struck on the side Of the head as
she lay 10 bed. She WAS breathing heavily
when found, and was unconscious. She wss
raised in bed and placed III a more comfort
akte position, and while moving her the Wis
itors found that Ser hsnds were tied with :
piece of cord. The alarm Was at once given
and DR.. W9celer was called. He found that
one aide of the woman'ssEull was crushed in
and that there was no hope OF ssving the life
OF the injured woman. See died on the fei-
lowing morning. without having regained
consciousness. Meanwhile a meeting OF the
residents Of The neighborhood had been held,
and it was resolved to procure the aid OF an
sx psrieneed detective to hunt down the muir.
dsrer. The service of PiDkerton's Detective
Agency was 1T once invoked. After hesring
the particulars Of the murder, Robert Piuker.
ton was struck with its r,ssmbIsnce 10 the
murder Of Mrs. Hull, of this city, by Chsstise
Coz, and thought it very likely th,t it had
haer1 nOu nrs4if lad hv re,lor,H
CATION By Pinker,on's agent showed that the
murder hsd been committed by some
one who wss acquainted with the house and
its surroundings. A pan. OF glass in a rear
window had been fastened in place with
tscks from the outside. These had been re-
moved, the pane taken sut, the screens on
the inside of the window pushed open, and
the window lifted. There we're tracks in the
mud outside, and these led dire chy to the
window, showing that the murderer knew
that he could more easily gain sccess to the
hsusa In this way. He had gene out by the
kitchen door, christening it from the inside.
On the table was small portion OF = mirce
pie. The remainder had been eaten hy the
murderer, a. Mira. Sspdsrlin, although she
made pie, for her visitors, never ale any
herself
$, There was evidence that the villain had
made most careful search, after beating
his victim inseneible, but it lie believed that
he failed 10 secure apy money.
PinEerton's agent had made various in
quir les, sid found that a colored tramp had
been found BY John w. Alter sleeping in the
barn OF his employer, Augustus Birch, at
o'clock p M. the day preceding the assault
on Mira. Sasderlip. He b sd with him an az.
Mrs. Helen Holmes had seen the came man
carrying an ak. DR.. Wheeler gave it as his
opinion that the injuries of Mrs. Sundsrlin
could have been inflicted with an az. A
farmer, of whom inquiries were made, was
OF the opinion that the description of the
tramp fitted one James A. Riley, negro
who at enc time, with hi, wife, occupied the
shauty opposite Mrs. Sunderlin's heuss, the
one which Mrs. Rodgers had called to &C.
quaint Mrs. Sunderlin with the fact OF its
being rented, and which actually led TO the
discovery Of the murder.
On April 5th inkerton's agent diseov-
cred that the man sought for was IN tine en-
ploy of Samuel R1ndie, as stablsman, at
Dsnbury, Conn. When everything was in
readiness Riley was sent by his employer
with cote to Mrs. Turner. He Was rscog-
niz.d by both Aller and Mrs. Holmes, and
was taken into custody by Sheriff Colts.
He wss questioned az 10 his movements on
the day preceding the assault OF Mrs. Sun
derlin. He declared in the mest positive
manner that he had net been in or near West
Patterson on that dsy. He admitted that he
knew Mrs. Sunderlia, and that on M,rch
oath be called at her house, when she gave
him tome bread and butter and mince pie.
He had little conversation with her. He
could not explain why be had called there,
Instead Of on his old employer, Plat Roig-
ers, who lived close by. He asserted posi-
lively that he did not have an az, and that
he knew nothing concerning the murder.
He was committed TO the Jail al Carmel. A
close examination of mis- clothes re-
vs4led what are believed 10 be blood
stains Alter Riley had been locked up, the
detective went TO North Salem aud saw
Francis Bowman. He said that Riley reached
MS house about o'clock pm. on March % h.
He had not seen him for week before this.
Bowman added that when Riley came there
ne had an ak with him, and produced one,
which he said was left there by Riley. 1t
.ss freshly rusted, as hough it had been
recently washed. A large splinter has been
broken off the handle of the Ak. There are
traces of blosd. On the day On which Mrs
Sunderlin died, Justice Philip Perry, OF
Patterson, impaneled jury, to hold an