Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1883-10-18
FOLLOWING A CLEW.
The Trouble Detective Had to Find
Evidence Against q Criminal Who
Confessed to Murder.

The Trouble Detective Had to Find
Evidence Against q Criminal Who
Confessed to Murder.
From the New York World
Detectives are born and cannot
be recruited from rough police
ranks" said Brooklyn man. "Po-
licemen, as rule, are not logical.
They have little intellectual direct
ness, except perhaps in the use Of
the club. A detective must not on
ly be able to see a point, but to hold
on to it through all manner of COM
pllcations and the inevitable side is
sues which are so fatal to detective
work. Policemen, as a rule, are as
garrulous as old women over their
tea.
II shall never forget how the
Brooklyn Chief of Detectives got at
the facts of the Goodrich murder.
1t seemed next to impossible to OBJ
tain the proofs of guilt Of the person
accused, who was a woman, and the
chief was at his wits end. To COM
plicate, or rather, to aggrayate the
case still more, the woman confessed
to him in confidence that she COM
mitted the murder. She said:
Il did it, Chief, and I know you
will not give me away, but if you
should think proper to do go, my oath
will be worth as much as yours. You
will swear,I told you and 1 will swear
didn't
every endeayor to discover Kate's
local habitation failed. 1t seemed
an excellent joke to this strange wo
man that she could tell the story Of
her crime to the Superintendent Of
Police and not have it of any value
to him as evidence.
''If I send for you," she said, hel
expressive eyes dancing with fun
"It will not be necessary to commu'
nicate my address, for you will know
where to find me-"
The Chief had her in the station.
house at this time.
eyes Kate" he said, kindly, 81
shall know where to find you, and
promise to come as soon as yor
send"
Then calling him back, she said:
II have told you the truth. / killet
Charlie Goodrich, and when you fine
where I live you will find a trunk il
my room and in that trunk is tn
pistol that 1 killed him with, watcl
and a ring belonging to Charlie Good
rich. Besides these there is at leas
a pailful Of dirt in the trunk"
"Dirt," said the chief. ssWhy
Kate, what in the world did you pu
dirt in your trunk for?''
because loved the very groun'
that Charlie Goodrich walked on,
was the singular response.
AFTER had killed him, Chief,
and most all the defiance and ful
faded from the woman's face, 4"
went out where / had seen him wal
hundreds of times and shoveled u
the dirt and put it in my trunk"
The Chief who felt himself respon
sible for the apprehension Of tn
murderer, was still off the track. A
last bold thought struck him. Th
exhaustive and exhausting talks b
had with. Kate demonstrated tha
Kate had q room and that the roor
was in Brooklyn. So he issued a
order that inquiry should be made 8
every house in the city to discove
if any woman had been absent froI
her home for the length OF time ths
Kate had been a prisoner.
Three hundred women, includin
servant girls who had left their places
had been absent for the time stated
Then the 800 were sifted until it wa
found that only four had been mystt
riously absent during this period
Kate was one of the four, and in thi
way was hunted down, In her rooI
was found the trunk, and in thi
trunk the articles she had mentioned
dirt and all.
From first to last Kate Stoddart ha
never told the Chief lie.
2 Dismissal.
The three brothers, Solomon, Jaco
and Joseph Benjamin, stood in the
xh<, Iavso oorosnna