The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-03-10
The Horrible Tragedy by Which Mrs. For
man, an Aged Lady, and Fer Daughter
Lost Their Lives.
The Meager Particulars of the Crime
Obtainable Las Night.
The Scene of the Murder at Royalton, Four
teen Miles North of the City-Possible
Clews and Theories.

A horrible crime was developed yesterday,
near Royalton, on the Lafayette pike, fourteen
miles north of the city in the murder
of two women in a most brutal manner. The
victims were Mrs. Lucinda FOrman, a
widow aged ninety years, and her maiden daugh-
ter, a nalnesake, 1fty-one years old. They lived
alone on their farm of eighty acres, and the
FIST suspicion was aroused yesterday in the
minds of the neighbors by no
appearance of life about the premises. The
nearest n~eighbor, Mrs. Tausel, sent her little son
on an errand to the house about 5 o'clock, but
no response was made to his repeated knock
ings. He therefore started home to inform
his mother of this fact, and upon going through
the orchard his attention was attracted by a Pc
culiar pile of loose straw. which he proceeded to
investigate
A HORRIBLE DISCOVERY.
Under the straw he found the body of the
younger woman, and it was evident that she
had been dead some time. A deep cut, evidently
inflicted with an ak, across the left cheek, had
penetrated clear into the brain, halfway through
the head, and there were several other cuts and
bruises about the body. For a time the boy
was too terrified to speak or act, and when he
partially regalned his faculties he ran TO the
nearest house and gave the alarm. In a
few minutes quite a crowd had congregated
about the building where the dead woman lived.
The doors were broken open, and in the kitchen,
lying on the floor, welterlng in her own blood, was
found the old lady, her body being partially COW
cred by the kitchen carpet and table, She had
received a number of wounds, evidently
from the same weapon that killed
her daughter, and the assassins must have
struck her down when she did not know that
they were near, as there were no marks of a
struggle.
POSSIBLE CLEws.
The only clew to the perpetrators of the deed
is an imperfect description of two men who
made two attempts last week TO break
into the house. The first night
they attempted to enter, and
upon being discovered by the inmates, went
some distance from, The house and built a fire,
where they remained for some time.
On the next night they attempted TO
enter by a window, and, upon failing to raise
the sash, threw chloroforn through the
key-hole of the room in which the two women
were sleeping. They were awakened lby
the noise made in attempting TO pry open the
window, and the men took to their
heels. In relating the circumstances
to her neighbors, the younger of
the two women said that she knew one of the
men, but would not tell his name.
The news was brought to the city and the
coroner notified by William BrandenDerg and
George Hedrick about I O'Clock this morning.
The coroner decided not to go to the scene of
the tragedy until this morning. The mother
leaves a family of six children, as follows:
Charles and Harrison Forman and Mrs. Silas
White, living near the homestead; John Forman,
living between Blackboard and Tennessee
streets, in this city; Lewis Forman. whose
family lives in this city, he himself being in
Missouri; and Milton Forman, living at Colfax,
Ind.
THEORY OF THE MURDER.
The only plausible theory concerning the
crime is that its purpose was robbery. The two
women lived alone on the farm, which they
owned, but it is not known that they had any
considerable amount of money or valuables
about tho premises.
Only very meager particulars of the crime
could be obtained this morning, as the men who
came to the city to notify the authorities were
not in possession of any facts themselves, as
they had only awaited to see that a horrible
murder had been ommltted before starting. 1t
was after L o'clock this morning when they
reached the city, and owing to their lack of
familiarity with locations they were for some
time unable to find Coroner Maxwell. 1t was
about 2:20 A. NJ, when they were interviewed by
above. The crime is a most horrible one, and
the closest official investigation Will doubtless
be made regarding it,