The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-10-15
The Citizens Greatly Excited and
Talking Openly of Lynching.
Suspicion that the Woman Found Dead
Near Bloomington Was Murdered-Other
Notes of Crime and Accident.
INDIANA.

The Mystery Of a da Atlzinson's Murder About
To BE UnraveIed
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
FAfErTE, Oct. 14-Jacob Nelling. the
farm hand at Atkinson's, last night confessed
to Detective Harris that on the the afternoon
OF the murder he was at work in the orchard
at the rear of the house. when Jacob Ladd
came to him and suggested that they rape
Ada Atkinson, who at that time was the
only occupant of the house. He said "No,"
he would not do anything of the sort; that
Ladd went away, and it was not until he
(Nelilng) bad come up to the wood-pile near
the house and heard Lucy Atkinson's
screams, that he knew anything about
the murder. He was arrested late
last night, and with young Ladd
taken to Fowler and lodged in Jail. The lat
ter is young man, about twenty-five years
old, and is in the employ of Mrs Johnson,
the woman who has been uncomfortably
mixed up in scandal with Cepbas Atkinson.
He had gone to the woods, a half mile or
more west of the house, to cut down some
sapllngs, and did cut down seven He was
reported to have said that, at one time, when
he was resting he heard a scream, and look ed
at his watch to find it was Just fifteen min
utes OF o'clock. tits known that he has been
under suspicion for some time, Parties who
went to the woods say that the cutting done
by Ladd was extremely irregular, as though
he were completely unstrung. 1t is regarded
as most remarkable fact that Nellings
statement had not been made sooner, and on
this account it is not generally believed. The
han6kprpbiaf WI 4 Oh A I
Atkinson's neck so tightly that it had to be
cut to remove has been closely examined,
and it is found that Nellings knife-blade
corresponds exactly with the cuts. Drs.
R. Nj. OFerral, B. F. Ingersoll and
Frank O'Ferrall went to Oxford this morning
and exhumed the remains They had been
buried only three feet below the surface, and
the heat of the ground had caused decompo-
sition to such an extent that no examina-
ton could be made. DR.. Frank OFerraI,
while searching to-day about the room,
found the murdered girls drawers under
strip of carpet, One side was slit from top
to bottom, as though they had been rudely
torn from her person.
There is intense excitement at Oxford. The
citizens talk openly of stretching the prison.
ers from the nearest tree. An examination
will be made tomorrow morning at Fowler.
Indications that the Woman Found Near
Bloomington Was Murdered.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal
BLooMINGToN, Oct. 14-There has been
much excitement here during the day over
the discovery that q woman found yesterday,
one and half mile south of the city, and
thought to have met her death by the train,
has more than likely been murdered by her
own husband because of unfaithfulness that
he charges her to have been guilty of. Early
on Friday morning south-bound engine
ran onto an unknown person, since proved
to be q woman, terribly mangling the body.
The remains were gathered up by the train
men, placed in box and brought to this
city and placed in an undertaken s estab-
lishment The remains were unrecogniza-
bic, the head being cut entirely from the
body, and the face gone. fine head of
hair was untouched-of black or auburn
hue. On her right hand she wore fnger-
ring; in her pocket were two handkerchiefs,
one of which bore the name in ink of either
John" or James Pitts" and in this was
tied up eighty cents. In the other was found
a gold necklace, also a piece of paper, ON
which were some money accounts and let
ter, evidently from brother as in it the
words dear sister" were frequently used,
and by references it is shown that corre-
spondence has existed. The address of
brother in Dakota is given, and the letter is
signed by Jacob Artman, 2,31S Archer
avenue, Chicago"
Soon after the train arrived a man was ar
rested for peculiar actions, ana who was accus
ing persons of having killed his wife. Yester-
day the coroner held an inquest and finding
no evidence against the man or rs to how the
woman met her sad fate, adjourned till Mon.
day. Late this evening" however, it was de-
veloped that this man was seen in company
with woman coming up on the train, aud
that they were quarreling. This was no.
ticed after stopping at the last station before
where the body of the woman was found,
and from close investigation by your cor.
respondent it seems that there can be nc
doubt that the man coaxed this woman,
whom he admits 10 have been his wife, 10
the platform, and pushed her off while tho
train was at full speed To substantiate this
is the TACT that the body was not stiff when
found, neither were her clothes wet and her
shoes were not muddy, as they would have
been if she had walked down the road to
where she mether sad death. lie states that
she left him at the Bloomington depot The
fact that it had been raining only a short
time before, also proves that she could not