Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-05-08
A MYSTERIOUS MURDER.

A MYSTERIOUS MOkOen'
Tho Dead Body of an Unknown Ma.
Found in a Trunk at the Southern Hotter
=, O. Iou,s-The Remains Thought TO
Ia those of C. Arthur Prcller, OF Lon'
don. Ene.-The Supposed Murderer.
ST. LOUIS. NO., April 15.-Mareh 81
there arrived at the Southern Hotel here .
voung man who registered :.as "Walter II.
Lennox Maxwell, NJ. D., London, England"
On the same day, and before his arrival,
a telegram was received at the hotel
from C. Arthur Preller, Rochester, \. ~
inouiring if Maxwell had arrived tnere.
The answer was held for awhile oy oleah
Noble, and after Maxwell came a.n,
registered a reply that ne was a. the llo.e'
was sent Preller. Maxwell was given room
~. and had his baggage, two trunks ana
two yalises. taken there. Preller arrived
Anril 3 and was given room 3S5, where his
FIVE trunks were placed. The men occu-
MED Predler's room in MN a consld-
erahle portion of the time, seeming
to he rood friends and old acquaintance.
Roth were much remarked for their dandl'
fed appearance. Maxwell carrying his eff
Terminate behavior so far as to walk Win
short. mincing steps, like a woman. A
week ago Saturday night Maxwell left the
hotel suddenly, leaving his baggage in the
room he had occupied, but as he had paid
his bill 1t was supposed he would return
shortly.
Monday the chambermaid, in visiting the
room of Maxwell. was greeted by O nor
rfbly offensive odor, which came from one
of the trunks, and reported the fact at the
Office. Yesterday morning both trunks
were brought down into the rotunda OF
the hotel by the porters, blood dripping
from one Of them, and an almost
indispensable smell issuing from it.
1t was taken out in front Of the Fourth
street entrance of the hotel and opened.
Within lay the bloated body of a man APP
parently about thirty years of age, dressed
in shirt and drawers only. On the side Of
the trunk, Just over the head Of the corpse,
were printed in large letters the words:
$50 perish all traitors to the great cause.
The trunk and its CHASTITY contents were at
once sent to the morgue.
1t is thought by many thai the body
found is that OF Prellor, and that he was
murdered by Maxwell, although a photo
tograph found and identified as that of
Preller shows little if any resemblance to
the bloated corpse. The head of the dead
man was bent to one side and crushed into
the flesh of the shoulder, the feet being
bent under and sunk into the thighs. The
black appearance of the face, the %protuber-
ance of the tongue, and other indications
point to ~strangulation as the cause of
death.
The baggage of Prellcr remains in the
room lately occupied by him. His trunks
are Of much better quality than those of
Maxwell, being made of fine leather, and
the personal effects i'll them indicate that
the owner is a man of means and
culture. They have the labels Of the
Cunard Steamship Company, OF the
the Rossin House, Toronto. Neither money
nor letters of credit were found. A tele-
gram from Maxwell, dated at Boston. indi-
Gated that the w men meant to go to New
Zealand together. Preller apparently left
England January 21 for a commercial tour
of this country, and it seems from some
letters that he invited Maxwell to accom-.
pany him.
It has been learned that Maxwell, after
leaving the barber-shop, had his beard
shaven off, thus totally changing his appear
ance. He was about five feet nine inches
in height, weighing about one hundred and
forty pounds, well proportioned. and of
good figure. His hair, which was Of a
light sandy color, was worn without
any part, being changed" IKE a girls.
A druggist at the corner of Fifth and
Market streets says Maxwell came to
his store on Easter Sunday and got
six ounces of chloroform. A bottle with
some OF this drug was found in one of the
missing mans trunks. Detectives are of
the opinion that the words printed on the
inside OF the trunk were put there to make
it appear that the murder was a political
assassination, while in reality it was for
money. An envelope was found in Max
Wells trunk gives his address as II Paper
Buildings, Temple, London.