The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-05-29
Murdered for a Dog.

oVVps VI nlaIi WI Jut slueWtlhs As
the man neared street lamp the off.
Ger saw that he carried heavy bag
upon his back. ,l.-r0
"What have you in the bag 7" he
said. .u 1rri- -mf .
The man turned without start and
replied calmly; 81 have my wife in the
bag" "ea .ra,-.r. ......yt ~
AS he said so he swung the bag from
his shoulders to the sidewalk with a
jerk, as One would throw a bag of corn
on wagon. To the horror of the po-
liceman the head and feet of dead
woman appeared through the opening
as it fell. A pull ct the canvas sack
brought the whole body into view. 1t
had been doubled up and stuffed into
the sack by main force, Once there it
could not fall out and by grabbing the
feet of the dead woman and the edge
of the sack the man was enabled to
carry it on his back, one foot on each
shoulder. So he had carried it as after
ward appeared, from No. 307 Tenth
avenue to where Officer Mccormick
stopped him, one short block from the
river. .. .sl t... .
"Where are you taking her and how
came she to die y asked the officer.
"To the river | found her dead and
thought might bury her that way. |
can't pay for funeral" q D.. r-',..l .
The man spoke with a,French accent,
but without excitement. He was evi-
IDENTIFY neither drunk nor crazy. The
policeman raped for assistance. Off
Ger Deering replied, and when hand
cart had been procured the body was
loaded on it and taken toward the po-
lice station in West Thirty seventh
street. The prisoner went along quiet
ly, offering neither remonstrance nor
explanation
|, The man proved to be Louis Fran
co.'s, Frenchman. The woman was
Selma Fehot, thirty-eight years old,
with a son eighteen years of age, who
lives in Boston. Francois, who is one
year older than his paramour or wife,
has worked for some time in the
French polishing marble yard in West
Thirty second street, between Sixth
and Seventh avenues. Three months
ago the couple moved into the apart
ments where the crime was committed.
AT No. 307 there are three-story build
ings on the front and rear lots. Fran
co.'s lived on the ground floor in the
rear structure. His three rooms were
comfortably furnished and neatly kept.
Both were persons in appearance above
the average in the neighborhood, but
both drank freely of beer, the man
often to excess. They quarreled fire.
quently. Two weeks ago, while in
one of his convivial moods, he beat and
kicked her while she was on the floor
Upon picking her up he was heard by
tenants in the house to say, 81 guess
I've finished her this time
The woman had repeatedly told the
neighbors that she knew Francois
would murder her at some time. The
cause of the quarrel that is ended in
death was little hairless japanese
dog which the marble polisher had
found on "trip to High Bridge and had
brought home. He gave it into the
charge of his wife, telling her that it
was valuable and that be might expect
big reward for it. Soon after he went
out the dog was missing and Mrs.
Francois sought it. At dark she gave
up the search as hopeless. Mrs Smith,
a tenant in the front house, was look
ing out of her window on the second
floor and seeing her in the yard asked
what she was looking for, Mrs. Fran
co.'s told her and added: ....
"The dog has run away and l am
sure my husband will kill we for
it,"
Mrs. Smith told her not to be afraid,
but to come up to her rooms as soon as
she could and stay there, That the un.
happy woman promised, but she failed
to keep her promise. g ~
That was at o'clock. At 10 o'clock
the marble polisher came home. He
had been in but little while when the
noise of angry talk was heard by the
neighbors. Mr. Mcbride, who lives
in the rear house over the Frenchman,
heard this, but. paid no attention to it,
the thing being of common occurrence.
Half an hour later Francois was heard
to go in and out several times through
the hall, fretting and fuming at great
rate. BY the time the tenants were
again going to sleep he went out. 1t
was midnight when Mcbride heard him
return and thought he heard noise as
of a heavy fall in his room Then all
was quiet. Two hours later Policeman
Mccormick met him carrying the body
through the street.
The room of Francois and his wife
showed no eyedence of struggle. In
the bed room the clothing of the dead
woman was laid carefully aside, as if
she had gone to bed little thinking of
her speedy death. There was blood
upon the sheets and pillow and marks
on the woman's face showed that
blood had flowed from her mouth A
silk handkerchief tied tight around
the neck with double knot in it show
ed that the woman had been stran
eled.
Francois claims to have married
the woman in March of last year. To
reporter he said /: went to High
Bridge to get some salary when |
came back | was followed by dog l
thought it was valuable dog aud left
him in the house l went out to see if
| could find an owner for him and get
reward when l came back the dog
was gone. reproached my wife for
losing him aud she swore at me. At
half-past seven o'clock she sent me out
for beer. When came back | found
man named William Welsh in the
room with her Welsh works in the
same shop with me- She sat on my
lap and kissed me. Then she threw a
glass at me and then a can. Sha then
went out Then Welsh and walked
out half a block and / left him to
come home. When | came back she
was lying on the feor dead, / waited
an hour thinking she would revive. She
did not, ] don't know what was the
canse of her death. She told me be-
fore she died that she did not care for
me, but she liked the man who put up
the wine for her. He ia LeoDold Sac.