The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-09-11
MURDERED FOR MONEY.
Miss Gertrude M. Hoyers Fatal Struggle with
Burglar-Little Plumber Secured.

VALATIE, N. Y, Sept 10 Miss Gertrude NJ.
Hover was found dead at her residence in the
village of Undertook yesterday morning, seven
cruel stabs about the head and neck revealing
hard struggle against the knife of the assassin.
Miss Hover was about sixty years old and lived
| alone in Chrystlerques lane in two-story cot
tage surrounded by ample grounds, and was in
comfortable circumstances. Her near neighbors
on that street are colored people, whose church
is located there. Some of them do not bear a
very good reputation, although no very serious
charges have ever been made against them.
About o'clock In the morning a woman who
| sometimes worked for the deceased. went to the
house and found all the doors locked She
notified gentleman who lives near by, and
messenger was sent for the MUIR
dered womans bbther-in law When he came
he brought DR.. Woodwork, the health officer,
with him and with some of the white neghbors
they gained an entrance On the parlor floor
they found Miss Hover lying with her head in a
pool of coagulated blood The room was in dis
order, the carpet being pulled from its fasten-
ings, as if terrible struggle had taken place. A
dispatch was sent to Coroner Waldron, at Hud-
son, who arrived at II o'clock, summoned jury
and ordered an autopsy to be made. When the
body was lifted from the floor the carpet was
found to be soaked with the womans blood, a
stream of which had run across the floor beneath
the carpet and made another large spot near the
southern wall of the room. The front door OF
the house opens into hall about eight feet wide,
on the base-boards and walls of which were
several large spots of blood which appeared to
have been made by garment swept against the
walls; the frame Of the paror door itself and the
wall back of 1t were stained with blood, and
the base of the mantel was covered with gore A
bedroom connected with the parlor contained
bureau, the upper drawers of which had been
opened and ransacked, several drops Of blood
showing that the murderer had also been en-
was empty. Her relatives think she had $25 or
$50 on hand. Near the windows in the sitting
room across the hall blood covered the carpet,
and on the wndow-sils aud frames could be seen
the marks of bloody fingers trail of blood
across the carpet led to the Kitchen on the floor
of which several droops of blood beside
table, near which was an upturned chair, which,
in falling, had knocked off the plastered edge of
the stairway. The door of an adjoining room
was spattered with blood and the back door of
the kitchen bore traces of the murderers hand.
The autopsy was made by Drs. p. Y. S. Pruyn
and I. F. Woodwork. They found the poor
womans face covered with blood, her hair mat
ted together the lips blue and swollen. In
washing away the blood, the face was found to
be terribly bruised, the nasal-bone smashed, ard
both lips cut as is by blow with the fist.
In the angle of the left jaw, over the juguar
vein was knife wound about half an inch long.
which extended downward and backward to the
spine. severing the iugular vein. The knife of
the murderer made four cruel cuts in the frontal
and temporal regions, two upon each side going
through the scalp and reaching the skull.
Another wound in the right temporal region ex-
tended obliquely towards the eye, severing the
facial artery. The deepest wound was upon the
right side of the neck. Here the murderers
knife was thrust through the sternomastoid
muscle, penetrating three and half inches
and striking the interior portion of the spinal
column, severing one of the hgaments Of the
seven wounds three were certain to produce
death in a very short time. Miss Hover of
medium slze stout and muscular, and weighed
about l60 pounds. She fought desperately for
her life, and did not succumb until battered
almost beyond recognition, blinded with the
blood that almost streamed from her head. It is
thought the first blow was given while she
was seated in the kitchen, when the murderer,
who had sneaked into the house while
Miss Hover was in her garden getting
dish of potatoes, stepped before her and struck
her IN the face with his fist. She kept revolver
in the house. and. on regaining her feet, evil
IDENTIFY ran into the sitting room to get it. AS it
is missing 1t is conjectured that she secured it
and had it wrested from her by the murderer or
murdereIs, as it is thought that at least two men
were engaged in the business. When the woman
fell she was dragged into the parlor, where the
finishing blows were given. There is absolutely
no clew, as yet, to the murderers. Everything
is mere conjecture. The coored neichbors say
they saw Miss Hover last on Thursday afternoon
of last week During the morning of that day
she called at mason's house to engage him to
repair chimney of her house. and told the
children they could have some fruit if they would
come after it. One of the boys lad of ten
years, says they went TO Miss Hovers on Satur
day morning about 10 o'clock, and were directed
by her where to get the apples. No one saw her
alive after that. The murder doubtless
committed on Saturday afternoon as the house
is known to have been locked on Sunday and
the post mortem showing that at least three
days had elapsed Some government bonds and
dozen silver spoons are missing.
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