Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-08-27
srRuoK DO W,s IN rFr DARK.

BRAINS OMh WITH u knH-IhE
Murderer Gives himself Up.
Horace Lee McGinnis, young man
u years Of age, was shot and killed by
Theodore Becker, at the 5chuetzen Park,
between / and 2 O'Clock Sunday morn
ing. The shooting was done with
breeoh- loading shotgun, and the victims
brains were blown out and scattered on
the grass upon which he fell. The muir
derer Immediately upon comprehending
the Nervousness of his crime, went to the
police station, gave himself up, and was
locked in cell No. /. The body of the
murdered man was taken to the home of
his mother at Riddles Banks.
The story of the crime, the report of
which shocked the community when it
awakened Sunday morning, can be
briefly told, and 30 far as ascertained is as
follows: There was picnic in progress
at Schuetzen Park on Saturday afternoon,
given by the Violet Social Club, an organ
ization the headquarters of whose mem
bers is about the corner of Fourth and
Orange streets. During the picnic liquor
was freely sold from several stands about
the park buildings. The festivities con-
tinued till nearly midnight, when the
music and dancing ceased and the crowd
dispersed and moved off into the city,
leaving but a few stragglers behind.
There were two or three men
in the barroom of the hotel up to 1890
q. M, at which hour they left and the bar
was closed. A little later, and before the
proprietor, Theodore Becker, retired, two
young men named William Walker and
Horace McGinnis entered the hotel and
asked for drinks. They were under the
influence of liquor then, and the hour
being very late, Becker refused TO comply
with their demand. They continued to
plead for liquor, and finally asked for a
half-pint bottle to carry away with them.
They were again refused, and then en-
sued war of words and interchange of
epithets. Walker and McGinnis were in
censed at their refusal and began storm
of oaths and invective, accompanied with
threats to ''pay you (Becker) up for this,
and don't you forget it, "''we1l even with
you," and similar expressions, During this
time Becker became angered and ordered
the men off the place. As there were no
witnesses to what followed, except the
man Walker and Becker himself, and as
their stories differ, it cannot be stated
Just how the. events Immediately preced-
ing the crime took place. But Becker
got double-barreled breech- loading
shotgun which he kept in the house and
followed the men from the front porch to
the fence which encloses truck patch on
the north side of the hotel, and which is
about 40 or so yards from the porch.
Whether he went beyond the fence or fired
from there is a point upon which the
statements of Walker and Becker differ.
When, however, he got to the fence, or
not more than 20 yards beyond it, he
fired. simultaneously with the
flash McGinnis fell, without
word, killed Instantly, with half of his
face blown away and his brains oozing
out on the damp sod. Walker was near
by, but was running to prevent similar
fate. Further fear proved unnecessary,
for when the man who that instant, with
one slight pressure of the finger, had
made himself felon and murderer, saw
at his feet the CHASTITY result of his terri
be rage, revulsion of feeling took
place and the realization of the horror of
his position came upon him with over
whelming force. Without another look
he turned and hastening back to the
house, ran up the stairs and exclaimed to
his wife in an excited manner, 81 have
killed man." His wife had not re.
covered composure enough to ask him
the circumstances before he started
rapidly from the house in the direction of
the city, as it proved, TO give himself up.
Upon the way i'll he met Officers Durham
and Gallagher, to whom he stated what
he had done and who went in with him to
the hall.
The family, the borders and all the
men connected with the park had gone to
bed before / o'clock, and were asleep
when the crime was committed. Some of
them did not hear the gun shot and were
not awakened thereby. When Becker
rushed into the house and told his wife
the heart-stirring fact, the noise and
excitement TINT ensued soon brought the
entire household to its feet and to action.
This was shortly after Q o'clock in the
MOI ming. Before anything more definite
than the mere fact that man WINS killed
could be obtained Becker had gone, and
so little had been heard by the inmates of
the house that they did not know which
way to turn to look for the body.
Lanterns were lit, however. and the
search commenced, the searchers starting
first in the direction south of the
hotel building. They were hunting under
the trees and looking in all the stable
doors in vain, when young Walker and
his father, Ezekiel Walker, whom he had
aroused, came in the park gate, and see
ing them directed them to the spot at
which McGinnis' body lay. The sight
was ghastly one, too horrible 10 b. long
contemplated with the light of lantern
in the dead of night, and none of the
witnesses examined it with sufficient
minutness at the time to describe it in
detail. There lay tue body of we'll
built young man, with apparently one
half of the head gone, and cavity in
from which the brains hnd been
scooped and scattered on the ground
for some feet around. The head was
covered with blood, one eye and part of
the nose goue. and the left cheek entirely
shot away. Frank Elsinton, who has
some horses in training MT the park, imme-
diately hitched up horse and drove in
town to the residence of Deputy Coroner
Smith, to whom he impaired tho news,
and received instructions ms to what
should be done with the body. Upon
his return to the scene number of police
officers had arrived and took charge of
the body while Elkinton drove 10 the
house of the murdered mans mother and
impaired the dread information to her.
The body was taken to the bereaved
mothers house at Riddles Banks at 3.45
O'Clock by Sergeant McYey and Patrol
men Mcclure and Russell, where it lay i'll
the same condition until Coroner Smith
had viewed il and Undertaken BArnhill
Ind placed il in IN ice box.
Young Walker remained about the
scene until the body was removed, giving
his version of the story, and was then
taken into custody by Officer MCGUIRE,
who conveyed him TO the station.
Coroner Smith went out to the parh
about s o'clock in the morning. Upon
surveying the scene he discovered con
siderable blood and brains still about tn,
spot. lie caused the latter to be gathered
up and deposited with the body. Aftel
making preliminary investigation ant
examination of the people about thu
place, he fixed the time for the inques
for . O'Clock Monday afternoon, and sum
moned several witnesses 10 appear at tina
time. Sergeant McVey secured the gun
nnd took II to police headquarters. L
still hud one barrel loaded, and all state
mehis agree that but one shot was fired
THE FIELD OF DEATH.
The spot Mt which McGinnis fell dea'
is about 75 yards from the park cute, OF
the north side, and some 10 yards iron
the fence. There is n row of sheds eS
tending along the fence, that were use,
for the exhibition of cattle in tile days o
the old cattle shows which used TO b
given there. The body lay ut the eS
IRENE end of these sheds ON plot froi
which the grass hnd been lately mowr
L.. La.