St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-03-15


but with sort of dagger, as was proved not
only by the nature of the wound but by the
discovery of the weapon itself.
1t was noticeable, as regards every one of
the persons under suspicion as to the
possible criminal (the butler, the COM
panion, the two female servants, and
also the man actually accused, upon
circumstantial evidence, as to the muir
derer) that the defense in each case was the
samoan alibi; and that it was
successfully sustained. In only the
latter instance, indeed was any serious op-
position made to the rehrtting testimony.
As to the cook, she did come within the
scope OF the Investigation, being a woman of
feeble physique, and cripple to boot. 1t
might have been within the limits of posi-
bility for her to shoot Mrs. Mannering; but
that she should stab her after desperate
struggle, was held very justly to be beyond
the limits of belief.
Something must be said as to the charac-
ter of the murder itself. The back parlor
was used by Mrs. Mannering as business
room. a large upright desk stood in it, the
top part of which opened laterally, revealing
numerous pigeon-holes and drawers. APP
parently Mrs. Manneriug had been writing
and looking over papers at the moment
when she was attacked. Probably it being
the end Of the year she was examining her
accounts and her returns of invest
ments, for she occasionally operated
in stocks, and uniformly in
manner that evinced shrewd business ca
pacity The desk at all events, stood open,
and was Uttered with various documents;
and its appearance indicated that it must
have been opened by Mrs. Mannering her
self. Other papers were scattered on the
floor, doubtless as result of the struggle.
The curtain of the window heavy velvet
falire on brass rings-was torn down; sug
costing that Mrs. Manneriug had tried to
summon assistance in that direction, but
had been dragged away. A small French
table, with German student-lamp upon it,
had been overturned and broken and the
lamp shattered. There were two doors to
the room, one leading into the passage way,
the other. folding-door, opening upon the
large front drawing-room. The panel of the
first door was marked with a deep cash,
actually penetrating through the wood; as if
the murderer had aimed blow at his victim,
but had missed her and hit the
door instead He must have struck
with frightful force. Lying at the foot of the
other door the body OF Mrs. Mannering was
of fine japanese silk, trimmed with lace and
lined with quilted satin. This was torn from
the throat to her waist, and the front of it
was drenched with blood. There were two
wounds; one just above the collar bone on
the right, penetrating downwards; the other
the result of an upward thrust delivered at
the heart. The fingers of her left hand also
sho we'd cut on the inside, indicating that
she had caught the blade of the knife in an
effort to avert the blow. There was the print
of bloody hand on the wall above the body.
The rings and bracelets which Mrs.
Mannering habitually wore were miss
ing, and her empty pocket-book
was found on the floor. This
seemed plain evidence that the motive of the
murder had been robbery. But, on the other
hand, drawer of the desk, which was half
pulled out, was filed with bank notes and
bonds to the amount of over twenty thousand
dollars, and no one who had examined the
desk, Gas it was plain, from the bloody thumb
marks on several of the pages, the murderer
had done) could have failed to notice it. Had
the robbery of the jewels and the pocket
book been Intended as a blind, to disguise
another and the true motivel If 80, what
was that motive. Was it to obtain posses
sion of certain papers, which, for some rea-
son, were of vital importance to the muir
derer? hypothesis of this kind were formed
at the time, but nothing conclusive was
established in support of them. 1t was
learned, however, that Mrs. ManneriDg never
allowed any one, not even Madam Holzen, to
see the documents in her desk; it was fur
nished with patent lock of great strength,
the key of which Mrs. Mannering always
wore round her neck. This may have been
merely ordinary prudence or it may of course
have indicated the conceament of some
weighty secret. But here, again, all was
surmise.
There was little doubt as to the manner in
which the murderer had obtained access to
the house. He had passed through the EN- pity
house In the rear ION West Fourteen tn street,
had climbed the partition fence between the
two yards, and had then forced the back
door opening into the yard, the upper half of
which was glass. He had probably lain in
wait in the empty house until be was as
sured that the servants had taken their de-
parture. The empty house, by the way, was
in the charge of care-taker; but this official
was, for that occasion only, absent from his
post having an engagement to welcome the
new year elsewhere. Thus the holiday sea-
son in all respects favored the murierers
plans, and he seems to have calculated on
the advantages it would afford him.
Let US return, for moment, to the back
parlOr. On a chair beside the desk was found
lying the knife or dagger with which, beyond
question, the deed was accom- plished. 1t
was covered with dried blood, and was of
peculiar pattern. Such weapons are not
manufactured in this country; the blade was
broad and crooked and the bronze handle
H.
lief. Apparently it was of japanese make.
That it shonld have been left where it was,
was at first deemed inexplicable, but further
consideration suggested that it had been
simply forgotten. The murderer, after CON-
hitting his crime, had proceeded to an ex-
animation of the papers in the desk;
and in order to do so with more care, had
laid the dagger on the chair. After having
concluded his search land perhaps found
what he sought, he had taken his departure
without thinking of the knife, and if he re-
membered 1t afterwards had not ventured to
return for 1t. 1t was an invaluable piece of
evidence of course, though las it happened)
it failed to capture the criminal.
At the outset, indeed, it was thought that
the dagger, being japanese, could not be
traced to any source in this country, but the
ingenuity Of detective quite reversed this
Judgment 1t occurred to him that there were
in New York number of shops for the sale
of japanese curiosites, and that possibly this
dagger had been bought at one of these. Ac-
cordiugly he made inquiries at all likely
places, aud was at length rewarded
by finding salesman in an ORR
entail shop on Broadway, who dis
tiuctly remembered having sold the weapon
to a gentleman three days before the murder.
He described this parsonage with some
minuteuess. He was taliish man, Of sleu-
der and siuewy figure, with dark mustache
and side whiskers and gray hair His nose
was pronounced aquiline, of the yelling
ION tyne: his chin long and pointed. He