The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-01-06
a
a Brace of Mysterious Murders on Christ
mas Ere--a Committee or safety Organ
iZcd by the Citizens.

A Brace of Mysterious Murders on Christ
mas Eye--A Committee OF safety Organ
izcd by the Citizens.
n special to the Galveston Ne,US
from Austin says: "TwO terrible crimes
were committed in this city las, night,
after midnight, which will undoubtcd-
ly result in three deaths, and there is
no telling how many ~Iynchings. Dur
inc the past year Austin has been hor-
riticd every few weeks 10y some das-
tarllv attack on servant women, both
white and colOrcd. Fully n dozen ser.
wants have been outraged and eight
murdered within this period. The
crimes all bore evidence of being per-
petrated by the same person. Every
effort has been made to apprchcnd the
criminals, skilled detectives being en-
ploycd. Many negroes were arrested
and put through u rigid examination,
but nothing came of these efforts.
Many citizens and some officials held
to tho theory that the crimes were per-
pctratcd by some insane person., who
cunninglv devised how he could shed
woman's blood without apprehension.
About midnight w. Ii. Hancock, q
weil-to-dO carpenter residing at 203
w t''i S'iSNt5 h'o "uNClctl Wy SlOu!lS.
Entering his wifc's chamber he found
~ vacant bed covered with blood spots.
lie followed the trail out Of the front
door around the house and into the
backyard, where he found his wife
had been struck twice across the head
was fractured. Although still alive,
thn nl,I Sitianc SOW clio ,,;l c,,>1, l;n
from her wounds. Mrs. Hancock is
nan She bears an unblcmishcd char
actcr. In the midst of the great cX.
citcmcnt produced by this outrage the
still greater crime that had bccn COM
United about the same hour several
squares distant. At | O'Clock Mrs.
Phillips, residing at30S Hickory street,
was awakened by the cries of her
grandson. Entering the room of her
son, James Phillips, she found the
infan, on the bed covered with blood.
and Phillips lying scnsclcss from a ter
riblc blow on the head. Ella Phillips,
the wife, was missing. The atlrightcd
ncighbors followed Il bloody trail and
found her body lying in the back yard
of the adjoining premises. Death had
resulted from Il blow on the forehead
with an axe. Across the body lay
heavy rails. Her person had been
outraged. There is no clue in either
case. The excitement on the streets
during the day was very great. Christ
mas was forgotten. The Mayor called
a meeting of the citizens al the State
House and nearly 4 thousand respond
ed to the call, and a committee of pub
lie safety was organized. The feeling
over these last outragcs is intense. \
housc-to-houSe search for the bloody
handed murdcrcrs will probably be
made"
"A special to the Galveston NcwS
from Austin SAYS: "Eustacio Marii-
ncz, a Mexican, about forty years Old,
was arrested Thursday night on sus-
picion of being implicated in the mys-
tcriouS murders which have recently
startled the citizens of Austin. He
lived i'm a secluded spo: ncar the river
and a search of his premises resulted
in the discovery OF bloody garments
of female apparel. MARTINEZ has no
family. Among the articles found
was al ice hook, such as experts tcsti-
fed might have been used in tic muir
NJ ! iNe''i'. "iN thtSutCl SCN =
cral months ago. A praver-book
with the name ella r Ramey"
written on the title page was also
found, together with two handkcr-
chiefs, one OF which bore the initials
81. r." worked in silk. The other
was marked GA" The detectives
think tho arrest of Martinez will clear
the mystery of the outrage and muir
der of the Ramcy woman. Evidence
discovered the prisoner with
the recent murders Of Mrs. Hancock
and Mrs. Phillips and the assault on
the lattcr's husband. The wounds in.
flictcd on Mrs. Phillips head are very
similar TO the wound on the Ramcy
girl and were probably inflicted with
the same instrument. MARTINEZ shows
signs of being a "crank." He admits
he was imprisoned for two years in
Brownsville for a%ssaulting q omar
Old blood stains on his clothing are
being examined by scientists"