Morning journal and courier., 1886-07-26
THE MORRIS TRAGEDY.

Charles Lockyvoodss Dead Body Dis.
 covered By Eight Men Hung From A
 Tree-The Murderer Was Probably |
 Lynched-The Excitement over The
 DiscOvery-An Immense ThrORg of
 Searehers-The Funeral of The Mur-
 dered Girl.
 MORRIS, Conn. July 25.-Charles Look wood, the farmland who SC brntally mur- dered pretty and lovable Hattie Randall, the sixteen year old daughter of Farmer Randall of this place, is dead, either having been lynched or committed suicide by hanging himself to tree in the woods of this place. one mile from where the murder was commit ted Early this morning party of search CTS, numbering over five hundred farmers and shop hands from this and neighboring towns, started out well armed and with the intention of finding Lockwood and bringing him back either dead or alive, and the ex- citement ran so high among the people that threats of lynching were heard on all sides.
 The older and more quiet people shook their
 heads and said that Lockwood would never
 come back alive if found by the searchers. It was shortly aften seven o'clock when the party started out and made their way into the woods, separating as they went so as to fully search every part of the woods, and it was nearly noon, and they had become tired of the search when sudd denly cries end shouts re- sounded through the woods and dales, and the searchers were called together as far as possible by those who first issued the cry as the others took it up and sent it through the woods. Suddenly the searchers, many of whom had heard the first cries, entered a little dale and there, suspended from the limb
 of maple ,, tree and surrounded by eight of the searchers, was the
 dead body of Charles Lockwood, the
 murderer. Soon large crowd had gathered around the body and on the arrival | of the coroner it was cut down and laid on forward to get look at the distorted fea- Cures they after looking at them a few sec- onds invariably turned away with look of disgust on their features which told as plain
 ly as words that they were glad he was dead.
 The body, which was hung from the limb of
 small maple tree by about four feet of
 down, which leads to the supposition that Lockwood was found by this party and lynched before the others were
 made aware of the fact that he had been
 found. These eight men, however, deny that
 they lynched Lockwood or that he was alive when found by them. They say that while
  covered the body suspended as it was and at once called to the other searchers to notify them that the body had been found. The opinion is quite prevalent, however, that
 Lockwood was lynohed by the party,
 although some believe that he committed suicide after seeing that
 there was no hope for him to try and escape the searchers. After the body had been viewed by the searchers for some time, it
 was placed in a wagon, and followed by the crowd driven to the undertaker's in this place where it will remain until an inquest has been held. When the news of Lockwoods body having been found reached the neigh boring towns it was received as glad tidings by the citizens, who were glad to think that the murderer had met his death so soon after he had committed his crime Tester ay morning while James Johnson and his family were attending the funeral of the murdered girl, which was 8 very solemn affair and took place from the Randall house in this place, his house. which is about two miles from that of Farmer Randall, was broken into and the thief who it is supposed was Lock
 wood, ate all he could and then left after fill ing his pockets with crackers and cheese, as he could have had nothing to eat for forty eight hours. Ever since the murder was committed people have been visiting the place where the foul deed was done, and gazed at the blood-stain stones near where the tragedy happened and where one of tue most respected and best loved girls in Morris met her death. The funeral services were at the house at o'clock yesterday morning, and the Rev. MT. Leonard of the Congrega- tional church, assisted by Rev. Mir. Starr, of Gciated. The coffin stood in the center of the front room and was covered with the choicest flowers, the gifts of the dead girls friends. The interment was in Bridgewatsr, twenty two miles distance, and the distance was travelled in carriages. The father and mother of the dead girl are nearly overcome withgrief, and have the deepest sympathy of the community.
 Five Hundred Thousand Dollars