Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1886-03-17
4 Boys Dreadful Crime.

AASsss CRY, no, March 9.-The
/ Times, Usage Mission. Kansas, de-
spatch says: One of :he most hor-
rible murders ever known in this
country was perpetrstcd yesterday
morning near this place Mr. Men
dell, living thirteen miles northwest
of town, was awakened shout three
o'clock by "a scream he went to the
door and was net bY Willie Sells, the
aon OF a neighbcr, j. W Sells. The
boy cried out: MIR Meadell, man
is at our house with a hatchet and
has burt father and mother dsn.t
know how badly. Mr. Mendall went
with the boy. arousing J. l. Rice,
another neiShbor, on the way Up
on reaching Sells house "a most hor
rible sight met their eyes: I'm the
bed III the north room lay Walter,
Willie's eldest brother and bed fel-
low, aged nineteen, his throat cut and
the whole top OF his head chopped
of, exposing the brain, and ais left
eye hanging Epon his check. Pass
ing into the south and main room,
where q light was burning, thsYstum-
bled over the PROSTATE form of Mir.
Sells, his head crushed and almost
severed from his body Near by lay
Mrs. Sells, a lady of forty-thres years,
her head smashed and a fearful cash
in her throat. On the bed III the
co,-thaoc+ oor,,a, Nf Tho r,n,, to-- IIo
Willie's sister, eyed fourteen killed
in the same manner as othey. three.
Lying near Mr. Sells body was II
bloody butcher knife and on 2 chair
hatchet. matted with hair aud
blood. TIE boy said that re had
been c,vakened by something. and
looking up saw n low, beavy.set man,
with dark hair, cnt close, stsnding in
the door This man stepped in aud.
reaching over Willie, struck Water,
who lay ON the back of the bed Vii
lie jumped out and dressed, while the
man was still in the room. Tie man
rushed ont of one j ooT. wEaa Willie
rushed out OF the o her and started
up the road on , run, Willie after
him. A short dist ance of stood s
man on horseback holding another
horse, upon which the man vaulted
and both made of Willie then went
Oh to Mendell's- After tha bodies
had been discove red, Rics took VII
lie home with h N, where he slept
soundly until me rning a Coroner's
jury was empant He'd and the subse
quent investigs tion brought forth
mu&h from the boy Suspicion rest
ed upon him al i he was put on the
stand. He sv ore thas he lad not
washed his hands since the murder,
but inspection showed that while
his hands and wrists were clean,
there was water mark about which
his forearms were deeply encrus.ed
with blood, which appeared to have
fspurted up his sleeves Around the
finger nails, too, was blood Upon
removing his pants his drawers were
seen to be saturated with spattered
blood and his bare feet were covered
with blood. His feet fitted all the
bloody foot marks TO be found. Tho
boy stoutly denied being the mur-
derer and maintained a bold froat
throughout. The conclusion OF the
inquest was postponed until to-day.
The boy was smuggled into buggy
Police Judge Cambern and Dopufy
Sheriff Locke and driven to iail in
Erie for fear of lynching, which ap-
peared imminent On the way to
Erie he said to Mr.. Cambern: "Thosa
fellows tried their best to get me to
say that 7 did it, hut I thought il
wonld be best not to admit it.
There is hardly doubt but that
the boy committed the dreadful
crime. 1t is not known that MIR.
Sells had in his pocket-book one hun.
dred dollars in gold and one hundred
and seventy dollars in bills, which
were not disturbed, besides three
watches. John Hall, of Erie, has
been appointed guardian of the
boy.