Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1888-07-18
Tht gtntp Teller.
A MARROW ESCAPE.

DetQuincy relates that, shortly after the
Ratcliffe Highway England murder, in
1872, he met Coleridge, and found him "in
a profound reverie upon the tremendous
power which is laid open in moment to
any man who can reconcile himself to the
abjuration of all conscientious restraints,
if at the same time thoroughly without
fear.'' Let the criminal be not only fear
less, but also couple with his contempt for
all lllaWs-human and divine-a keen and
subtle intellect and a determined will and
we would have all that power which Soc
rates, in "The Republic of Plato, invests
the bad man who has possessed himself OF
Gypes,s ring. "He can take what he
likes out of market or chest; he can enter
the houses of others he can kill whom
he will"
The perpetrator of the horrible crime in
Piripa. town in the northwestern part OF
Mexico, on the Rio de Sayopa, In June,
1895. almost answered such man as de-
scribed above.
The victim was young woman OF con-
siderable personal attractions, named Ju-
anita Medanos, and occupied a SUIT OF
apartments in fashionable section OF the
city. She was an extremely wealthy heir
ess, whose father had died few years be-
fore, leaving her his whole fortune, to the
exclusion of profigate son, whom ne
had disinherited and driven from nome.
On the evening of June Is, 1886, Juanita
went to a theater with gentleman who
had frequently called upon her. The name
of the person was only known to liza, Ju-
anita's maid. By others he was described
as tall, dark compleXioned, with large
black whiskers, of a pronounced Mexican
caste and the outward aspect of a gentle
man. He was supposed by some OF the
boarders of the house to be an Italian, but
he spoke Spanish huently.
According to the gossip OF the house,
Jualita had spoken Of this man as a sort
of tormentor, who had persistently re-
quested her to make trip with him to the
United States, in company with maid
and female companion.
On one occasion the stranger was with
Juanita in the saloon of her hotel when
the stranger, in taking off his cloak, drop
ped large knife. Juanita picked it up
and opened it by touching 9 spring. on the
back of the haft. This blade was about as
wide as her thumb-nail, and had sharp
point. liza happened into the saloon about
this time, and, through curiosity, minute
ly examined the knife.
There was no doubt but that this stran-
ger came home with Juanita from the the
ater. arriving at her hotel about midnight.
This is shown by the evidence of the driv-
er. who drove them, whose description of
the man corresponded in every particular
with that given by la, the maid, OF the
mysterious stranger. From the moment
when the door closed behind them on that
fatal midnight, the story seemed to have
been an impenetrable mystery.
About quarter past six on the follow
ing morning, young merchant named
Rosalio, who had slept on the same floor,
was leaving the house to attend to business
when he found the corpse of the ill-fated
young woman lying in pool of blood upon
the floor near the half.open door of the
room in which she slept. Horritied by
the discovery, he awoke a felloW-boarder
and then called in an officer.
The unfortunate woman was quite dead,
and had probably been so for some hours.
She had not undressed, having only taken
off,a silk dress and placed her gold watch
on the dressing-table. Beside gaping
wound in the throat, which had severed
the Wind-pipe, there were several staos IN
the abdomen and below the lett Dreast.
The left thumb was also cut. as If in
struggle with the assassin. There was
bloody water in the wash-basin, showing
that the murderer had washed his hands
before leaving.
The profound secrecy with which the
crime had been committed caused it to
create more than an ordinary degree Of ex-
element. Rosalio slept in the adjoining
room, while liza, the maid, slept in the
ante-roo separated only by door from
her mistress. There were other dodgers
in the house, yet no one had heard the
mysterious stranger 60 out, nor had any
sound disturbed them during the small
hours of the morning.
The motive of the crime was as lnscruta-
BILE as the perpetrator was unknown. 1t
did not appear to have been committed Tor
plunder. The purse of the deceased was
said to be missing, and to have contained
but small amount but her gold watch,
diamonds and several valuable articles OF
jewelry were left on the dressing table.
Usually there is some link in the chain
of evidence connecting a murderer with
his crime, which the detective police can
take up at once. In Poe's stories the in
terest depends upon the skill with which
this link is seized, when it is apparently
concealed. In the mystery of Marie Roget,
the link is the rudderless boat. In the
murders of Rue Morgue, it is the huge
Venetian shutter by which the ape swings
from the window to the lightning-rod. In
the mysterious crime of which Juantia
Medanos was the victim, there was such
link in the shape of a gentleman's black
kid glove, found upon the carpet in the
dead woman's chamber. liza, in arrang-
ing her mistress's room on the morning OF
the discovery of the murder, found by the
bedside glove, with the initials IN. H."
written on the inside. These initials stood
for Manuel Rosalio, the man who first dis
covered the murder and gave the alarm.
Suspicion fell upon Rosalio, between whom
and the deceased the most friendly reia-
tions were known to exist. LA told the
jury that she was awakened during the
night, and saw man in the dim light, IN
her mistress's room, standing near the lat
ter's dressing-table. He answered Rosa
lio's description perfectly, and when the
maid called to Juanita, the latter told her
to remain quiet, as the gentleman was
physician, who had called at her request
to administer narcotic. She saw the
so-called doctor depart, but whether ne
returned or not she could not say.
Beside the above facts, search OF nos
alio's room resulted in finding the mate OF
the glove found in the dead Woman's
room. The link seemed to be completed,
when man came forward with strange
story of his having, at an early hour on
the morning of the murder, seen man
wearing only his trousers and shirt, and
with bloody hands, standing at the door
of the house in which the crime was COM
mitted. Rosalio being pointed out to him,
he said that was the man. About this
time the mysterious stranger turned up,
and he gave his name as Juan Bocuna.
On the evidence adduced Rosalio was
indicted for murder, and there was not a
dissenting voice as to his guilt. His pre-
vious character had been good, and in his