Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1888-07-27
MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE
BROOKS ALIas MAXWELL.

IN April 1875, st. Louis was start.
led by tho most diabolical murder
known i'll the annals of crime in this
wicked community. Two strangers
arrived here and registered Mt the
Southern Hotel under the names of
Z. A. Preller and W. ii. Maxwell.
Both seemed to be fast fellows and
led high life. In the course of
time both disappeared. Soon after
the discovery was made that one Of
them, Prcllcr, had not gone, but was
left i'll trunk, dead and mutiluted
The other fellow, Maxwell, had fled
leaving his companion to the mcr
cies OF the undertaken. Suspicion.
of course, fastened upon Maxwell.
and tho detective force of The city
began work upon the case. 4 clcw
was obtained and the vigilant aud
tireless slcuth hounds of Justice were
soon on The track Of the fleeing fugi
live. lie was traced to San Fran.
cisco, Cal, from which point ho took
shipping for Australia. The light
ming was faster than the ship, and
when the vessel reached Auckland.
Australia, IL cablcgram had notified
the authorities of the crime commit
ted Ill st. Louis, and asked for tho
arrest OF Il person answering Ger
tam description. Soon the news
came to us that the party sought
was awaiting The rcquisition of the
American authorities. Two of our
officers went to Australia, and re
turned with Ole who claimod to be
William Lcnnox Maxwell of ENG
land. lie had assumed so many
aliases that no one believed his name
to be Maxwell. Upon The person Of
the murdered man, Prcller, IL pair of
drawers had been found with the
name Of Brooks" on them. This
created suspicion that the name of
the supposed murderer was Brooks.
| had that opinion from detective
soon after the arrest was llade. This
view Of his identity reached England
and created an alarming apprclon-
SION III the mind Of Il gentleman OF
the namo of Brooks, whose son had
run away from that country in jam
AIRY preceding. He wrote to me, he.
ing Il Mason, for information As
soon rs the fugitive was brought
back here his picture was taken for
the "Rcgue's Gallery" copy Of
winch sent the man Brooks in Eng.
land. That settled the question
with the parents of the recuasant
son, who had disappeared from home
months before. Still the little wretch
stoutly maintained That his name
was Maxwell and not Brooks. This
he did until old Mr.. Brooks, his
father, arrived from England and
saw the false rascal, WHO had lied
from the start. Soon after this the
Grand Jury indicted Brooks for
murder in the first degree, and in
due time he was tried FOR his life in
our criminal court, before Judge Van
"agSoner. He was found guilty of
tic charge. His defense was that he
had given Preller chloroform to re
lieve pain, and that he had died un.
der the effects of tic anesthetic. But
the circumstances did not bear out
the plea For after the death of his
TREND, the only one no had on
Tins continent, and who furnished
him all The money for the trip up to
the kllling,) he put the body in n
new trunk, previously bought, and
Tor the purpose, no doubt. He so
badly disfigured tho corpse that idcn-
tihcation was hardly possible. The
money of The murdered man was
then taken, and Brooks went on Il
big spree, while the dead body Of his
friend was decomposing in tbs trunk
at the Southern. Thus he remained
in the city for a time and stayed Mt
the hotel where the corpse was sleep,
ing III trunk. He took the trunk
oil poor Pieller, with his clothes and
money, and left the city. This did
not look like accidental death, but
showed a premeditated purpose to
Kill his friend, take his money and
flee the country. After his conyic.
ton by our criminal court, an appeal
was taken to tile Supreme Court Of