Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-04-26

| THE TRAGEDY AT BESNISG-THE POLICE FOL-
LOWING CLUES WITHOUT REsULT-rHE BODY
DIsrNTERRED-THE SIGNIFICANCE OF The MOSS
AND THE WAGON TRACKS.
The mystery surrounding the murder and
finding of the body of the colored woman on
the Sheriff road last Monday has not yet been
| unraveled. Detective Raft is hard at work on
the case, and is confident that with the assist
ance of the Maryland officers he will be able to
trace both the victim and her murderer. The
clue obtained yesterday. which led the officers
to believe that the body was that Of Mamie
Gardner. who lived near Landover station, was
reported to Sheriff Darnall last evening. and he
will investigate it to-day. The bad weather
proves serious drawback to the officers, as
travel over the country roads is attended with
many discomforts and Interruptions. As pub
| lished in yesterdays STAR, the body of the
| murdered woman was disinterred Wednesday
evening for the purpose of identification, but
| without result.
II THE CEMETERY.
The body was then reinforced in the small
cemetery on the road leading from Bladens-
burg to Landover station. on the Baltimore and
Potomac railroad, just outside of Bladensburg.
As 1t was thought likely that the remains would
be again disinterred. only about twelve inches
I Ii.
| thought that the heavy rains have washed out
the clay and probably left the coffin exposed to
view.
The officers are not inclined to believe that
the woman lived or was known in Prince
Georges county. or in the district near where
the body was found. because it was viewed by
so many persons from that neighborhood. and
none Of them was able to identify it. 1t was
suggested that the body be photographed
Should it decompose beyond recognition some
difficulty might be encountered in event of the
murderers being captured, as it might be i'm
possible then to prove the identity of the MUIR
dered woman.
THE POLICE PUZZLED.
The police are as much puzzled as ever con-
corning the crime. Theory after theory has
been advanced. but the officers will make no
statement of their views as to the place and
circumstances attending the murder. When
the officers visited the spot where the body
was found they Discovered footprints on the
bank beside the road. but before they got there
the scene had been visited by dozens OF per-
sons. SO that there was no significance attached
TO these fOot-tracks. The heavy rains Satur-
day night and Sunday morning had no doubt
Obliterated the tracks made along the path
leading to the spot where the body was found
by the person or persons who conveyed the
corpse to its place of cOncealment. Between
the wagon tracks made in the road was 4 small
pile OF moss, which gives the officers an idea
that the woman was probably murdered in the
city and taken TO the woods i'll a wagon from
the market. 1t is thought that the wagon be-
lonSed to cOlOred persons. and that the moss
found was portion OF the stock left over from
market.
OF A NEW TRAIL
This morning Detective Raft received infor-
nation that the murderer could be captured in
Prince Georges county. and that the woman's
body would also be identified Acting on this
information the officer left UniOntown about
II o'clock and started in search of the MUIR
derer.
Detective Raft failed to meet the person at
Uniontown who gave HIM the information The
officer then started for Bladensburg At the
tOll-gate he learned from Officer Black that a
colored man living near Benning assisted
co!Ored man. a stranger in the ueIghbOrhood.
to wash ont wagon Ifar the Eastern-branch
bridge. about o'clock Saturday morning. The
wagon was snch a one as Is nscd by country
men for hauling truck to market. The de-
tectIve thinks that that is possibly the wagon
that conveyed the corpse Of the woman to the
place where it was found.
DR.. Lewis, of BlaGensDurg. says that he has
received information which will probably lead
to the capture of the murderer.
LATER.
Detective Raft has gone with Officer Black to
search tor the colored man who assisted the
stranger to wash out his wagon.