The sun., 1889-12-22
MURDER TO CONCEAL THEFT.
VILLAS Dukes Seateneed 10 Death In EaG
land for K1iInE His E9PIoJsF.

WHIlanl Duses seateneed 10 Death In Eae-
Iand for KTIllnE his E1PtoJeF.
MANCHESTER, Dec. 14-WTliam Dukes has
Just been found guilty at the Manchester As
sizes Of deliberately numbering his employer.
and has been sentenced TO death The crime,
as sometimes happens. was fixed upon him be-
yord q doubt b7 the efforts which he made to
conceal IL There are \ number Of interesting
features in the case.
George Gordon, the victim OF the crime. was
in company with his father In the furniture
business in this city. and they had . branch
shop at Bury, which was under the caro- Of
William Dukes
Dukes had been irregular In his accounts,
and for several weeks previous to Sept Is the
Gordons had been trying to get him to render
full account Of the business at Bury. Dukes
had eTaded these demands Of his employers By
number Of preteIts- He had . woman under
his control. for instance. who wrote bogus
orders 10 the firm which were used to account
for the absence OF Dukes when the Gordons ar
rived at the Bury snop. The orders were
being Alstead. name which attervard figured
In the trial OF Dukes for his life. and was
succeeded in putting ofr the dreaded meefinG
by asking on postal card 20 see an agent OF
the fEm. The nsTS week the lame same Astsad
tain time TO meet Dukes. This WAS on Sept. IS.
By this time, however. the GordonS had be-
that day young Gordon went down TO Bury to
see Dukes Dukes, hearing Of his arrival.
9Tao ou' 5s Sa' to ad
Dukes followed TO Manchester, and then. haV-
ing seen Young Gordon start onee more for
said he had teen in Manchester since early
morning trying to meet Alstead The elder
believe this. and Dukes concluded to go to
Bury and face the matter out With Iroee-
cutiop for embszzlenent staring him IN the
10 Bury apparently formed the resolution to
Reaching Bury he q, once set about getting
all the employees out OF The shop by sending
them out with goods for M. Alstead. and then
S.s hs ssed yo0Gs Gord9s a,bS his
shop. a dark place and there struck him down
man could WELD Il Win one hand.
Gordon was killed ms anly. but the disposi-
little, The employees came back too soon for
him. but he SenI them away on another pre-
text. aud when they again returned told them
was half hour before the regular lime:
As a Temporary ,sxpedient the body vas
Dukes vent out and sent a despatch which said
that young Gordon had gone TO Burn
ey beiee ~ s vonSa ne e1
Bot Dukes did not know or had forgotten
that IT was Jewish holiday. and that ihe Cor
brated the occasion at he synagogue in the
evening. The murdered mans relatives knew
the despatch was fraud, and straiRhtWay set
out for Bury to find the young man, already
trembling in anttc cpation OF the dread reyeIa-
tton that was 10 follow. They found Dukes.
who protested that no and young Gordon had
parted after the young man had given him the
telegram to send. No clue was found that
night. The next morning Gordon's brother.
who with the police conducted The search Tor Q
trace OF the missing man, noticed that a heavy
wardrobe at the back Of the shop was closed
and locked. Dukes said 1t contained goods for
a customer and was ready for shipment He
would not take the responsibility OF opening
1t. The brother said he would take the re-
sponsioility. and thereupon he turned the kew.
The door few open under pressure. and a leg
OF the murdered man fell out on the door
Dukes was arrested. He said on the trial
that his employer was very angry on learning
OF the defalcation. and. picking up the hammer.
ru-heI at his defaulting emplOyes. Dukes
Grabbed II. lie had been drinking and could
remember nothing Of what happened there
after Inasmuch as Gordon hal been hit in the
back Of the head with the hammer. the Iury re-
fused 20 believe the story. They were aided In
arriving at their conclusion by Dukes's efforts
10 get the employees out OF the way ore
talking TO Uordon and By other facts already
mar ated in this story.
It Is not uninterestinR to note that the Man.
chester pnpers protest that IL was unnecessary
cruelty 20 the prisoner to hold him eight weeks
before trying him and relieving his uncertainty
as TO his fate.