The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-06-13
CAUSE OF KINNEY'S DEATH
Evidence Indicating That He was Killed
by Some One in the Johnson Block.
Mrs. Hall Cannot Be Found-Direct Testimony
from Others. in Which Shooting and Men
Running from the Building Figure.

when they began work on it. Mrs. Carrie
Hall, the woman whom Kinney is supposed
to have visited when he fell or was thrown
from the window, could not be found by
the coroner's constable. She left her room
In the Johnson Block on Tuesday morning,
carrying a bundle of clothes, and went to
the home of her brother-in-law, Robert
Burns. When the constable called at Mr..
Burns's yesterday he was informed that the
woman had gone to the northern part of the
city. The officer could get no further trace
of her.
At o'clock in the afternoon Deputy Cor
oner Ridpath and a Journal reporter went
to the johnson Block, and were informed
By the wife Of the ~janitor that Mrs. Hall
was In her room. Knocks on the door
brought no reply, and then, after
securing the assistance of patrolman Kelle-
meyer the door was unlocked. No one was
there. but the front windows were raised,
indicating hat some one had been in the
room during the day. DR.. Ridpath made a
thorough investigation of the two rooms
and the window in the hall, from which the
man undoubtedly fell. Nothing was found
to indicate that a fight had occurred there.
Lying on the floor in the kitchen were two
hatchets, but neither Of them bore
any marks showing that they had
been used in striking q fatal
blow. About the center of the west wallin
the front room there is a hole in the plas-
tcring which, the deputy coroner thinks,
might have been made by a bullet. The
mole extended through the plastering to the
brick wall; The blood spots on the window
a queer case" remarked DIR. Ridpath when
and it is worth while to 20
to the bottom of it." The failure
of the constable to find Mrs. Hall assisted
In arousing the suspicious of the deputy
coroner, and late in the evening he set n
watch over the johnson Block. with in
structions that in case Mrs. Hall came
home she be detained as a witness.
The deputy coroner began the taking OF
We're examined. but their evidence only
tended to deepen the mystery. The first
person examined was Mrs. Mary Kinney,
the wife of the dead man. She made the
her husband aud another man
In company with "a woman. in
q buggy at Hammond's saloon, corner
Blake and North streets, Monday night at
1:4o O'Clock. The three. she SAYS. were in
toxicated, The statement could hardly be
credited, from the fact that il was only o
minute or two before II o'clock when
klnney's body was found on the sidewalk.
The opinion of those who heard the EVIL
dence was shat Mrs. Kinney must have been
mistaken as to the time.
Charles Schwab told his story in a
straightforward manner. He said that
about 6:25 P; NJ. Monday evening. he met
i hnpnsy az streets tns tsrneT K in s1"ko w asd MASH IN a
ness got in with him. They first
drove to kinney's sisters and then to his
aunts. After they had made the two calls,
kinney said he believed he would take the
horse and buggy back to the South-side
stable, where he had hired it. He changed
his mind Immediately, however, and drove
to East Washington street to see some
Block" said Mr.. Schwab. 1 didn't know
the person he wanted to see, but he went
upstairs. and / followed him. l stood in
the hall. Some woman opened the
door door, .f and b Kinney rhs went mou in as /
very nervous. She kept going to the win
dow and looking out on Washington street.
l saw it was no place for me, and said, Let's
get ont of this We then went andput the
horse and buggy up, and as we passed
Maryland street Kinney got a glassof beer.
We then went to the corner of California
and West streets. i asked him to GO home
with me and stay all night, but he said he
had promised the woman in the Johnson
AOth w jill odCh dtio WOuiu uO 81. VI
Schwab thought it was about Q o'clock at
night when he left Kinney.
A. C.. Bramlett, who boards at No. 81
South Illinois street, an important witness,
ton street Monday night he heard two shots
fired. on the upper floor of the johnson
Block. He ran a few doors west to see if
he see any one. He then went back
to call F.. A. Cohen; who had been with
him, and the two walked up to Court street
and then back. Just as they reached the
corner of East and Washington streets a
man fell from the Johnson Block window.
They ran to the man and found he was still
saw Kinney Monday afternoon
and evening were examined, but
their testimony did not throw
any light on the case. +. A. Cohen says
that about IL o'clock he saw Kinney and
Johnson Block. He heard no shots fired.
To-day the coroner will take the testi-
mony of the people living III the block. and
it promises to be important. Mrs. Philip
that she heard shots on her floor, and after
wards heard two men running through the
hall. Mrs. Swank, who lives in the block adj
joining. is positive that she heard two shots
fired between IL and - o'clock, and look
ing out of the window, saw we men running
away. Several other persons will testify
that they also heard shots. While it is
known that Kinney was not shot, the
establishment or the 1act tnat n pistol was
fired is important in that 1T shows that q
fight occurred there. The nature of the
fracture on the rear portion of Kinney's
skull leads the deputy coroner to believe
that 1t could have been made with the
blunt end of a Ratchet or hammer. He
thinks that the wound could not have
been received in falling from the window.
1t is the opinion of the police that Kin
ney was murdered. though o few still
maintain that he had W andered up into the
building, and failing to get into the room
of the Hall woman, sat Town in the win
dow from which he fell.
An important witness was found last
night. She is a girl by the name of Martin
dale, who lives in the eastern part of the
city. She made u statement to Constable
Maer and patrolman Weirick to the effect
that she was at the room of the Hall wom-
an Monday night until 1890 o'clock. She
cOrrobOrates the statement of Mr.. Schwab
that he and Kinney were at the room early
in the evening. She then says that Kinney
came back about 10 o'clock or after. and
that Kinney and Mrs. Hall had n quarrel.
When the quarrel began she was fright
ened and left for home. Continuing. she
said that Mrs. Hall called on her yesterday
and told her that ii she told any one that
Kinney had been in her rooms on the even
ing he met his death she would make
trouble for her. Miss Martindale was sum-
moned to appear before the coroner, and
her testimony will be taken this morning.