, 1889-02-24
MYSTERIES OF MURDERS.
TIE BEST DETECTIVES ARE POW
ERLEsS WITHOUT A cLEW.

How the o'Connor Murder Mystery Was
Solved by an AocIdent-CAs That Have
Remained UnsoIved for Many Years and
Probably Always Will
Assistant Superintendent OF Police Roger
O'MRra is perhaps one of the best known
police officials in America II Is, therefore,
nothing to be wondered at that The Times re
ceived a request to have him give his views in
regard to mysterious murders, with especial
reference to the W~hitechapel murders
There arc three phases Of murder, each
ono peculiar In itself, and not allied to the
other. The first one Is the disappearance Of
a person who has been murdered, and yet no
proof can DO established that the person has
really been murdered
IAN illustration of this can be found in
the London criminal records Of lS49, when
Cutom House Officer O'Connor was missed
from his desk and never showed up again. It
was supposed for some timo that he had de-
camped with some Of the government funds,
but his accounts being correct and he having
been seen the evening previous to his disap-
pearance, in good health, 1t WINS supposed by
some persons that he might have been muir
dercd. Yet the detective ability of London,
ut TINT time the best in the world, was for
some days doubtful concerning the fate OF
O'Connor. Each member Of the detective
agencies and each editor had his own peculiar
theory Of whnt had happened to O'Connor.
Some suspected suicide In the river Thames;
some suggested sudden mental alteration,
through which he had wandered out of the
city and died from exposure and privation.
Some suggested murder, but could give no
theory Of why be should DO murdered, as he
had little or no money on his person. The
murder theory had been opposed by a large
majority Of the Scotland Yard detectives
and editors OF papers, and also by the public
at large, us no body had been found.
FoUND BY ACCIDENT.
'In the course of a few days. said Super
intendent O'Mnra, sit was discovered that
O'Connor had been carrying on a criminal
intimacy with a married lady, Mrs. Marin
Manning, wife of Fred George Manning, both
husband and wife occupying a good position
In society. The superintendent Of the Scot
land Yard detective agency visited Man
ning's house, and had an interview with Mrs.
Manning. She was quite cool and self pos
sessed, and readily admitted hat she had
known O'Connor well, but had not seen him
for some time. Her husband also made q
similar statement, and QConnor's disappear
ance remained u~naccountable for some days
longer. But, as no insane man was found
wandering either In the city or in the
Thames, tho murder theory was again
adopted, and the detectives called at Man
ning's house one morning and told Mrs. Man
ming they wished to search the house. She
was cooking a goose on a spit at the time, and
most obligingly showed them through tho
house from the cellar to the attic, searching
trunks, presses, cupboards, etc, without
avail. Tho detectives concluded that the
Mannings Ind no knowledge of the disappear
ance of O'Connor, and exonerated them, but
Us they were leaving the house and passing
through the kitchen ono of the detectives
by accident placed his foot on the flag In
front of the fire, above which Mrs. Manning
was cooking the goose. The flag sunk a lit
tic under the pressure of his foot, and he had
It removed, and underneath the flag, ut the
depth of three feet, O'Connor's body was
found in full dress, just as he had been muir
dered.
"O'Connor was n bachelor, 43 years of age,
and occupied a sleeping room in n tenement
house, and had n large amount of his savings
In q bank In his room. Mrs. Manning and
her husband knew this, and conspired to
murder O'Connor, and when he privately
visited the house sho shot him and Manning
buried him under the flag in the kitchen.
"If the detective had not, by pure chance
happened to step or the flag, O'Connor's
murder would never havo been discovered.
Ahuo oi NA1 "a II Il
that was all that was necessary to unearth
the bloody mystery.
Mrs. Manning took his latch key and tho
keys TO his desks, went to his room and OBJ
tanned all the money he possessed, e60O. Both
Mr.. and Mrs. Manning were hanged in front
of Horscmonger Lane jail in 1849.
A PENNSYLVANIA MURDER
Another case of mysterious disappear
ance,n continued Superintendent O'Mara,
''afterward found to be a double murder, was
that Of the two grandchildren of William
Showers, aged 6S years, who murdered both
children and buried them in the garden. The
difficulty was to establish TINT a murder had
been committed, but when the bodies wero
found there was no difficulty in placing the
guilt on Showers. he was executed In Leba-
non county, Pa, last month.
Another phase of murder Is where the
dead body is found and mutilated so there
could be no doubt that a murder has been
committed, yet no available clew to the muir
derer. The murder of DR.. Burdell, at No. 81
Bond street, New York, In 1857, comes unde
this head, as also does the Nathan murder.
In each Of these cases 1t was self evident that a
murder had been committed, but, as no clew
had been left, no single starting link on which
to found a Glow as to who perpetratod the
deed could be found, and the murders re-
manned and ever will remain a mystery.
yet another kind of murder is where the
murder is established and the murderer
known, yet no trace of him is to be found.
"Why the detectives were unable to fathom
the mystery of the Nathan and Burdel muir
ders was because the murderers in both cases
left no clews to their Identification. In the
case of Maxwell, alias Hugh NJ Brooks, who
murdered G. Arthur Preller and concealed
his body in a trunk, the murderer was well
known, and by leaving a single clew hat he
had started on a west bound train, every
other link was easily found. II the first link
IN the ckail had been undiscovered Maxwell
would never have been brought to Justice.
My impression In the Burdel and Nathan
MURDERS" Mr.. O'Mara said, sis that both
were porpetrated by persons living In tho
same houses with the murdered men -
burg Times.
Bound to Be Civil.
Count d'Orsay" writes: 81 am asked to
dino with q family whose acquaintance 1 do
not wish to keep. Now, should 1 SO to tho
dinner aud then cut them afterward, as somo
IL IA -. -rI. FL a. Y