New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-05-29
CRONIN WAS KILLED.
Disappearance of the Chicago Irish
American at Last Accounted
For.

EohtSaRC TWO weeks ago, was lOuNQ UllS
evening some distance north of the city in
a sewer on Evanston avenue. A bloody
towel was wrapped about the head The
rest OF The body was stark naked Cath
ollc emblem. which :he doctor always wore
next TO his skin suspended about his neck,
was untouched. On the dead mans head
were dozen deep cuts which had severed
the scalp and indented tine skull II is the
opinion of the police that Cronn was foully
murdered, and by some man vho could not
bring himself to disturb Catholic trinket
Much excitement was shown at detective
headquarters when doubt as to the identity
of the body was finally removed by definite
messages from Lakeview. It was evident
from the expressions of the officials that one
OF the first objects OF the police
Will be to have a number of suspi-
clous assertions xplained-assertions made
by supposed friends of Cronin. Lieut. Elliott
will have these people at the inquest and de-
mand an explanation full and complete. The
detectives claim that they have been handi-
capped from the start by a lack of assistance
from those VINO claimed to know all con-
cernir e 49,.
THE DOCTORS DISAPPEARANCE
Lieut.. Elliott said soon after the finding of
the body: 81 will have this information now
or there will be a number OF prompt arrests"
Wholly accidental circumstances brought the
corpse to light. A gang OF laborers in the
employ of the Lakeview suburban govern
ment haue been cleaning the bitches along
Evanston avenue during the week. To-day
Foreman Henry Roesch and two men were
working north on the east side of Evanston
avenue towards Fifty ninth street. AS they
neared the catch basin at the corner they
noticed strong smell of purifying flesh,
and Roesch pried off the top of the catch
basin with his spade and discovered the
body OF Dr. Cronin. 1t had apparently been
hastily pitched into the basin, for the head
was underneath and the feet and legs were
up in the opening. The place where the
CORPS was discovered-Fifty- ninth street and
Evanston avenue-is three hundred yards
from the Argyle Park station of the Chicago
& Evanston branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee
& st. Paul railroad. 1t is but two or three
blocks from the lake, and nearly a mile
north from the corner of Sulzer street and
Evanston avenue where the
MYSTERIOUS BLOOD STAINED TRUNK,
empty, was found on the day after Cronn's
disappearance. 1t seems altogether remark
able that it was not sooner discovered, for
the Lakeview police started out to search all
the catch basins in the big suburb the week
after the trunk was found. AID. Maxwell,
of the Lakevlew council, who was one of the
searchers, said tonight: ...
We started out two days after Cronin's dis
appearance to search every catch basin
along Evanston avenue. There were fifteen
men under Capt Wing and half dozen
volunteers engaged In the hunt for the body
bad Frce oil @$1l,
basins in the neighborhood of Sulzer street
and Evanston avenue, where the trunk was
found, and east and west from that corner.
Then we looked through the basins north
and south along Evanston avenue. but fin
ally came to the conclusion that the trunk
had been left Tor blind, and that in
all likelihood the body had been hid
den some distance away. We then went to
Graceland and looked in the basins for half
mile up and down the avenue and along
the cross streets, and worked five or six days
before giving up the search. By mere bad
ninth street and consequently missed the
catch basin where the body was hid
THE BODY IDENTIFIED.
Immediately upon taking the body out of
the basin Foreman Roesch notified the Lake
view police station and summoned the patrol
wagon. The body was stretched out in the
Lakeview norgua, which occupies the front
room in the basement under the sta
ton. Telephone messages were sent
to the city police, and an hour after
the finding OF the body dozen of sCronin's
friends were at the station. The three Scan
Ian brothers, who have been intimate with
DR.. Cronin, were among the first who ar
rived. They all positively identified the
body as that of Cronin upon first sight.
Later it was unqualifedly identified by T. T.
Conklin, the saloonkeeper, with whom Cronin
lived and by James Roland and Patrick
McCary. During the evening Dr. J. r
Brandt, president of the Cook county hos
pital staff, who was an acquaintance of
Cronin's. carefully examined the body, and
positively identified it as that of the missing
man. Among many others, the dentist who
last worked on Cronin's teeth reached the
station late in the evening, and
POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED THE BODY,
as did the man who for years has been Gro
Minis tailor. A great hubbub was caused in
the suburb by the finding of the corpse.
Shortly after the body had been removed to
the police station the street in front
was damned with vehicles, and scores
of people were crow ding for adfnis-
sion to the basement where lay
the DOCTORS remains. Officers were stationed
on the stairway and at the basement door,
aud were once or 4wice obliged to use their
clubs in forcing the crowd back. The tumult
coetinued far into the night Long
before midnight at least forty men
who had known Cronin had identified the
body. The suburban police will keep the
body and towel at Lakeview until the coro-
ner orders otherwise. The man Woodruff or
Black who after arrest fortnight ago con
fessed to having helped carry off a trunk
containing corpse, that of woman. he
claimed, from barn in the city the night of
Cronin's disappearance, was interviewed to-
night in jail He manifested no sur
prise or discomposure when told that the
body of DR.. Cronin had been found north of
where the trunk was discovered, but while
he appa1 emily talked freely about the matter
he seemed careful not to go outside of the
story he had originally told. He repeatedly
said thatif he had not been locked up in jail
he could and would have cleared up the
trunk mystery before this time.