Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-18
THE G STREET MYSTERY.
Death Of the Second victim-Medilla
the Watchman.

THE DOCTORS UNABLE TO ASCERTAIN WHAT
CAUSED krTHER pEArH-rHE AUTOPSY N tn q
CASE As IN THE OTHER THROWS No LIaHr n
TIE SUBJECT.
The mysterious finding OF Cornelius Madella
or Medilla, the old colored Waterman, and the
dead body of an unknown colored man in
house No. 1905 G street northwest last Friday
afternoon. still remains q mystery. The dead
body of the unknown man was buried in pot
ter's field, as heretofore published in TIE STAR.
Yesterday morning at 5 o'clock the old man,
Medilla, expired at Freedman's hospital. The
physicians at the hospital were completely puz-
zled by the case and were taken by surprise
when he died. Exhaustion was the only cause
they could assign for his death, but what caused
the exhaustion they were unable to discover.
After the old man had been in the hospital
awhile he took stimulants and nourishment.
and as many worse cases than his had been cured
the physicians were confident of his recovery.
He was perfectly conscious of his surroundings
and talked sensibly 10 the attendants.
NO ONE LEFT TO TILL THE STORY.
The death of Medilla deepens the mystery. as
there is one left to tell the story of what oc-
CURED in that lonely house to cause two deaths.
1t was thought that if the old man had fully re-
covered he would have made a statement that
would explain the mystery. The autopsy made
by Dr. Schaeffer of the body of the unknown
man really revealed nothing. The body was
badly decomposed, rendering q satisfactory ex-
| animation impossible. DIR. Schaeffer preserved
the head of the man and thinks he may some
day be identified by his teeth.
CURIOUS BETIcENcE OF TIE OLD MAN
When the improvement in the old mans
| condition was so marked DIR. Patterson visited
him with view to getting, if possible, some
| information that might assist in clearing away
| the mystery. He conversed freely with the
doctor and answered all the questions asked
| him, except when reference was made to the
condition in which he was found or something
| was said about the dead man. Then his lips
| were sealed as closely as in death and to all
| appearances he would lapse into state Of
| semi-consciousness. Then when questioned on
another subject he would brighten up and
give Intelligent answers
THE SECOND AUTOPSY.
After the death Of Medilla yesterday Dr. Pat
terson viewed the body and DIR. Schaeffer made
the autopsy. As in the other case the autopsy
was an unsatisfactory one and really failed to
show the cause Of death. There were bruises
on the left side of the face and body, which
were no doubt made by his remaining in one
position so long time DIR. Schaeffer was I'M
able to discover any traces of fever or other
disease or any marks Of violence. The express
sion of the old mans eyes after death was a
peculiar one and there was a cadaverous look
OF the face even after he had been dead only a
few hours.
In the absence of any positive or even cir
cumstantial evidence the authorities are con-
tenting themselves with theories. In the first
place, DIR. Schaeffer does not think that either
Illuminating gas or gases from a fire could
have killed them. The windows were open
and the gas was cut off at the meter. The man
whose dead body was found was not more than
twenty-five years old. He was certainly not an
intruder there, for he was occupying the pallet,
| while the old watchman on the floor.
One theory advanced is that the young man
| was admitted to the house by the Waterman;
| that he was sick at the time and soon died.
| This, it is thought, may have frightened the
| old man and he fell to the floor unconscious
and unable to help himself.
DIR. Schaeffer thinks that after the death of
| the young man, from whatever cause, the in
halatior of the odor by the old man was enough
to place him in the condition in which he was
| found or perhaps after the death of the young
man Medilla thought he would be censured for
allowing him in the house and might have wor-
ried himself sick.
MRS. wooDBuRY's IDEA
Mrs. Woodbury., the owner of the house, has
an idea that the young man did not die in the
house, but that his dead body was taken there
| by practical jokers who saw the seriousness OF
| their joke and abandoned their CHASTITY subject.
| There was nothing found in the room to indi-
cate that there had been poison taken. There
was not even whisky bottle found on the
| premises.
DETECTIVES MIGHT TRY THEIR HANDS.
DIR. Schaeffer says he has no idea of foul play
| in connection with the case, but it is a very
mysterious one and good one for some detec-
tive to solve. 1t recalls the case of Riley and
his wife, who were found dead some years ago.
Riley was coachman for Ben Holiday, who
| then lived on street near the corner of 18th
| street. Riley's wife visited him one Sunday
afternoon and remained with him over night.
The next morning no fires were mad
| in the house and search was made for Riley.
When his room over the stable was visited both
| he and his wife were found dead. He was living
across the bed and his wife was in a sittin 3
| position on the floor. The premises were
| searched, but without result. There were no
| wounds on the bodies nor was there anything
to indicate struggle. Not bottle or paper
that had contained poison was found. The
! autopsy revealed nothing, but a chemical
| analysis of the contents of the stomach showed
evidences OF arsenical poison.
| MEDILLAs BODY TAKEN TO ALEXANDRIA
Undertaken Wheatley of Alexandria came
here today and took charge of Medilla's
body and removed it to Alexan-
dria. The dead man lived in Alexandria
most of his life, and has only resided
| here a short time. 1t is said that he owned
some property here and in Alexandria His
1 g. a. Al Al