The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-05-11
A STARTLING STORY.
A Beautiful Brunette in the
CrOnin Case.
INDIANS SLEEP THE LONG SLEEP
Reds are Slain by COwbOys-IntO the Fire
Utah's New Commissioner
Robertson.

.CmCAGo, May 10.-The most startling in
formation in the mysterious case of the
missing Irish American, DR.. p H Crcnin,
came out tonight.
Last nj hit an officer from the Twelfth
street station arrested young man
who was trying to sell a white horse and
wagon in livery stable near the station for
a small I'M of money. When taken to the
station, the man gave his name as John
Brown, and when asked the routine ques-
tions al ways addressed to prisoners, he be
trayed much emotion and asked for Captain
O'Donnell He was taken to the captains
Office, and in the presence Of several Off
GERS told the startling story of his cOnnec-
ton with the mystery. To-day the police
investigated il, and found it corrOborated
by many circumstances which tend to
show It's truthfulness.
Brown's real name is Frank c. Wood
ruff, and he has been working for Dean &
Co, livery stable keepers, at 404 Webster
avenue. His story. as reported TO the au-
tnOrities is to the effect that a week ago
Wednesday, in talking with man named
King. he. Woodruff, had complained of be
ing out of money, having lost considerable
playing cords, and said that it was neces-
sary for him to secure something to do that
NOulu pay DGlltL Illdu NOLhlllE III II NCIA
stable. King said he could put Woodruff in
the way of making ones money easily.
Saturday evening, just at dusk, King called
Woodruff out Of the stables, and asked
vi he could get horse and
wagon out without anyone knowing it, and
said he would give Woodruff S25 if he would
do it. Woodruff said he could, and a place
of meeting at > o'clock in the morning was
agreed upon. Woodruff left the wagon out
of doors in an alley before going to bed,
and when all the other employees had re
tired he stole noiselessly downstairs, took
out horse and hitched it up. and meeting
King they drove together to a barn in the
rear of big house on State street. As
they wheeled up in front of the barn
two men came out One was man
whom Woodruff calls Dick Fairburn; the
other man, Woodruff feels sure, was DR..
Cronin. Although it was quite dark at the
time, he had several opportunities to look
closely at the mans face, and asserted
that he answers Cronin's description in
many ways. The other man addressed this
person as Doc
The three men drove straight through
! the alley to First street over to Dearborn
and up Dearborn to Lincoln park.
Il heard several expressions in the con-
Versations between the men and Woodruff
which convinced me that there was a body
in trunk. In the first place, I noticed
that CrOnin was very anxious for US to
hurry. Two or three times he said, Get
out Of here boys, get out of here quick
Il noticed the trunk smelled as if there
wsS decaying flesh within it. We drove
uSelrly to the north end of the park and
then stopped minute near some bushes.
King and Fairburn were with me. We left
Cronin at the barn aud l remember as
looked at him one of his eyes was black
as if he mad been hit with the fist.
80 Al the h11 Ebas lifted no ont
and l held the horse while it was opened.
then saw that my suspicious were cor
rect. There was body in the trunk They
lifted it out in seve al pieces. l
can't say positively whether it was
the body of man or of
woman, except from one circumstance.
l heard King say, Here's where we leave
Allie Fairburn answered: Yes, and if
YOU had let Tom alone we would have had
Doc in here with her.
"These remarks passed while they were
carrying what looked like corpse.
liking gave me S25, and told me to drive
on and get rid of the trunk and get the
horse into gallop. l don't think l was
over fifteen minutes on the run. | finally
dumped out the trunk and turned back 1t
broke open as it fell, but did not wait to
see in what manner it lay or Just how the
Gleces were placed. l returned to the
barn"
Woodruff says he suspects from the CON
yersatiOn he overheard between Cronin,
Fairburn and King that the body in the
trunk was that of a woman whose death
resulted from an operation, perhaps per-
formed by DR.. Cronin. He draws this
EVnclusion not only from the words he
overheard. but also from the anxiety
evinced by the doctor to get the body out
of the way, and from the fact that Cronin
had apparently recently been struck by
some one.
Woodruff first read of Cronin's disap-
pearance Tuesday, and also read the story
relating to the finding of the empty trunk
He was greatly frightened, and thinking
the officers were certainly on his track,
took means to get out of the city. He had
some money remaining, but decided to OBJ
tain little more and stole the Identical
horse and wagon which he had used last
Saturday night. The result was his arrest
faud confession.
? A pretty brunette named Allie or Alice
WILLIAMSON has been missing from the
neighborhood near which is located the
barn where Woodruff is said to have met
DR.. Cronin and the latter's companions.
Her parents are in rather humble circum-
stances, and heretofore little attention has
been paid to her disappearance Several
personals addressed to her or relating to
the girl have appeared in the papers of late,
but the advertisements contain little or
nothing definite.
Saloon Keeper Conlllin, with whom Gro
min lived, was informed tonight of Wood
rufus statement. Conklin declared there
could be nothing in the story, and once
more insisted that the doctor had been muir
dered by certain Irish Nationalist who. ac.
cording TO COnklin, We're enemies of Gro
min.