Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-11

1nIOrmatl0n In the mysterious case OF the
missing Dr. Cronin came out tonight.
Thursday evening the Twelfth street officers
arrested young man who was trying to
sell a white horse and q wagon IN a livery
stable near the police station.
The young man offered to part with the
rig for the sum of $40, and the suspicious of
Foley, the livery stable man, were imme-
6iately aroused. He telegraphed to the
station and the horse trader was taken into
custody. he gave his name as John Brown,
and after answering the routine questions
always addressed to prisoners, his face
blanched, his hands began to tremble and
he fell in dead faint.
The officers wondered at the time that
their prisoner should appear so much con-
cerned, but the reason was apparent next
morning when he sent for Captain o'Don-
nell, and said he had something to tell him.
He WAS taken into the Captains Office, and,
in the presence of several officers, volun-
tarily unfolded the story OF his connection
with the trunk mystery.
A Strange Confession.
To-day policemen investigated his story,
and found it corroborated by many circum-
stances tending to show its truthfulness
Brown said his real name was Frank G.
Woodruff, and that he was working for
Dean & Co., livery stable keepers at 4O6
Webster avenue. His story told in his own
words is as follows:
Wednesday night. while 1 was in the Owl
Saloon on State street met a man there that
had been very well acquainted with several
years before. The man was Billy King.
9is real name think is William H. King, al
thoaEh-when 1 first met him he called himself
Harry BotsworthA We had a number of drinks
in the saloon and then started together toward
Madison street.
We exchanged condolences and among other
things told him that was out of money.
told him how had lost considerable money
playing cards, great deal more than could
afford, and that 1 wanted to secure something
to do that would pay me better than working
in Deans livery stable. He said to me:
Il can put you on the way OF making some
money, and that easily, too"
1 asked him what it was, but he said he would
not tell me then, but would later. Just before
from the stable some evening and tell me how
to make the stuH.
Stealing n Team.
Just at dusk went to the front part of the
stable he walked past and motioned to me. 1
went out and walked down the street with him.
He asked me if could get horse and wagon
out of the stable without any ones knowing
If, and told me he would give me SIS if would
do it. l told him could and we agreed upon a
place Of meeting at O'Clock. went to bed as
usual about IL O'Clock in the room over the
stable, but as soon as the boys were asleep |
walked down the stairway to the floor where
the horses are kept.
had taken the eprecaution toleave the wagon |
outdoors in the alley in the rear before going |
80 kr1 n11T had 70 do rraN
out of the rear door. chose the white horse, |
because knew it was good roadster. muf- |
fed its feet carefully and walked it out over |
the sawdust, opened the rear doors and had it |
in the alley without making the least noise. / |
found King waiting for me at corner on State |
street. think it was the corner of Webster |
avenue. He got in with me and we drove to- |
gether to barn in the rear of big house on /
State street. We drove up the alley between /
State and Dearborn streets to the barn doors.
King said very little to me while we were to- |
gether in the wagon but remember that he /
was smoking at the time and seemed very |
anxious about something. As we wheeled up |
in front of the barn, the door was pushed open
by someone inside, and two men came out
One was Dick Fairburn. I know Dick quite /
well, and have known him for a number of /
years. The other man, am sure, was DR..
Cronin.
Answers the Description Of CronIn.
Although 1t was quite dark at the time, 1
had several opportunities to look closely at his
face He had mustache and a little:goatee
and answers DR.. Cronin's description in every
other way. had never seen DR.. Cronin to
know that it was he, and did not hear any
other men address him as Cronin. They called
him doc" They went into the barn together
and returned with a trunk. 1t seemed TO be
an ordinary travelling trunk with an imitation
leather or paper covering. They lifted it into
the wagon and then climbed in.
We drove straight through the alley to the
first cross street. turned on that and then went
up Dearborn to the park. As soon as we
reached the park we turned into the Lake
horse on a run all the time. heard several
expressions in the conversation between the
men which convinced me there was body in
Cronin was anxious for us to hurry. Two or
three times he said ''Get out of here bows:
get out Of here here quick" @ and each time Dick
Doc. Well hurry up when we get started"
l noticed that the trunk smeiled as if there
was decaying flesh within it and when the
TO the north end of the PARK. then stopped a
minute near some bushes. King and Fairburn
/ remember as looked at him that one Of his
eyes was blacked as if he had been hit with a
fist.
Horrible Sight.
At the bushes we lifted the trunk out and
held the horse while it was opened. 1 then
saw that my suspicious were correct, and that
there was a body in the trunk. They lifted it
ont in several pieces. 1 cannot say positively
whether it was the body Of man or a woman.
except from one circumstance heard King
sav. -.Heres where we'll leave Allie" Fair.
burp 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 the contents out of
the trunk hack in the cushion, noticed that
each piece was carefully wrapped up in cotton
or something that looked like cotton. King
lifted the trunk into the wagon. took out his
pocket book and counted out SIS from a large
roll He paid me the money and told me TO
drive on and get rid of the trunk and get the
horse back in the barn.
After 1 left them began to feel rather
shaky and whipped the horse into gallop.
The whole trip from the barn we had seen but
Dne man and he was in buggy. At the time