Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-05-18
WHERE IS DR.. CR0NIN?
a Difficult Question Which
Still Agitates the City
by the Lake.
The Arrest of a Livery Stable
Employe Gives the Police
a Glue.
He Assisted DIR. Cronin and Two
Other Men 10 Dispose Of the
Mysterious Trunk and Its Con-
tents-A Woman in 1t.


StaftlinS
CHICAGO May 1.-THE most startling
information in The my s~terious case Of the
missing Irish American, DR.. p. ii, Cronin,
has just come 20 light. Last night an Of
fcer from TIE Twelfth street station ar
rested q young nan who was trying to
sell a white horse and wagon in a livery
stable near the sta'icn for q small sum OF
money. When taken to the station the
man ave his name as John Brown, and
when asked the routine questions always
addressed 10 prisoners, betray Cd
much emotion, and asked for Captain
O'Donncll. He was taken to the captains
Office and IN tie presence OF several Of
hcers old a startling story of his con
ncctlOn with the CrOuln mystery. To-
day the police investigated the story ana
found it Corioborated by many CirCum-
stances which tend 10 show its truthful
ness. Browns real name IS Frank q.
Woodruff and ne has been working for
Dean y Co livery stable keepers at 10i0
Webster avenue. dis Story as reported
by the authorities, is TO The effect that d
week ago WcdneSd ~, in talking with a
maj named VIM. King be lWoudGuf) had
complained Of beng out Of money, h9v-
ing lost considerable playing cares, and
SAID that II was necessary FOR HIM to Sc
cure something 10 DO that would pay bet
ter than working IN a livery stable.
King SAID he could pul Woodruff in the
way of making sOme money
easily. Saturday evening, just
at dusk, King called Woodrul out of the
stable and asked ii ne could get IA horse
and wagon out without any one know ing
il. and sail he would give Woodruff SO
if he would &c it. Woodruff said he
could, and n place of meeting al 2 . clock
IN the morning was agreed upOn. Wood
ruff left tue wagon out doors IN the alley
before going Ia bed, and when all tue
other employees had retired he stole noise
lessly down stains, took out tue horse,
hitChed up, ami meeting King they drove
together to y barn in the rear of a big
house on State street. AS they wheeled
up in front of The barn two men came
out. One was "A man whom Woodruff
calls DICK Fa rburn and the other
man Woodrun tees sure WAS DR..
Cronin. Although il Was quite dark al
the time he had severa opportunities
10 look COSBY al tie man r lace, aud as
serts thar EC answers CIUnin description
in many ways. The other men addressed
this person as "DOc." The three men
went into the barn together and returned
with a trunk which they lifted INTO the
wagon and then climbed in. they then
drove straight through the alley to the
first cross street. ov r TIA Dearborn and up
Dearborn 20 Lincoln park. Il heardsev-
eral ex IMPRESSIONS in iho 'OnversatiOn be
tween the men," said Woo ruff, which
convinced me that ,ncrr VAS a body in
tho tvr1aE In fln fret nlugn nafia.1
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 | noticed the trunk sme'led
as if there was decaying flesh wltnln it.
We drove nearly TO the north end OF the
park. then stopped a minute near some
bushes. King and Falrburn were with
me. We left Cronin at the barn and |
remember as | locked at him that one of
his eyes was black as If he had been hit
with a fist. At the bushes we lifted the
trunk out and ! held the horse while it
was opened. | then saw that my sus-
picions were correct. There was a body
in the trunk. They lifted it out in several
pieces. | can say positively whether it
was the body OF a man or woman exc pt
from one CT, cumstalce heard X pg
aay: Here's where we leave Allie
Fairburn answered: Yes. and if you had
let Tom alone We would have had ID c
IN here with her Tn, sc remarks PAST I'd
while they W re carrying the lrupk tack
into the bushes no iced each piece
was carefully wrapped IN tometDing th,
looked like cotton. King gave me S25,
tod M 10 drive on, get nd of the tunk
and get the horse ia K in the barn. |
began to feel "A Ii tie shakv aod whipped
the horse into a gailop | con { think |
was over fifteen minutes on the lun
Finally | dumped out the trunk and
turned back. It broke open IA it fell,
but did not wait to SEE in what man
ner it lay or just how the pieces were
atced. | re urncd to the barn"
Woodruff says he suspects from the
conversation he overheard between
-Cronin, Fairburn and King that the body
in the rupk was that of y woman whose
death resulted from al operation, per-
formed by DR.. Cronin. He draws this
conclusion, not only from the words he
overheard, but also from the anxiety
svinced by the doctor to get the body out
of the way, and from the fact that Cronln
had apparently recently been struck by
some one. Woodruff first read Of
Oronin's disappearance Tuesday and also
read the story relating TO the tinding OF
the empty trunk. He was greatly
frightened, and thinking the officers were
certainly on his track, too means to get
out Of the ely He had some money re-
naining, but decided to obtain a little
more, and stole the identical horse and
wagon which he had used last Saturday
Night. The result was bis arrest and
confession.
--
Took Posses sion.