Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-10-16
A soY.s NIGHTMARE

Another Leavenworth Murder Mystesy
Rivsling the Mettman Gase-David z
Davis Accused OF Numbering HIS Agea
wife.
LKAvENwoRrH. Kan, Got 10.-Early
yesterday morning fire was discovered
in the bedroom of Mrs David E Davis
at o1s Delaware street by Harry Crook.
her grandson, who slept In q bed on the
floor in the same room He gave tho
alarm and Charles Norton, . boarder
Of tho house, was soon At his side and
aided In extinguishing the blaze. which
was evidently incendiary.
While the two were engaged in
smothering the nre David E Davis, the
husband, rushed down stairs and against
the south door of the bedroom with such
violence IS to push the bed in which
lay Mrs Davis over the blaze. The mat
tress caught fire, but was extinguished
before it gained headway.
Morton then seeing that Mrs Davis
was either unconscious or dead, picked
her up and carried her to the sitting
room, where it was found that murder
most foul had been committed-that
the old lady had met her death by vio-
lence just before the FIRE was started
The nearest physician. DR.. McCor-
mick. was called and hurried examina-
ton showed that life was extinct
Wednesday night Mrs Davis went to
bed at ten o'clock. and the grandson
went to sleep about that hour on q
feather bed, spread upon the floor. He
blew out the lamp, which stood on the
bureau, before retiring.
He had been asleep for some time
when he thought he had queer dream
Some one was sneaking around in the
room. He could hear the stairs cresk-
ing from the weight of stealthy foot
steps In his dream his grandmother
voice cried. Help. Harry. help" He
struggled with the nightmare te waken.
and rousing himself he found the carpet
blazing around the broken lamp in the
center Of the floor. Tho boy is small
for his age and not strong.
The body was examined by Acting
Coroner White and taken to the parlor.
and number of persons summoned as
jurors, where later an autopsy was held
by Dra Goddard. Lane and NJ S. Thorn
as This revealed three spots Of extra
vasated blood under the scalp and over
the frontal bone with no evidence of
violence on the outside. Five or six
bruised spots were found on the right
forearm, each the size of a 25-cent piece.
A largo spot or bruise on the left arm
with large clot Of blood under the
skin at this point and the skin
chafed, q little hood oozing out
The brain and heart were healthy,
lungs filed with frothy mucus
and also showed some signs of death
from asphyxia A small abscess was
discovered in left kidney which, the
physicians said. might have been caused
from convulsions which might have pro-
duced sudden death.
The opinions of physicians appear to
be that the woman was rendered insen-
8 BILE by a blow in the forehead, as
shown in the examination, and then
prevented from breathing by some thing
held ever the mouth and nostrils
Mrs Davis had had troublesome times
of late with her husband, suit for
divorce being now pending in the dis
trict court, in which most cruel treat
ment was charged against Davis
Wednesday morning Davis. who was
permitted TO live in the house. asked his
wife to drop the divorce and give him
$50. saying that he would then leave her
forever. This she refused to do. when
he said she would be sorry for it
Tracks leading to the north window
of the sitting room were discovered, and
Davis boots fitted them precisely.
Harry Crook claims Davis came through
this window, which is open at nights,
and from there entered his grandmoth-
er's bedchamber.
Mrs Davis had made frequent state
ments to friends and neigh bors about
Davis brutal treatment He is only
forty-ive, while she was past seventy
years He is a carriage blacksmith by
trade. When arrested he had the mar
riage certificate in his pocket He had
been married about ten years