Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-24
MURDER AT MIDNIGHT
James Enright Found Lying in a
Lawrenceville Boarding House
WITH A BULLET In HIS BRAIN.
A Saturday Night Keg Of Lager Beer
Causes a Fatal Quarrel.
THE POLICE HUNTING FOR JAMES cox

The crop of Allegheny county murderers
never fails. While tine jury in one murder
case was preparing its verdict, James En-
right was dying in the West Penn Hospital
with bullet in his brain. 1t is probable
that James Cox, the man suspected of the
murder, will elude capture. as he had a start
of several hours before Inspector White
house, of the Second district, learned of the
crime.
The murder occurred early yesterday
morning in Mrs. Bridget Cox's boarding
house, at the corner of Thirty fourth and
Ligonier streets. Mrs. Cox's occupies the
house with her son James, the fugitive; her
daughter Nora, and a number of Doarders.
for some time past the neighbors have COM
planned of the riotous conduct of the boarders
on Saturday nights, when keg of beer
added greatly to the hilariousness of the oc-
casion.
1t was about 2 A. NJ. when Officer Samuel
Miller, of the First district, was passing
near the Cox house on his way home after
his tour of duty. He was told there had
been trouble at the house, and, going there
to investigate, found James Enright lying
unconscious on the floor with blood oozing
out of bullet hole in the right temple
Officer Miller at once notified the officers of
the district. and in a few minutes Lieuten-
ant Orth and several men arrived and took
charge of the house.
THE FATAL QUARREL.
The story of the tragedy. as gathered by
tba ,,olioo IN tho affaot hot he nan
keg of beer was on tap in the Cox house on
Saturday night, and under its influence
several of the inmates became quarrelsome.
James Enright, the dead man, and James
Cox, the son of the landlady, got into dis
pute, and were so noisy that they aroused
Mrs. Cox and her daughter, who were sleep
ing upstairs. Mrs. Cox says that when she
got down stairs she found Enright holding
up her son against the wall and in the act
of striking. Mrs. Cox separated the men
and ordered Enright from the house, but he
refused to go. Mrs. Cox said 1t was about
midnight, and she returned to her room.
That was all she claimed 10 know about the
matter.
The police sent Enright in patrol wagon
to the West Penn Hospital, where he died
at 9 A. NJ. without regaining consciousness.
All the men In the house were placed under
arrest, and it was then discovered that
James Cox had disappeared. The men ar
rested were Thomas and John Enright,
brothers OF the deceased; Tim Scanlan, a
police officer of the Second district; William
Branagan, Michael Lynch, Michael Flival,
John MCGOWAN and John Carr.
AN UNSATISFACTORY EXAMINATION.
When the prisoners arrived at the Seven
teenth ward station they were closely ques-
toned bv the officers present, in the absence
of the Inspector. but all professed utter
ignorance of the shooting or the circum-
stances surrounding it. They knew that
Enright and Cox had been quarreling, but
not one of them would admit that they had
heard a shot fired. One of the prisoners
said he had been upstairs, and when he went
back to the kitchen he saw a revolver lying
on the floor The police searched the house
thoroughly, but failed to find the revolver.
Inspector Whitehouse heard Of the affair
about o'clock, and general alarm was
sent out for the arrest of Cox The latter,
however, had nearly eight hours start then,
and, as he had not been captured at 1 clock
this morning, it is probable that he has
effectually succeeded In making his escape.
The theory OF the police is that Cox fired
the fatal shot, and that the shooting was
done while Mrs. Cox and her daughter were
in the room. The officers are of the impress
sion that some of the boarders were also in
the room at the time. Officer Scanlan is a
sop-in-law of Mrs. Cox, and while he pro-
fesses to know nothing of the shooting, the
police think that he knows more than he will
tell.
Coroner Mcdowell yesterday afternoon
viewed the body of the dead man and, after
ordering post mortem, fixed the time for
the inquest at 10 o'clock this morning. The
post mortem showed that the bullet entered
the head near the right temple, and. after
passing through the head, lodged in the
brain, broken in three pieces, showing that
the revolver must have been held very close
to the victims head when il was fired.
James Enright, the murdered man, was
about 27 years old, and was employed as q
hooker-up at Carnegie Sc Phipps' Thirty
third street mill.