Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-14
KILLED BY BURGLARS.
Horrible Murder in Large Country
House in Maryland.
A WOMAN SHOT DOWN In BED
While Her Husband Is Also Mortally
Wounded by the Thieves.
FIERCE FIGHT WITH TIE BURGLARS

rsrEcIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPArcH.l
ELKToN, Md, April 13.-This morning
about o'clock horrible murder was COM
| mitted at the pretty home of j. Granville
Richards, at Porter's Bridge, in this county.
The country around is in feyerish state of
excitement over the crime. The circum-
stances of the terrible affair. as they are
learned to-day, are substantially as follows:
At o'clock this morning Mrs. Richards
was awakened from sound sleep by noise
in the direction of the bureau in her bed
room. She listened and heard enough to
satisfy her that something was wrong, and
then, peering into the darkness, she saw the
faint outlines of two men. She screamed,
awaking her husband As soon as she did
this one of the rufians approached her bed.
side. and, placing a revolver close to her
bead, fired. The ball entered the brain
close behind the left ear. The husband by
this time had raised himself to a sitting
position in his bed, and he at once became
the target of the other burglar, the ball
from his revolver taking effect in Mr..
Richards left groin.
Could Have Killed One.
Mr.. Richards had revolver in his hand
and fired two shots, both of which missed
their mark, but he says he could have shot
one of them dead, but for the supposition
that the other figure might be that of his
oldest son, and this kept him from firing in
that direction. Meanwhile the wife lay in
an unconscious and dying condition on the
bed, her life blood pouring from the large,
gaping wound, but she fingered on until
about o'clock this morning, when she
died.
Mr.. Richards, though shot in a critical
manner. leaped from his bed, though fast
weakening from the loss of blood, and
rushed upon his wife's murderers. At the
top of the stairway leading into his room he
had hand-to-hand battle with the ruffians,
during which one of them sent another pis-
tol ball into his abdomen. The shock threw
him down flight of stairs and he was fallen
upon by the murderers and badly beaten
with an iron bar. Here his arm and wrist
were broken and he was badly cut about the
neck and face.
His Death Almost Certain.
This afternoon his condition was very
critical, and there is but little hope of his
recovery. The other inmates of the house
were his children, all boys, the oldest being
They did not hear the noise attending the
murderous attack on their parents. They
slept in remote portion of the large build
ing.
A servant girl sleeping in room in the
back portion of the house was not aroused
until the murderers were about leaving the
premises, when considerable noise was made
by them in their hurry to get away. Rich
ards is about 3S years of age and his wife
was about one year his junior. He holds
position as examiner in the Baltimore Gus
tom house and it has been his custom to only
be at his home on Saturday and Sunday
nights.
The thieves took with them money to the
amount of about S1OO and two watches, one
a gold one, also several Government bonds,
aggregating about $4,000. The tide Of SYM
pathy and Indignation is running very high,
and if the murderers are captured lynching
will probably follow. Searching parties
were organized and every effort is being
made to bring the fugitives to justice.