Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1891-07-23

The inhabitants of the usually quiet

The inhabitants of the usually quiet
village of Lattimer were wild with eX-
element yesterday afternoon, when a
report was spread that little Katie Arion,
an eleven-year-old girl of that place, had
been found dead in her home, with her
throat cut from ear to ear. Suicide was
the first theory advanced and Deputy
Coroner Buckley was notified to make
an investigation. Upon his arrival a
jury of inquest, composed of the follow
ing, was empanelled: Hon. VIM. r.
Jeffrey, Robert Pagan, John B. Quigley,
Edward White, Samuel Klinger and
John Mclaughlin, who viewed the body
of the dead child.
DIR. Brown was called upon to hold a
post mortem examination, and it was
conclusively proven that the girl had
been murdered. She was the daughter
of Bardia Arion, an italian, and resided
in small shanty near the No. 2 breaker.
Until the 18th inst the family had four
boarders, and on that date one of them,
Dominic di Francesko, left the house and
went to live uptown. Suspicion was
directed against this man as being the
perpetrator of the foul murder, although
there had been no trouble between the
family and him. He was taken in
d
Cook, and, together with his present
boarding boss, placed on the witness
stand. The men work for Contractor
King, at the Butler Valley end of the
Jeddo tunnel, and gave satisfactory
account of their whereabouts all day.
There being no evidence to hold them
both were released from custody.
The mothers account of the sad affair
was that she went at 10 o'clock yester-
day morning to pick huckleberries, leav-
ing Katie in charge of the house and
with her a two-year-old child. Upor
her return at 2 P. NJ. she found the door
locked, and looking through the window
saw Katie lying in a pool of blood on the
floor. She gave the alarm and severa
men who were cutting timber at the tor
of No. 2 slope left their work and broke
open the door, where sickening sight
met their gaze. Life was extinct and
the blood from the deep wound was
trickling down her neck to the floor,
where it collected in one spot under her
body. By her side laid an old butcher
knife used by the family for carving
purposes, and on it was one small speck
of blood.
The little child which remained at
home with Katie was too young to know
what had transpired in its presence,
being scarcely able to talk. There is no
doubt, however, but that she was wit
ness to her sisters death, as she was
terribly frightened and several times
mentioned "a man, "a man." No other
ineligible utterance could be obtained
from her and it is not likely that any
further light can be thrown on the case
through her information, which went to
show that the deed was committed by a
man, whose object was robbery. Three
trunks were broken open and $35 in
money and $40 worth of jewelry were
stolen. The doctors. examination proved
that the girl had not been assaulted, but
was cut about the hands, showing that
she resisted the robber as far as her
strength would allow
Several suspicious looking persons were
seen about the vicinity of the slope yes.
terday, but as the breakers are idle little
notice was taken of them. The investi.
CATION will be continued this evening
and number of witnesses are to be
| examined