Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-01
COMPLETED HIS WORK.
The Brutal Murderer of Pretty Minna
Ranlfauser Kills Himself.
BOUND To MAKE A GOOD JOB OF 1T
He Tries Three Ways, Finally Succeeding
With q Revolver.
JEALOUSY THAT ENDED TWO LIVES

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE prsPArcH.1 g.
NEW YORK, Oct. 31.-Sitting against
tree on the brink of the Palisades, between
Ft. Lee and Coytesville, William Miller,
the murderer of Minna Ranhauser, was
found this afternoon, dead, by his own
hands. Apparently he fed directly to New
Jersey, after locking the doors upon his vic
tim in the little fiat at 2O7 West Sixty-sev-
enth, street Friday morning. Some boys found
Miller's body at 1 o'clock, while wandering
along the top of the Palisade, and a mile
above Ft. Lee. Miller had seated himself
against one of the large trees, facing the
river and the scene of his crime, and had
shot himself to death.
The wound that ended Miller's life was
made by bullet in his temple, but 1t
seemed that he made at least two attempts
to kill himself before that. There was
cash three inches long in his throat that
had apparently been made but little while
before he fired the shot, and fresh stab
wound in the right side of the throat, and
when the Coroner examined the body he
found three small stab wounds over Miller's
heart that were not so new.
How the Girl Was Murdered.
Over these wounds in the chest Miller
had placed folded towel, and blood had
soaked into this and dried. He had two
copies of this mornings newspapers, and
from one of them he had carefully torn out
the story of his crime. The story of the
girls struggle for her life has not been half
told. 1t was not half known until DR.. Con-
way made an examination this morning.
The only cuts that had been seen were those
that had nearly severed the girls head from
her body. DR.. Conway found no less than
eight others. There was one in the thigh
near the abdomen that suggested Jack the
Ripper.
Two fingers of the left hand were nearly
severed, as though she had seized the
knife blade and he had drawn it through
her hand. All the wounds were in front Of
the body, and all were pointed downward,
indicating that they were made while the
girl was standing and fighting off her
assailant.
Jealousy That Cost Two Lives.
The theory that jealousy was the motive
for the murder is strengthened by Rose
Ranhauser. She says that in the six years
that Miller had lived with the family he
had watched Minnacontinually He hated
to see her in the company Of any man.
When he saw her speak to man he would
ask her what she had said, and he made
pIdCtlCe VI IeauluS ail the letteIS SIZE WIOte.
"My sister looked on him as big
brother" Rose said, sthat was all. But he
seemed 10 think more of her than brother.
She never told me he had asked her to
marry him. 1 am very sure she would have
refused him if he had. He was so homely,
and she was so handsome. Once in a while
he had fits of insomnia, and then he would
say he guessed he would go crazy and he
guessed he would commit suicide"
Rose Ranhauser also said that Miller read
the papers to them evenings, and took great
delight in reading stories of murdered
women. He used to remark, then: ooh,
Minna, what should do if you were muir
dered?"
He did not drink much and spent nearly
all of his time in the house. He taught
Minna to play on the piano. Rose said she
was surprised not to find him lying dead by
her sisters side. She felt sure he had
killed himself