Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-03-17
INDUSTRIOUS CRIME.
Phenomenal Wickedness Dis
covered in England.
FIvBBLOoDY MURDERS UNEARTHED

A Husband Who spared Neither Wife
Nor Children-He Utilities His Own
Hearthstone as a Tomb-Thus Dispos-
Ing of His First Wife and Family He
SIanghters His Second Wife and Dis
poses of Her Body in the Same Way
A"Jack the Ripper Theory.
LONDON, March IA tragedy unparal-
elled in the history of British crime came
TO light yesterday through most singu-
lar chain of circumstances In July last
n man named Arthur Williams resided in
the Dinhsm villa, in Rainhill, fashion
able suburb of Liverpool. Not much
seems to be known about the antecedeuts
OF Williams. He seems, however, to have
been received in society, and passed as a
well-tO-do bachelor He courted Miss
Mather, young woman generally ad
mired for her beauty and other attrac
lions, and recognized as local belle.
They got married and went to Australia,
where they were supposed to be living
happily. The people of Rainhill were
shocked a few days ago by the news from
Australia that Williams had murdered his
wife and concealed her body beneath the
fireplace, carefully covering the place
again with cement.
An Old Suspicion Revived.
AS soon as these facts became noised
about in Rainhill the people called to mind
queer suspicious that had been ahOat about
Williams when he occupied tn eDinham
villa. They remembered that one day
lady and two children had visited the villa
to see Williams, and from the moment of
hair anti tI.a
them again The affair caused some re-
mark at the time, bur nobody thought of
murder, and the matter was dropped with
the suppositiOn that the lady and the two
children had gone away without being OBJ
served. Now, however, the neghbors be-
gan to suspect that there might have been
foul play, aud they determined to state the
the facts TO the police.
Horrible Discovery
The police concluded that no harm could
be done by investigating and they pro-
ceeded to the Dinham villa yesterday and
began to Dig up beneath the fireplace
They noticed, rs they began, signs that
the place had been disturbed within Il COM
paratiyely recent period, and certainly
since other work had been done in the in
terror of the villa. They hardly expected,
however, to discover anything and their
amazement was great when, shortly after
they had removed the outer covering they
came upon the bodies of two children
The body of one child indicated that the
little one when killed was about years of
age, and the other was apparently about
years of age. Both bodies were wrapped
in damask table-cloth and both had
their throats cut.
Body of a Woman Dug Up.
The remains were in a fair state of pres
erYation and neighborsswho had seen the
lady and the two children at once con-
cluded that they We're the children.
The digging then proceeded with greater
energy than befc-e, and the searchers soon
came upon another body. This upon
being unearthed was found to be u woman.
The throat was also cut and the body
wrapped up before interment. 1t was said
to be that of the woman who accompanied
thu two children. The police kept dig
ging, while outside the news spread and
the excitement grew and thousands
rushed TO the scene of the tragedies. 4
new force of police was called upon and a
Gordon established around the villa.