Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-09-05
AN AUTOPSY Held
ON TIE BODY OF OFFICER MURPHY, OF
MARTINS FERRY.
The Course Of he Bullet Tracsd-Ths Evidence
Addacsd Before the Coroner al the
Inquest

resigned 70 his tate, MS last tuOus H.S
being OF ais family. He died OF Internal
hemOrrhage and affection of the pleura.
At five o'clock last evening post NOR
TEN examination was held by DTS
Hobensack and Blackford, and II was
found that the ball had entered the
breast two and one half inches from the
right nipple and one and one hall incneS
above, the ball passing between the
third and fourth ribs, passing Oolquely
downward and backward through the
lower lobe OF the right lung, passing
through and fracturing the eighth RIO,
one and one-half inches from the spinai
column. The right chest cavity was
found nearly full OF blood and the
upper lobe Of the right lung was
very much disorganiZed from In
flammatiou, the result Of the gun
shot wound. The lower lobe was found
10 be torn away where the ball passed
through. After the autopsy the re-
mains were conveyed from DR.. Ho0en-
sacks, where he was taken when hrSt
shot. to his residence in the First ward.
Yesterday afternoon Coroner John +.
LOwman held an inquest in the Council
Chamber and the following witnesses
were summoned and their testimony
taken: Onicer William Bowman, John
A. Moore, Heury Elliott, Edward Ar
baugh. Simon Armstrong, Marshal
Westwood and Drs. HObensack and
Blackiord, who attended officer Muir
ply and who made the post norton e1-
animation.
officer Bowman was the first witness
ealIed and gave in the following teSti
mOny:
II am a policeman on the Martins
Ferry force. About o'clock p. m, on
September LIST, officer, Murphy, Deputy
Sheriff Darby and l, were standing at
the door OF the Mayors office. I noticed
several persons running west on Han
over street and Murphy and l went TO
see what was the matter, and when we
arrived near the c. & p. depot we were
told by a man that couple OF the cir
Gus men had assaulted him, and pointed
out man, who had just gone into car
wearing a blue snit, as the one who
assaulted him. We went into the car
and brought the man out with some op-
position from the circus men. The
Young man failed TO identify the man
We then released the man but the
crowd fingered on the railroad track
and words passed between them and the
circus men which finally ended In sew
eral being knocked down. l was stand
ing near where we had brought
the man out OF the car
on the railroad track. Murphy
and Marshall Westwood had started 70
walk down the track, and were close
10 where the Eight took place. l start
ed TO where the fight was, and about
the first thing / saw was the man who
was arrested pull his revolver out OF
his right hip pocket with his right
hand. He Immediately shot down the
railroad. ! could not see what he was
shooting at. The Marshal took hold
OF him and put him under ar
rest He then twisted himself
around and threw his arm up and
fred towards the Marshal. The Mar
shall struck him with his mace. Muir
ply was on the opposite side OF the
man when the shot was fired. When
he was hit with the mace the man stag
gered and jumped toward the center OF
the railroad track. The Marshal fol-
lowed him. He retreated over to the
box car. By this time the crowd had
scattered and there was no person
between Westwood, Murphy and
the man and l. could
see distinctly. He then had his back
10 WestwoOd, facing up the railroad
track towards Officer Murphy. He
raised his revolver towards the place
where we were standing. He was
closer TO Murphy than he was to me.
He shot right at Murphy'S breast. He
was standing about i've feet from Muir
ply when he fired, and l think Murphy
was in the act Of drawing his revolver.
As soon as he shot he lodged under the
car OF the side track. / then ran up
around the car that was standing
on the side track and got
upon the depot platform nearly
opposite TO where be went under
the car. When did not see the man
come out aud there was still shooting l
went back TO where / was on the rail-
road track. l then saw Murphy and
Westwood STOPPING down and shooting
under the car where the man went
under. Several parties on the railroad
platform called to me that the man
was running up the street on the other
side Of the depot.
II ran around the depot to the east
side OF 10, but could not see him. l was
then informed that he was on the main
track. then came around the depot
and crawled under the boX-car where
Murphy was lying on the ground. l
then saw Special Policeman John A.
Moore aud the Marshal have hold Of the
man near the steps Of one OF the circus
cars, near where Murphy was. told
them that he was the man that shot
Murphy. just as Icrawled from under
the car / was told that Murphy was
dead. l was satisfied that when the
shot was fred 81 Murphy that IL had hit
him. just st this time Officer Och
came up and assisted US 10 bring
the man 20 the lookup. Murphy
had been picked up by some Of tbs
people and was carried down the rail-
road track about the same time. When
the man shot Murphy was standing
near a car with his left arm nearly
touching il. When the shot was fired
he Murphy kind Of jumped or twisted
about as if be had been hit in the breast
with something. talked with Murphy
on Saturday. He said the man had
shot him just before he lodged under
the car, before he (Murphy1 had fired
a shot officer Murphy had on his Of
fcers uniform at the time. He could
have been easily distinguished as an Of
fcer in any place. He told me that the
man that Moore caught hold Of was the
man that had shot him"
After the testimony OF Bowman,
Drs. HObensack and Blackiord were
called aud testified as to the condition
A. l. -. ..hn.. 81 ahnt ard alan