The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1893-01-11


thrown from a passing train, and rur
over as he lay there by succeeding
train, or who had been walking ON the
line contrary to all railway rules, and
had thus been overtaken by swift death.
1t might have been case of suicide, for
there was no money on his person, and
nothing to establish his identity. Still,
the fact that he was we'll dressed
made the absence of money, watch, OF
papers, indicate murder rather than self
destruction. The body was found a
few minutes after IL o'clock on the
night of the 9th. On the afternoon of
the 2Sth the body was identified. The
victim was Alexander Rogers, a re.
spectacle merchant who lived at Brenton,
a suburb about twelve miles from Lon
don. No reason could be discovered
why he should have committed suicide,
and when he left his office on the 9th
he had both money and watch. He had
been kept late that night, and it had
been his intention to take the 3 o'clock
express which did not stop until it came
to Brenton.
At the inquest, one of the station
men at Brenton said that when he closed
the doors of the train, as 1t stood at
Brenton Station, there was one empty
first-class compartment which had both
doors open. He had stepped in and
closed the door furthest from the plat
form at which the train stopped; after
which he closed the other door. lie
thought nothing of the circumstance at
the time, because the door might have
been opened by the passenger who left
that compartment, under the impression
that the train was going to stop at the
opposite platform. The o'clock ex.
press sometimes stopped at the middle
platform and sometimes at the side
platform, depending on whether the
S:45 down was late or on time. He
had noticed no signs of struggle in
the compartment. Mr.. Rodgers held a
first-class season ticket. He thought
someone must have come out of that
compartment at Brenton, otherwise the
door on the platform side would not
have been opened.
A verdict of murder against some per-
son or persons unknown was brought
in, and the body of the unfortunate man
was buried.
The day after the verdict was rem
dered, and the day it was published in
the morning papers, Jonas Grant, of
Brenton, presented himself at Scotland
Yard, and told an extraordinary story.
He was travelling on the 3 o'clock ex-
press on the night of the 27th. The
night was very dark. Shortly after they
left the terminus he noticed by the in.
creasing noise that they were running
parallel with another train. He looked
out on the left hand side aud saw that
the express was running faster than the
other train, and that the carriages OF the
latter were gradually falling behind.
There was nothing strange about this,
for frequently as many as three trans
ran parallel 10 each other rs far as the
junction, seven miles out. Suddenly his
attention was arrested by struggle in a
carriage. He could not be sure whether
it was a first, second, OF third-class cont
paItment, but he knew it was in q car
rage near the engine. He sprang to
the window, but just as he did so the
door of the carriage opened aud one of
the men fell out. He could not identify
the man who fell, as his back was toward
him, but he got full view OF the MUIR
derer, and could never forget his face.
At the same moment the murderer saw
him aud dropped back in his seat with
out closing the door. Mr.. Grant then
gave a description of the murderer SO
minute that the police seemed to recog-
nize the person described.
When asked why he did not come for