Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1895-04-15
MURDERED in A CHURCH.


was found on Saturday in Emanuel
Baptist Church, San Francisco, by 9
party of girls aud women, who went to
put up Easter decorations. The police
are busy sorting out facts and rumors,
with q strong belief that when they find
the slayer of the girl they will have a
double murderer, for there is more than
mere theory that the same hands ended
the life of a school girl who had been
missing for several days, and that one
crime was committed to conceal the
other
The body was found lying in closet
off Pastor Gibson's study. 1t was fully
dressed, save where the girls clothing
had been torn in the death struggle.
Both wrists had been slashed and the
left hand nearly severed. The bosom
of the dress had been torn open, and a
knife plunged into the breast repeat
edly.
The murderer had aimed ferocious
blow At the forehead, driving the knife
through the skull to the brain between
the eyes, breaking the weapon into
several pieces. The girls undercloth-
ing had been torn, and strip yard
long jammed down her throat with the
aid OF rough stick. The weapon, part
of which was left sticking in the fore
head, was dull silver plated table
knife. The body was cold and stiff,
and pools of blood in the little room
were coagulated. Evidently the crime
had been committed ten or twelve hours
before.
With some difficulty the dead girl
was identified. She was Annie Will
liams, about sixteen years old, and was
member Of the church, though she
had been recently living in Alameda,
as domestic in the family of a relative
named G. H. Mergen. She was slender
in physique, unusually good looking
aud devoutIy religious. She left home
Friday afternoon to visit friends in San
Francisco intending TO 60 TO the festival
at the church Friday night and to assist
Saturday morning in arranging Easter
decorations. She was at the festival
Friday evening and talking with her
friends.
When the sexton put out lights and
locked doors, at eleven p. NJ, he saw
no loiterers. A passerby about mid
night saw q young man and woman go
in through a rear door of the church,
and recognized them both. The WON
AN was Miss Williams, and the police
believe that the man was Thomas d.
Code, student at Stanford University,
and the son of well known merchant
of San Francisco, living near the scene
of the tragedy.
Code is known to have key to this
door. He has not been found, so his
connection with the case is uncertain.
Miss Williams had two male friends
young dentist named Vogel, who
identified the body Saturday, and a
medical student named Durant. She
had known the latter fer several years,
but lately had treated him with re-
serve, explaining to those who noted
the change that he had insulted her.
She had note from him Saturday
morning asking her to meet him in San
Francisco, as he had something to dis
cuss with her. She replied, declining
| to meet him.
Durant was at the festival Friday
night, but nothing unusual was noticed
in his treatment of the girl. The other
girl, whose fate was mystery
is Blanche Lamont, twenty.onc
years old, who had been missing
from her aunt's in the same
quarter of the town for several days
She was a close friend of Miss Will
liams, and they sang together in the
church choir. She, too, was friendly
with but two men, and they were Voge
and Durant.
When last seen she was on street
car, with young man, who answers
Durant's description. Strangely enough
three rings which Miss Lamont wore
were returned by mail to her aunt
Mrs. Noble, wrapped in newspaper
on the margin of which were pencilled
names and addresses Of Durant and
Vogel.
The police theory not yet fully de
veloped is that Miss Williams knew toe
much about her friends fate, and wa:
killed so that she might not tell what
she knew. A peculiar feature of the
case is that desperate but unsuccess
full effort was made to assault Miss Will
liams. That it failed was probably due
to the murderer's lack of physica
strength.
Another horrible discovery was made
Yesterday morning in small room in
the steeple of Emanuel Baptist church
where the mutilated remains of young
Minnie Williams were found on Satur
day. The church had been desecrateo
by a second murder, the victim being
another young girl, Blanche Lamont
who had been missing since the Srd ln
stant. She had been strangled tt
death, her clothes had been torn from
her person, and the body was almost
nude when discovered. Her shoes ano
stockings were missing. The imprints
of the assassin's ingernails were plain
ly visible on the murdered girls throat
but there was no indication of further
violence.
Shortly after the awful discovery
was made Rev. George Gibson, pastol
of the church, was taken into custody
by the police, but he gave satisfactory
explanations.
Miss Lamont was last seen alive il
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