St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-15
ONE WAS CHOKED TO DEATH
Stripped to Nudity and Hid
Away in the Tower Of
q Church.
OTHER HORRIBLY HACKED.
Part of Her Clothing Thrust
Down Her Thpoat--Mur-
derer Captured.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 14.-The
Emanuel Baptist church at Bartiett
street, between Twenty-second ana
Twenty-third, in this city, has been
the scene of two of the most afro
cious murders ever committed in the
state. Yesterday the mutilated and
murdered body of Minnie Williams
was found in the library of the edi-
fee. Today the nude body of Miss
Blanche Lamont was found in the
tower of the same church. The
same hand, the authorities believe,
slew both girls, and w. H. T. Durant,
the young man suspected of both
crimes, is now in custody. Blanche
Lamont and Minnie Williams were
members of the Emanuel church and
members of the Sunday school class.
The former was a student at the
normal school on Powell street in
this city; the latter was a companion
in a family in n3Alamada, across the
bay from the city. They were both
!; twenty--one years old, brunettes, and
pretty and modest girls. Both had
been the recipients of attentions
from a young medical student named
w. HI. T.. Durant, who isr also the
librarian of the church and secreA
tary of the Young Peoples society
of the church. On April Miss La
mont disappeared. Diligent search
failed to reveal any trace of, her
Noble, with whom she had been liv-
ing, was totally unable to throw any
light upon the affair. Miss La
mont came from Dillon, Mont, sew
eral: months ago, having been in San
Francisco for her health and at the
same time to attend the normal
school to perfect herself as teacher.
The last person seen in her company
was w. H. T. Durant, who, 1t seems.
had been on friendly terms with the
missing girl. ~
Saturday about 111O p. m. the mutt
lated body of
MINNIE WILLIAMS WAS FOUND
in the library of the church. The girl
had been assaulted and her remains
were cut and hacked, the girl having
evidently died from loss of blood. on
further examination it was found she
had been gagged, the assailant tearing
part of her underclothing and thrust
ing 1t down her throat with a sharp
stick, badly lacerating the tongue.i
TWO witnesses state they saw a young
man and a young woman, the former
answering the description of Durant
and the latter that of Minnie Williams.
enter the church. Following this clue.
the police at once put the residence of
Durant under surveillance. Miss VIII
Jams lived with friends in Alameda,
VINO gave her home until she could
secure a position. She had been a reg
ular attendant of the Emanuel church.
having formerly lived in that neigh
borhood, but, after the separation of
her father and mother, had moved to
Alameda. Friday morning the Morgan
family, with whom she had lived.
packed their household goods, intend
ing to leave for Tacoma, and Miss Will
Jams had removed her possessions to
the house Of Mrs. Voy, near the church.
Friday evening she was to have at
S
society of the Emanuel church. AT
7:15 p. m. she left Mrs. Voy's house to
attend the meeting, taking a latch key
with her. She never appeared. there.
About this time Durant left his home
on Fair Oaks street, in the same yiciu-
ity, bound for the same meeting. At
$50 o'clock Durant met Philip Perkins.
and asked him some questions about a.
trip to Mount Diablo, which the signal
corps, of which he was a member. was
to make the next day. At $3.50. he ap-
peared at DR.. Vogers residence, where
the meeting was in progress, and none
was more merry during the remainder
of the evening. At II o'clock he left
with a party of young people and went
nome. The next morning Durant arose
early and went with his comrades of
the signal corps to Mount Diablo, fifty
miles away. The two murders are SO
closely connected that it is now nee
essary to go back to the Lamont case.
Yesterday Mrs. Noble, the aunt of
Miss Lamont, received through the
mails. a paper containing the four
rings worn by her niece the day she
disappeared. On the paper were
" "ii'eoii Iiio HdHia dh& ADDRESS of
Theodore Durant. This, together with
the fact that Miss Williams, an inti
mate friend of Miss Lamont, had been
heard to say she knew
BLANCHE HAD BEEN MUIR
DERED,
but refused to tell what she knew,
led the police to suspect that some
one who had killed Miss Williams had
slain Miss Lamont, and that, learn
ing that Miss Williams knew of his
crime, attempted further concealment
by committing a second murder. Late
last night the detectives had about
decided Durant had murdered Miss
Williams, and this theory was further
strengthened this morning. after max