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 Throat--Mur-
derer Captured.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 14.-The
Emanuel Baptist church at Bartiett
street, between Twenty-second ana
in this city, has been I
the scene of two of the most afro
dious murders ever committed IN the
state. Yesterday the mutilated ana
murdered body of Minnie Williams
was found in the library OF the edl-~
flee. Today the nude body of Miss
Blanche Lamont was found in the,
tower of the same church. The
same hand, the authorities believe,
slew 10th 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 Alamada, 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. H. T.. Durant, who is also the
librarian of the church and secre-
tary of the Young Peoples society
of the church. On April Miss La
mont disappeared. Diligent search,
failed to reveal any trace of her
whereabouts. and her aunt, Mrs.
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
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 lilo 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 Undertaking and thrust
ing it down her throat with a. sharp
stick, badly decorating the tonguei
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 Will
Jams lived with friends in Alameda,
who gave her a. home until she could
secure 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.
tended a. meeting of the Young Peoples
society of the Emanuel church. At
Ills 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 vicin-
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 $50 he ap-
peared at DR.. VogePs residence, where
the meeting was in progress, and none
was more merry during the remainder
of the evening. At II o'clock he left
with a party of young people and went
home. The next morning Durant arose
early and went with his comrades OF
the signal corps to Mount Diablo, fifty
miles away. The two murders are sc
closely connected that it is now nee
| essary to go back to the Lamont case
Yesterday Mrs. Noble, the aunt OF
| Miss Lamont, received through the
mails paper containing the four
rings worn by her niece the day she
SN' vi lAiC paper WGfTe
/ written the name an$ address OF
| Theodore Durant. This, together witt
| the fact that Miss Williams, an init.
mate friend of Miss Lamont, had beer
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 hat
| slain Miss Lamont, and that, learn
ing that Miss Williams knew of hi.
crime, attempted further concealmen
by committing a second murder Lat,
last night the detectives had abou
decided Durant had murdered Mis-
Williams, and this theory was furthe
strengthened this morning, after max
ing thorough search of the Emanue
church. The dead and outraged bod,
of Miss Lamont was found conceal
ed in the steeple. Death had beer
caused by strangulat The bod,
was lying just inside the door of tn