The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-16
BLANCHE LAMoNr's DEATH.
One Theory as to How the Body Was Carried
in the Belfry,

in the Belfry,
The disappearance of Blanche Lamont is
connected with Durrant, as has already
been announced. He was seen in her
company time and again before she was
missed from her school and there is every
reason TO believe, so the police declare,
that he was with her wheE she left school
the last day she attended. Durrant is a
man who weighs 40 pounds, 5 feet inches
in height, and while he has never been a
member Of an athletic club he has fire.
quently practiced with dumbbells and is
quite muscular.
Miss Lamont was a welcomed woman
whose height was 5 feet So inches and
whose weight was between $50 and 140
pounds.
One theory OF the manner in which she
met her death by strangulation is that
having confidence in Durrant she accom-
panied him to the church and he took her
in the ladies' parlor and there attempted
to assault her, and that being met with I'M
expected resistance he caught her by the
throat with both hands and strangled her.
Having accomplished his purpose he dis
covered that the girl was insensible. Her
hat large gray one with russet-brown
ostrich feathers, fell off and to the floor
during the struggle. He then discovered by
ordinary methods he could not restore her
to consciousness and removed her CATERS
and stockings and did what is often done in
cases of Inconsistencies, slapped the soles
of her feet with one of her CATERS. 1t did
not take him long to discover that she had
been strangled beyond rescusitation and
his concern was to conceal the body. He
knew every portion of the building and he
!, bethought himself of the steepe or belfry,
knowing that was place not much fire.
quented. Taking the limp and lifeless
body in his arms and actu-
ated by the desire to dispose of it
he found no difficulty in ascending the
two flights of broad stairs that end in the
gallery, but when it came to entering the
belfry it was quite another thing. The
stairs of the belfry will allow two persons
OF ordinary size to walk abreast, but the
living and the dead could not do that, not
only could that not be done, but it became
necessary to have light to move up the
stairs, To do this he secured a piece of
candle, which he placed on the landing
above him, then throwing the limp body
over his right shoulder, as miller would
a sack of meal, he assembled to the landing,
deposited it there, moved his candle one
handing higher, then picked up the body
and carried it one more fight. In that
manner the uppermost platform was
reached, and it must have been the placing
of the light from landing to landing that
attracted the attention of Charles l.. Hede-
mark of 1922 Valencia street, as he could
see the moving light through the side
lights of the steeple.
Once having deposited the body on the
platform, the murderer at once stripped it
of its clothing with the idea that if left
naked it would decompose much more
rapidly, and he also removed the rings
from her fingers TO destroy all possibility
Ii t1aofiEaa Tho oil -
far above where the body was placed in
one corner, possibly with the idea of re-
turning for it at some future time
This much accomplished, Durrant came
down from the belfry. Before he took the
dead girl upstairs he probably hid her
shoes, stockings and hat behind large
closet, so that no one should see them in
case they entered the room. AS he left
with King it is probable that he returned
at some later period for the articles men
toned and threw them away.
On Sunday when the body was discov
cred the janitor was summoned to open
the door that leads to the steeple but
found that the knob was broken and that
the bolt could not be shot back. He
had noticed some two weeks before
that the knob was in order an6
that no marks of breaking were or
it. The door was then forced oper
and an examination showed tina
two instruments had been applied t.
fforcibly open the door, one seven-eighthi
of an inch wide and the other half an incl
wide.
An experiment made yesterday proved
that a man weighing $50 pounds could
carry a 140-pound man up sixteen steps il
the belfry without resting, and that h,
could carry a man weighing 175 pounds
four steps without resting, using his lef
hand to hold on to the hanister.