The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-03-29
THE STORY OF THE MOTHER
What Mrs. Thill Says of the Slayer of
Her Daughter
Little Question That the nurderer and Suicide
Was Insane When He Killed His
Sweetheart

MINNEAPOLlS, March 2s.-Mrs Thrill
believes her daughter Amy, the actress
who met violent death in New York
yesterday at the hands of John Bigelow,
who afterward suicided, was murdered by
a maniac She declared Bigelow was an
old friend of the family. 1t was known
that he had twice been confined in an
a ylum.
Mrs. Thrill says her daughter often ex-
pressed fear OF Bigelow who was very
much in love with her. She steadily
rejected his attentions. 1t was partly
through Bigelow's influence that she OBJ
tanned place in the Drew company.
NEW YORK, March 2s.-That the MUIR
der of Amy Thill and the suicide of her
slayer, John Bigelow was the work of a
mailman is made more certain by the
statement today OF John Holden, an in
innate friend of Bigelow. Blgelow has
been insane at least five times in the past
ten years. The last time he was in
lunatc asylum was in the fall of 1892.
His insanity, it is the belief OF Holden,
was the resul. of a severe attack of Roman
fever contracted when two ear-old baby
in Rome. An autopsy upon the body OF
Bigelow was begun today. A note was
found on his person reading, My darling
sweetheart Jack, au reyoir, Amy
Bigelow was about 80 years old and
the woman not more than rs. She bore
character which was blameless. John
Bigelow, who committed the crime, was
the son of James Bigelow, an eX-Mayor
OF Morristown, Nj, who is retired law
yer. The young man lived on east Twen-
ty-eghth street. and just before the
Christmas holidays was member of sgd
ney Drew's company. 1t was during this
engagement that he met Amy Thill. He
fell in love with her. She was also
member of the company and they decid-
ed to leave it at Christmas. Since then
neither OF them has been engaged in pro-
fessional work. Bigelow is said TO have
been offered an engagement but refused
to accept it unless she was also engaged
Members of the theatrical profession to-
night assert that the case is a parallel to
that of James Gentry, who shot Madge
York at Philadelphia a few weeks ago.
The autopsy on Bigelow's remains
showed that he must have been insane
when he came to do the deed. A clot of
blood was on the head and the scalp on
the opposite side had been crushed. The
autopsy on the body of Miss Thll showed
that there had been no improper rela-
lions between her and Bigeow. The
statement that a trunk found in Miss
Thills room belonged to Bigelow was de-
MED by Miss Lena Bradley, an actress.
who said that the trunk belonged to her
Miss Bradley said she advised Amy to get
rid of Bigelow, as she was afraid he would
do something rash. Amy, she said, told
her that she, too was afraid of Bigelow
1t was learned that IL friend had gone to
one of the family of the murdered girl
and told of Bigelow's mental condition
and incorporate habits and urged that
Amy be warned against him. When Amy
was told of this her sympathies were
aroused. Bigclow was out of employment
and she said she could not drive him
away.
The body OF the murdered girl will be
taxed to Minneapolis tonight.