The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1895-04-26
SLIGHT CLEWS
Discovered in the Double Murder
Case at San Francisco.
The Microscope Drought Into Use In the
Case-rhickness of the Hairs Of the
Murdered Woman, the Alleged MUIR
derer and the Horse He Rode.

GAN rhANClbCO, Odl., Aprll Wv. III.
Theodore Durant, medical student and
assistant Sunday-school superintend-
ent, is TO stand trial for the murder OF
Miss Marian Williams in Emanuel Bap-
tist church library on Friday night,
April IL, for the coroner's jury has
found that the young woman came to
her death by his hands; that he defow-
cred, choked her 10 death by thrust
ing pieces Of her underskirt down her
throat, cut her wrists so that she
would bleed TO death, and to complete
the murderous work had driven a
knife into her heart, and In beastial
fury slsshed her breast. The slashing
and cutting was done after the girl
was dead. There was slight flush
TO be seen on the prisoners
cheek when he heard that the
verdict would place his life in
Jeopardy. but his cold gray eyes
gave no sign Of emotion, and lightly
he went back TO his cell, laughed and
joked with his jailers and went to sleep
Friday night as though he had no cares
In the world. Durant is either Grim
inal of remarkable nerve and coolness
or else he is an innocent man. But
people wonder how this young man
could have heard the gruesome details
Of the killing of the little woman who
was his friend, without evincing the
slightest emotion or interest.
Durant's friends have based their be-
lief In his innocence on one point only
that no blood was found on his cloth
ing. But II there is no error in the
physician's Judgment, and Though
science in the test Is said TO be exact,
then one of the most battling points
that has so far confronted the detec-
tives Is cleared up. It has all along
been asserted that the murderer could
not have possibly inflicted the terrible
wounds on the body of the girl, who
was presumably struggling for her life,
without getting q considerable guam
iity OF blood on his clothes Acting on
this theory the detectives began
search for the blood-stained clothes,
without success.
With the result Of the autopsy and
the conclusions of the physicians, the
matter is easy Of explanation. With
skill acquired in the diesecting room Of
the medical college 1t would have been
an easy matter for him to have inflict-
ed the wounds upon the lifeless body,
from which the flow of blood would
have been slow without having soiled
his clothes with as much as a single
drop of the crimson fluid. II would
have been an easy task even for an
unskilled hand, and nothing seems
more probable than that the butcher,
be he Durant or another, left the
church without a mark about him to
show Of his bloody work. The detec-
tives even are not satisfied with this
and Friday night they were again at
work in the church building searching
from cellar to belfry and lobby to
altar. They think that the bloody
garments of the murderer may be
found between the lathing and the
weatherboard of the hall. With ak
and chisel they will tear up the floor
ing and rend the wainscoating.
Another curious circumstance has
come to light. On the body of Miss
Williams was found several horse
hairs and some human hairs A mi
croscopical examination was made OF
them and they were measured, with
the following result: The long, silky
hair, presumably from Miss Williams
head, was found TO be six two-thous-
Rndths of an inch in thickness; the
shorter hair, thought TO be that Of
the murderer, measures five
two-thousandths of an inch and
the horse hair, Of which there
were half a dozen strands, was found
TO be twenty-one four-thousandths of
Of an inch thick. Some hair from the
name Of the horse ridden by Durant on
his trip to Mount Diablo was taken to
the expert and when put under the mi
croscope was found to measure exactly
the same as the horse hair found on
Miss Williams clothing. The coinci-
| dence was more remarkable when 1t
was found that the hair from the name
OF several horses measured either more
or less than that of the horse Durant
rode.
The church in which the crime was
committed has long been held in any
thing but high regard by the neighbors.
One of the latter, Richard Stanton says
that 1t was common thing TO see
young men and women go into the
church by the side gate at all hours OF
the day and night These visits had
become so common" he said, that no
attention was paid to 1t 1t was a
daily occurrence, and the people had
ceased commenting ON it There was
q light In the church nearly every
night The pastors study was lighted
up nearly every night saw light
in 1t on Friday night, April ls, at 1850
o'clock as passed into the house.
paid no attention TO it, as it was such a
common thing, and the neighbors had
become accustomed to It,"
The chain OF circumstantial evidence
that had welded link by link appears
so strong that IL seems hardly possible
that it can be rent asunder. Yet in
spite Of this the prisoners mother and
his friends say they are more hopeful
than ever. They say so but produce
neither proof nor shadow of 1t that
would controvert the facts nscer-
tanned.