The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-02
DURRANT AGAIN ACCUSED.
New Witnesses Convince &
Coroner's Jury He Killed
Miss Lamont.
LOOKING FOR A LOST KEY
Miss Williams Carried Many Bum
dies to Mrs. Voy's-Her
Bouquet Found.

1t appears strange, now that the case for
the people against Durrant on, the charge
of numbering Miss Minnie Williams is
closed and the testimony for the prosecu-
ton is all in that SO little account has been
apparently taken of the flowers which the
dead girl carried on the nightof her death.
Mrs. Morgan testified that Miss Will
liams carried from Alameda flowers with
which to decorate the church. She had
them when she reached Mrs.Voy's and that
lady upon the stand expressed the opinion
that she carried them with her when she
started for the party at DR.. Vogels house.
The theory has been that she went to the
church three blocks out of her way to leave
the blossoms there.
In the pile of withered greenery back of
the church, where Janitor Sademan threw
the Easter decorations he removed from
the church last Monday, is huge bouquet,
which is supposed to have been Minnie
Williams offering to the altar. 1t is q
most tasteful arrangement of white flowers
resembling the heliotrope. Fine grasses
and stalks of wheat spring from the center,
and a circle of yellow eschscholtzias forms
border for the whole. The bouquet, from
top to bottom, measures about fifteen
inches. The flower stems are tied together
with string, and it is the only bouquet in
the whole pile of which the stems are tied
together.
If Minnie Williams carried flowers to
the church they should have been noticed
by those who saw her and particularly so
If the flowers were white. But though Mrs.
Voy testified that she carried flowers, none
3 ,c1of h,r rr-ifh
Durrant have spoken of seeing any bios
SONS. And though Mrs. Morgan said the
dead girl brought flowers from Alameda,
neither Mr.. Hobo nor any OF the other
witnesses who claim to have seen Durrant
talking to q young lady at the ferry re-
member that she (if she was Miss Will
liams) carried bouquet.
In addition to the flowers Miss Will
liams had with her a large extension
basket full OF clothing and a pasteboard
box originally intended for packing shirts.
a small woman thus burdened could
scarcely escape special notice and surely
spent no time talking to friends at the
ferry or sauntering about town with dis
trusted acquaintance.
1t is possible that the key to the solution
of the question, ''Who killed Minnie VIII
liamsP' is key TO the side entrance OF
Emmanuel Church.
All OF the authentic keys, plain, cast
iron implements, are in the possession of
the police. Their users are known and are
all free from suspicion of implication in the
tragedy. That is all the authentic owners
of authorized keys, but-there are others
This fact was introduced into the case
yesterday by lady who is prominent
witness for the prosecution.
She stated that she had been handed a
brass keysto the door by a companion to
open that door upon one occasion. Her
companion did not carry the key habitu-
ally, but had borrowed it. This KEY, she
then understood, was the key in common
use by the young people of the church. 1t
was an unauthorized key-a product of
amateur workmanship.
The initiated had place where they de-
posted this key when not in use, and to
those who had knowledge of it access to
the church was at all times easy.
This key, different in workmanship and
material from the official keys, opened the
side door of the church, and would admit
either an honest man or a murderer. The
key is still extant, and a search for it is
being diligently prosecuted.
Much weight has been given to state
ment that Durrant and Minnie Williams
visited the rooms of the State Board of
Trade on the afternoon Of April II, regis
tered, were recognized by the custodian,
and that The page In the register for that
date had since been destroyed.
This Custodian Johnson now declares to
have been the result of Jest. The page
was destroyed by himself, having been
rendered worthless by a mischievous Wis
itOr. Later number of his friends en-
tered and the subject of the murder was
brought up in conversation.
why, said Johnson, "they may have
been in here. A young man and a young
woman were in here last Friday, and /
think they were Durrant and Minnie
Williams. Suppose we look at the register
or that date?'
This was done and the page found miss
ing. Immediately the theorists were at
work. Durrant had been there, had regis
tered. Later he had killed his companion
and then, regrettlng that he had written,
had distracted the page.
The theory was perfect. 1t was pub
llShed and Is now portion of the history
OF the celebrated case. 1t was but a jest in
its original aspect, but now many of Gus
todian Johnson's friends look upon him as
the American Sherlock Holmes.
As a matter OF fact, Minnie Williams,
when she arrived in San Francisco the
afternoon of Good Friday, laden with "a
large extension basket of clothing, an
equally large package and the flowers for
the church decorations, was too much in
numbered to stroll aimlesslv about with or
without a companion. 1t is worthy of
note that not one of those who saw her at
the ferries or elsewhere in Durrant's COM
pany noticed these packages, though she
bore them there and had them with her
when she arrived at Mrs Vows house