Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1895-04-19
KILLED IN CHURCH
The Bodies Of Two Murdered
Girls Discovered in San
Francisco.
BOTH HORRIBLY MUTILATED.
Young Man High in Church
Circles Charged With
the Crimes.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 15.-The
Emanuel Baptist church in this city has
been the scene of two of the most
Etrocious murders ever committed in
the state. Saturday the mutilated and
murdered body of Minnie Williams was
found in the library of the edifice. Sun
lay the nude body of Blanche Lamont
was found in the tower of the same
church. The same hand, the authori-
ties believe, slew both 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 in this city; the latter was COM
panion in a family in Alameda, across
the bay. They were both II years old,
brunettes and
Pretty and Modest Girls.
Both had been the recipients of atten.
tions from young medical student
named w. II. T. Durant, who is also
the librarian Of the church and the
secretary of the Young Peoples society
of the church. On April Miss
Lamont disappeared. Diligent search
failed to reveal any trace of her where
abouts. She came from Dillon, Mon,
several months ago, having been in San
Francisco for her health and at the
same time to attend the normal school,
to perfect herself as teacher. The
last pei son seen in her company was
w. II. T. Durant, who, it seems, had
been on friendly terms with the miss
ing girl On Saturday the mutilated
body of Minnie Williams was found in
the library of the church. The girl had
been assaulted and her remains
Were Cut and Hacked,
she having evidently died from loss
of blood On further examination it
was found she had been gagged, the as.
sailant tearing part of her undercloth-
ing and thrusting it down her throat
with a sharp stick, badly lacerating the
tongue
Saturday, Mrs. Noble, the aunt Of
Mss Lamont, received through the
mails paper con tanning the four rings
worn by her niece the day she disap-
peared. On the paper were written the
name and address of Theodore Durant.
This, together with the fact that Miss
Williams, an intimate friend of Miss
Lamont, had been heard to say she
knew Blanche had been murdered, but
refused to tell what she knew, led the
police to suspect that some one who had
killed Miss Williams had slain Miss
Lamont, and that, learning that Miss
Williams knew Of his crime, attempted
further concealment
by Committing Second Murder.
The detectives had about decided
Durant had murdered Miss Williams
and this theory was further strength
ened after making thorough search Of
the Emanuel church. The dead and
outraged body of Miss Lamont was
found concealed in the steeple. Death
had been caused by strangulation. The
body was lying just inside the door Of
the tower room, nude and on the floor.
Around the neck were marks OF fingers
that had been pressed deep into the
tender flesh.
AS soon as the news became known
immense crowds surrounded the
church and had to be kept back by the
police Extra papers were gotten out
and thousands Of people flocked to the
scene from all over the city. Durant
was arrested later and large force Of
police was necessary to prevent a
lynching.
Durant is about % years of age and
was born and reared in the neighbor-
hood in which the murders occurred.
He is graduate Of the Coggswel high
school and has been studying medicine