Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-04-16
CORPSES In STEEPLE.
Two Murder Mysteries in a San
Francisco Church.
YOUNG WOMEN sTRANGLED
Possibly an Elderly Woman ana n
Male Drug-CIcrk to lie Added TO
the List of yictims-A suspect In
Jail.

Another horrible discovery was mace
| Sunday morning in a small room In the
steeple OF Emanuel Baptist church, san
Francisco, where the mutilated remains
OF young Minnie Williams were found
Saturday. The church has been desc
Grated by a second murder. the victim
being another young girl, Blanche Le-
mont, who had been missing since the
81 instant. She had been strsngled 10
death. her clothes had been torn from
her person, and the body was almost
nude when discovered The imprints OF
the assassin's fingernails wefe plainly
visible on the murdered girls throat, but
there was no indication Of further vio-
lefce
Shortly after the awful discovery was
made DR.. George Gibson, pastor OF the
church, was taken into custody by the
police.
Miss Lamont was last seen alive IN
the company of Theodore Durant, young
medical student and assistant superin-
tendent OF the Sunday school connected
with the place Of worship. Durant'
who Is said to have been engaged 10 be
married to Miss Lamont is suspected or
having taken the life of the Williams girl
who IS known 10 have been a warm friend
OF Miss Lamonts. They were MEM
bers of the church, which they fire.
quenuy attended together, and were also
In the same Sun1ay-schooi class
Since the disappearance Of Blanche. Miss
williams had often said that she knew
that her companion had met with foul
play. This statement reached the ears
OF several members Of the church, and
the girl was asked for an explanation,
but she positively declined to reveal the
nature of her information. and the mat
ter was dropped.
Sunday afternoon Rev. J. George Gibson
made a satisfactory explanation to the
Chief Of Police as 10 his movements since
last Friday and was allowed to depart.
lie denied having tried 10 keep the VIII
iams murder quiet, and also denied
having been intimate with Durant whom
he does not think guilty, though he adj
mits the circumstances are very strong
that way. Theodore Durant was arrested
Sunday afternoon at Walnut Creek,
point on the Sacramento river. thirty five
miles from San Francisco.
DURANT IN PRISON.
SAN FRANCISCO. CAL. April i5.-The
murders In Emanuel Baptist church con-
tnue 10 mOnopoli2e public attention. Du-
rants manner throughout last evening IN
the city prison was calm, though not In
different. His answers 20 questions were
given without hesitancy or elaboration
When given a ell and mattress Durant
went TO sle-p I'm five minutes and slept
sOundy. He denied that he had any part
I'm the murder Of the two young women
This ne stoutly maintained throughout.
The chief told him that he would have
81. Z. l. al
him about a purse belonging 10 Miss VIII
liams that was found in the pocket Of
his overcoat. He explained that he picked
this up some time during Friday night in
the street near the church RE said that
the last time he saw Miss Lamont was on
the morning Of the day she disappeared.
aud that he had not seen Minnie Williams
for three weeks This statement the de-
tectives working up the case say, they will
have no trouble In disDrOving
THIRD WOMAN MISSING.
Search is now being made for the body
OF Mrs. Forsythe. wife OF n pressinan
with the Schmidt label Company, on IN
supposition that SIZE Nas murdered by the
sIrne hand that stew VIC two sir's. Tiic
principal reason for this tn CRY IS tIat
she was a member Of Emanuel church,
and frequently attended there. She was
known 10 have been in the company or
a man who attend the church with her.
and from this and few other circum-
stances IL was thought that she mad
eioped. II Is now thought that Durant
was the man, and that he killed her also.
POSSIBLY A MALE VICTIM
There are reasons for thinking that
Durant also murdered Eug ne Ware,
young drug clerk who was killed IA few
months ago. Those who saw the scientific
butchery displayed in both cases, coupled
as IL was with horrible savaSery, imme-
diately connected the cases. Ware and Du-
rant were close acquaintance, and Du-
rant frequently visited him at the phar-
macy He was seen with Ware on the
night Of the murder AZ a mouve, II IS
said that Durant was Jealous Of Ware on
account OF his attentions to girl. Ware
was stabbed eighteen times with double
edged dirk and only two of the wounds
looked as though they had been delivered
at random. Others were about the heart
and abdomen. Furthermore, Ware was
murdered by a left-handed man. Du-
rant uses both hands with equal facility
MORBID-MINDED WOMEN.
Durant already has his circle Of female
sympathizers, but as. yet none Of them
have been rmitted to hold an interview
with him. Morbld-minded women were on
hand at an early hour this morning, and
made appeals to the officers on duty about
the City Hall 10 take them 10 see the
man suspected Of the two murders.