Omaha daily bee., 1895-04-20
FIXED THE CRIME ON DURANT
COrOner's Jury Completes the Hearing of
the Emanuel Church Murder
PUBLIC SENTIMENT SOMEWHAT DIVIDED
some Suspicion Attaches to Young Wolf
Ono OF the MISUNDERSTANDING of q
Pocketbook with Miss Williams
Card Enclosed.


jury, shortly before noon, rendered a verdict
declaring Durant guilty of the murder Of
Minnie Williams.
The usual crowd Of curious was present
when the inquest was resumed this morning
Durant and his attorneys were also present
Elmer Wolfe the young man whose state
ments have been questioned recently, was re-
called to the stand and offered to produce
witnesses to substantate all he had pre-
viously said in regard TO his movements on
tho night Minnie Williams was murdered,
but the coroner declined the OFFER and both
that official and the chief of police said they
were satisfied with Wolfe's statements and
did not believe he was connected with the
crime. Two of Durant's comrades in the
National Guard company were examined and
said that on the afternoon Of the night that
Minnie Williams was murdered they saw
Durant lettering about the ferry at the foot
of Market street and talked to him. They
said Durant told them he did not expect to
be at the armory that night and he asked
them TO respond to his name at roll call.
DR.. Bartlett, who conducted the autopsy
testified that Minnie Williams died of asphyxi-
alton as result of having part Of her cloth
ing forced down her throat by the murderer
and that the knife wounds found on various
parts Of her body were inflicted after her
death He also testified that the girl had
been outraged and that previous to the time
of the tragedy she had led a blameless life.
Several other witnesses were examined on
minor matters and about IL o'clock the coro-
ner announced that he had no more testimony
to offer, though he called Durant to the
stand and the latter left his seat as if to
present himself for examination and then
looked toward his attorneys who advised him
not to speak, and no further effort was made
to question him.
The jury did not occupy an hour in delibe-
ration and returned a verdict before noon
charging Durant with the murder Of Minnie
ltuy, H.
that was being Investigated The case of
the murder of Blanche Lamont will be taken
up later.
VERDICT OF THE CoRoNER's JURY.
Durant was not present when the jury
brought in their verdict at IL 40. The
coroner's jury returned the following YER
Dict
We the jury, summoned and sworn to in
quire into all the circumstances surround
ing the death of Minnie Williams, and by
manner and where and when the same
Minnie Williams came to her death, do
ma ora ,hI nrIs ine name h OF Gecsased was MINNIE
Canada, residence Alameda, Alameda
county, state of California; that she was
Baptist church, Bartlett street, between
Twenty-second and Twenty-thrd streets,
city and county of San Francisco; that She
came to her death from hemorrhage, due
TO lacerated wounds, and asphyxia, due TO
We further find from evidence that the
murder was committed by one Theodore
Durant, and we charge him with the crime.
to this M''eSS set OUR hands and seas aG
on the day and date thereof.
When Durant was shown the verdict after
his return to the city prison his face flushed
for the first time since the terrible crime for
which he is accused was discovered.
Miss Gertrude Taber, a stepsister of Elmer
Wolf, the young man whose name has been
frequently mentioned in the case within the
last two days, has come forward and identified
the pocketbook which was found the San
Bruno road by a clam digger, and which con-
tanned some papers, among which was
business card of DR.. Vogel, on the back of
which was written the name Of Miss vii.
liams. Miss Taber says that she missed the
pocketbook some time ago while out riding
near the Taber ranch on the San Bruno road
and explains the presence of a card with Miss
Williams name on II by saying that Miss
Williams visited her some weeks ago and
wrote her address on one of DIR. Vogel's
cards. Elmer VOLTS testimony at the in
quest was slightly mixed and some of Du-
rants friends thought he knew more of the
crime than he wished to tell and pointed to
the finding Of the pocketbook to substantiate
their claim 1t is a peculiar coincidence that
the pocketbook should have been lost by one
so closely related to him and found at this
critical time
UPSETTING HILLS TESTIMONY.
Mrs. Durant mother of the accused, says
that she has evidence for the defense which
will go to upset the bearing of the state
ment of Hill, who testified before the cor
oners jury that he had seen couple an
swering the description of Durant and the
dead girl standing near the church about $3.50
on the night Of the murder and who after
ward entered the church yard. Mrs. Durant
says that young couple has come to her
and stated that they entered the church yard
about the time Hill claims to have seen
couple pass into the front gate
This afternoon the police received informa-
tion from a laundry that a pair of bloody
trousers had been left for cleaning. The
police say the trousers too big for Durant
but that they will trace the clew to find the
owner.
The intimation by friends Of the accused
man that the police have ignored all claims
except those that point TO Durant's guilt led
the chief of police to call his detectives be-
fore him last night so as to get a summary
of the evidence and consensus of opinion
Five detectives have had charge of the case
The chief read the reports, questioned the
men and then asked the detectives IL in
their Investigations anything had suggested
that the murders were done by several men
in company. The detail was unanimous in
declaring the belief that both women were
killed by one and the same man, and that
man, w. II. T. Durant, was now under ar
rest.
The conference ended with a renewal of
cation, not only along the main line, which
seemed to lead to Durant, but on all collateral
lines. no matter toward whom they tended.
One of the witnesses before the coroner's
jury was Elmer Wolfe, an intimate friend
of Durant. Wolfe was in the neighborhood
Of Emanuel church on the night Miss Williams
was murdered, and claims to have seen Du-
rant within block Of that edifice as he went
home, There are some strange things in
Wolfe's testimony which do not dovetail with
facts, and the coroner will have the young
man explain all these apparent discrepancies,
II he can.
That section of the city where Emanuel
church is located was originally the Mission
Dolores, founded by the Friars 100 years ago,
| and is to this day generally described as
THE Mission" Popular sentiment Of the
Mission favors razing of the edifce This
| feeling extends even to those who are not only
| financially interested In the property, but
have an interest in the moral atmosphere OF
| the neighborhood. The church has always
| been under a cloud. A stain OF human
blood marks its history from one pastor who
killed a newspaper proprietor and who blew
out his brains, and thence to the awful
| tragedy that is now before the people.
Everywhere is heard the expression; Burn
| the place down" The feeling is that the
| church should never again be opened as a
| place Of worship. As a result Of these
| threatening expressions the insurance COM