The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-04-22
THE CHAIN OF EVIDENCE
Police Of San Francisco Have Not
Told All They Know.
SOMETHING GOING TO DROP
Blood Stains on the Preachers
Shoes-One Week Ago This
Morning the Startling News
Was Sent Abroad.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 21.-Public inter-
est in the Emanuel Baptist church muir
ders is again at high pitch, due to the
fact that w. L. Durrant, formally accused
OF one murder and suspected of the other,
will have his preliminary examination to-
morrow. II was a week ago Friday that
the outraged and mutilated body of
Marian Williams was found in the book
room of the library of the church, aud
whilo yet the people were thrilling with
horror of 1t, the body of Blanche Lamont.
young woman who had been missing
since April 3, was found in the belfry of
the same church, stark naked and with
the marks of the murderer's fingers on
her throat. The police have been busy in
picking up threads and weaving their net
of circumstantial evidence, SO as to leave
no weak mesh through which the accused
can escape, for they believe they have
the murderer in the person of the pris-
oner.
That they have more evidence than
they have SO far admitted seems to be al
most certain. But it is said now that
they will make an endeavor to try Durrant
first on the charge of numbering Miss La
mont, as the evidence in that case Is much
stronger than in the case of the killing of
Miss Williams. Chief of Police Crowley
says that he believes that Durrant is
guilty and that he had no accomplish. 1t
is also said that the prosecution has some
sensational evidence in store In this case.
Referring to a rumor that Blanche La
mont was allured to the church by Dur
rants promise to perform n criminal
operation on her to save her from dis
grace and that when she shrieked in
ha har hx, tho throat 10,
stifie her cries and choked her to death,
DIR. Barrett, the city's autopsy physician,
stated that the rumor was without foun-
dation. He says he took especial care in
the matter of the autopsy. and he is satis-
fed that no criminal operation was per-
formed. He also states that both young
women died of strangulation, and that
the knife wounds in Marian Williams
body were not the cause of death.
Among the grewsome exhibits in the case
was one which was quietly taken to po-
lice headquarters and locked up, and not
until late hour last night did the police
acknowledge they had it. This exhibit is
q shoe, and on it's sole are dark spots that
were made when the wearer stepped into
a pool of blood that came from the body
of Marian Williams. The shoe is the
property of Rev. j. George Gibson, pastor
of the church, and was found in his
study in the edifice last Sunday, just after
the finding of the body of Miss Lamont.
This statement has created sensation
and gives those who have been hintIng
that the preacher may be the guilty
man an opportunity to emphasize their
suspicious.
However, the police do not see in it
anything that duplicates the pastor, for
they argue that the person who killed the
two girls was familiar with the church
and must have known the shoes were
there, and may have worn them in his
bloody Undertaking. The police this
evening are still searching the church in
an effort to find the clothing worn by the
murderer when he killed Miss Williams.