The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-04-29

An Old Philadelphia Murder Mystery
Unrayeled at Last.
Ex-tfty Treasurer Luscomb of Mil
waukee Kills His Worthless RrotheY--
fn-I-aw, a Brother of Bicycle Rider.
eanger-A Rich Man Accused oil
Murder.

Z a
desk in a dinsy little room down towa
fAe skull OF a murdered woman. There
Tor SIX long hours was unfolded a horri-
Die story OF crime The central figure ia
the story is James T.. Logue-known 10
tne police departments OF the continent
as Billy Log oG0e-btlrglAr. hank robber AMI
one OF the most notorious aIl-around
crooks in the annals Of crime The case
turned upon the murder Of one o. this
mans wives. Johanna Logue. but i was
a htting climax 10 a remarkable tale that
proved that he was not her murderer
On the night OF February -. IS79. Jo-
hanna Logue vanished suddenly. as Il the
earth had opened and swallowed her. The
newspapers al the time were full OF il.
Rewards We're offered. and there was no
one who was more iniefstigaole in his
loyalty 10 the woman than Logue- on
October 8. lSS fourteen years afterward.
carpenter repairing the house at 1850
North Eleventh street tore up some
boards in the kitchen and there found
the skeleton Of a woman When IL be-
came known that Logue and his wife had
lived in the house, suspicion at once
pointed 10 him as the murderer. hut all
search for him proved unavailing. On
the evening of March last the doorhell
Of Coroner Ashbridge's residence rang.
and, answering II in person. he was con-
fronted by an old. whIte-hatred man. who
said abruptly: II am Jimmy Logue. and
L have csme % give myself up
That was all he said, and the coroner
handed him over TO the police under an
assumed name. From that line or the
coroner and Detective Geyer worked to-
gether in secret until they had unrayeled
tn complete story. which resulted few
days ago in the arrest of Il man y hose
identity was not revealed until today.
He is Alphonse Cutaier. jr. the ilegiti-
mate son Of one of Logue's former al
legged wives. He Is now locked up in the
city hall on ch''rge of murder. while In
a neighboring cell Is Logue. held as the
star witness.
Cutaier's crime. for he has made
confession in which he Acknowledges
causing the woman's death, though he
asserts lnvoluntarily. Is best understood
from a brief recitation of Logue's career.
He was already "a notorious character.
when in 1873 he was married 10 Mary
Jane Andrews. With her be lived TWO
years. when. without the formality of
divorce he was welded To Mary Gahan.
who, though she had not been wife.
was the mother OF an lS-months-oId child.
Alphonse Cutaier. Jr. Logue and Mary
had not lived together long when he be-
came enamorcd Of her sister, Johanna
Rahan. whom he established in a separate
household. paying all expenses until, In
iSs3 Mary die1a- Meanwhile I4ogue. who
was working AT his profession, fell into
the hands OF the police for a series OF
burglaries On May g. 1871. he was ar
raigned at the Central police station Tor
sentence hut before the case proceeded
he asked Magistrate Smith 20 do him a
favor first. He wanted TO be married 10
Johanna The magistrate complied. and
Logue standing in the dock, was married
10 the woman. Then he was sentenced
to seven years I'm the pententiary. Dur
ing this term Johanna boarded In this
city. and promptly upon his release In
1877 Logue came to her They went 10
New York, where for A time he operated
with the notorious Peter Burns who
died some years ago in jail in Florence
Italy. Logue raised money IN some man
ner, for not long after his release he
bought $2D.oco worth Of government bonds
IN New York. In February. 1879, Logue
and the woman came to this city. Mean
while Young Cutaier had become bar
Der, and I.ogue bought for him the bust
ness OF his former employer. William
Matthews, and fitted 10 up a shop for
Cutaier, Logue and Johanna living with
him IN the dwelling portion, which was
extensively furnished. 4 few days after
this Logue and the woman went to Now
York for short visit. There isogue fell
IN with another burglar named George
Mason, and on the evening Of February
- the men left for Boston. telling Johan-
ma they would return shortly The fol-
lowing Tuesday Lcgue returned and
found his wife gone lie came 20 Phil
atielphia and went 70 his home. There
ne FOUND Cutaier his tourneyman. Friis
Eckert and a young apprentice named
Harry Fricke. Cutaier told him that the
last he had seen 81 Johanna was on the
preceding Saturday. Logue at once
thought she had elopeA with Peter Burns.
but g. was found Burns had sailed for
Europe. and all trace OF the woman was
lost.
With the assistance of her brother
Peter Gahan. Logue searched the country
FAR and wide for her. bat 20 no avail In
November. 1879. Isogue WAS sent TO prison.
and after his release on Aprii - 1854 ha
was lost sight of unsiI he gave himself
up 70 Coroner AshhTidEe Al the time of
her aisa npea rance the woman wore Jew
elry worth s2.ao and had IN tn. bosom
~ her dress four ~ tsa gnverumen, bonds.
When they moved 20 the Eleventh STREET
house IN fST9 Tsosue had secretea seven
- thase 81 80 bonds under the CARPET ~
Tho stairway. telling no ene bar Cutaier
whore they we're. When he returned
from Nov York De found that Cutaier
rad stolen one Csf the bonds AMI sgf1 81
10 the Drexels for Sos. Cueafar ard
MS wife lived ~ the house for g YEAR
after johanna diss ppes rod. when foul
oior coming from under ;he kitchen f5o~
made The woman 80 sick that they Wers
compelled % move away After fha1 the
house IA numerous tenants Search waz
made f0T Eckert. the tourueyTnaD. ard L
seemed - ~ = hopeless searrh. Finally
pe.ex-figA GriSr found him IN a barber
ehop on Houston sfr%ct- %sw York y n@~e
for a borg flrna he had .aen shsNsrz, from
twenty 20 thtrtv metropolitan policemen
Frioke vas found tn F'niladeipaia- Hls
mind soon after became auHinged from
fr{Eht and it hacaue nef-sAsa Ty-so send
him - ths inssu~ deTsar rtrra "a - the
philadalrhha hospital After ha had f#en
snns there 81 was found that fae s1gne-sH-
trndeut ln the vart I1 Whl~h he was
le3gpl vas Alph cnss Cutafe-. sr father
- fhe accused uurtfrer ard Erf he vas
hszlly traasferrca ~ another uara
After Cutaier's arrest several attempts
we're made 20 extsrt "a confession from
him ana BE related a number - de allied
stories ~ the crime. uawlns; T<ogue a. ghe
psr.etrato~. hUt eventually on April Il 10
tha woman slruld-d h~r Intention ~ re-
turning 90 \eW York she Eas 4ns5xtcass
ana hs ir11ces3 her to walr UatI he could
a-ecupany ner % ta= station ss took
Arr upstairs ard made her 60 into bed
Nth her clothes on IneE- he says. -
r-evert her getting away before he coaid
s-a w-tth her Sc 5-oHul heY band ana foot
Tesfs vas AZ o'ripek 81 tne sVsn4HE Fou-
hawr4 later ~ f0uuf her lying CD heT face
v-irh r4r bead under the bolster s19ih-
erea 70 death ia an evident attempt -
b-@sk her bonds The nsxt 1ay ae
buried the body us4sg tae kiscAen Hoor.