The herald., 1895-04-15
Horrible Easter Discovery
in San Francisco
Body of Blanche Lamont Found
Murdered
THE SUPPOSED ASSASSIN
The Most Atr0ci0us Crime in the History
of the Bay City
The Remains Found in the SteepIe of the
Church Where the Mutilated Body Of
ninnie Williams Was Discovered.
Fastening the Guilt on Q
Medical Student

! that she knew Blanche had been MUIR
| dered, but had refused to tell what she
| knew and how. led the police to expect
| that the same man who killed Miss Will
| Jams had slain Miss Lamont and that,
| learning that Miss Williams knew of his
| first crime, attempted further concealment
| by committing second murder.
| Finding the Body
| Late last night the detectives had about
| decided that Durant had murd cred Miss
| Williams and this theory was furthereu
| this morning when, on making a thorough
search of 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, naked and on the
floor. Around the neck there were few
streaks, the marks of fingers that had
been pressed deep into the tender flesh.
The mouth was open, showing the reg
ular teeth, the features were badly dis
torted, being drawn down at the corner
and the lips we're swollen and bloodstain-
ed. The nose was the only feature
that retained it's original shape, for the
cheeks are bloat ed.
The girls light brown hair was matted
with dirt and hung loosely about her
| shoulders. The body was in the first
| stages of decom position, the odor ema-
mating from the remains having reached
! the nostrils of the detectives before they
opened. the door. When the officers
| reached the head of the stairs they found
| the door to the lower room locked. They
| broke in the door. 1t was so dark they
could not see, and one of the officers
struck a match. AS the light f1ared they
saw before them the dead body of the girl
| for whom they were searching. The
| body was taken to the morgue where it
| was placed on a slab by the side of Min
ME Williams.
A rlinster in Peril
As soon as the news became known i'm
mense crowds surrounded the church and
had to be kept pack by the police. The
| chief of police sent for Rev. DR.. Gibson,
| pastor of the church, and the report be-
came current that he had been accused of
| the crimes and had been arrested. Then
| the crowds surged to DR.. Gibson's house
and the excitement grew more intense.
| 1t soon spread all over the city. Extra
papers were gotten out and thousands of
| people flocked to the scene from all over
| the city. The rumor of the arrest was
denied later, and it became known that
| DR.. Gibson and the sexton of the church
had been merely called before the police
to tell what they knew.
At o clock came the news that Durant
had been arrested at Walnut Greek on the
road to Mount Diablo. He was caught
! by Detective Anthony, who left in pur-
| ~ h rlu
tective and his prisoner left on the next
| train for San Francisco where they
arrived this evening. Another immense
crowd had gathered at the ferries to see
the suspected murderer come in, but a
detachment of police was in waiting and
| they kept the crowd back. Durant was
hustled into patrol wagon and whirled
away to the city prison, where he was
| locked up.
The Police Confident
The police are confident they have the
right man. They claim to have two
| witnesses who saw Durant and Miss
Williams in company last Friday night,
and also state that when search was
made of Durant's house today, that in
the pocket of his coat was found a
purse which Miss Williams is known to
have carried Friday night.
Dilrant is about % years old and was
born and raised in the neighborhood in
which the murders occurred. He is a
graduate OF the Cogswell high school,
and has been studying medicine for a
year. He is member of the Second
brigade signal corps and was assistant
superintendent of Emanuel church Sun
day school. lie was always OF quiet
l 4. II:
believe. in spite of the evidence, that he
committed the crime attributed to him.
The police, however, think that Durant
| is another Jack the Ripper with a mania
for murder. Thrcy state that it is highly
probable that Durant is responsible for
the killing of Eugene Ware, young drug
clerk, who was found stabbed to death
several months ago in the store where he
worked. No trace was ever found of the
assassin, and the theory is that Durant
killed him. No motive for this murder
was discovered and the tiendish cruelty Of
it Ware was stabbed in eighteen placcs)
leads to the belief that it was the work
of an insane person. Durant's parents
are highly esteemed people of the dis
trict in which they live. His father is
chief engineer in Buckingham & Hetch's
large shoe factory, and while not rich. has
been able to give his childIen good
education and start them in life.
| Arrest of Durant
| Detective Anthony met Durant and his
companions coming back from Mount
Diablo. They were in uniform and had
been on a signaling expedition. When
Durant was placed under arrest his COM
rades at first wanted to resist the officer,
but finally allowed him to be taken to
Walnut creek, where the officer and his
prisoner boarded the train for San Fran
cisco. When arrived at the prison. as
already described, Durant, in his regi-