The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-03-19
IT LOOKS like MURDER
Polander with His Head Crushed
Found Beneath the Tracks.
ONE ARREST HAS BEEN MADE
Grishka, Who Ioarded with the Man Now
Dead. Had Hood ON His Coat.
lie Loved tho Wife OF
John Mickus.

MickuS, a POlandef, whose pouy Was
found early yesterday morning lying
beneath the Delaware, Lackawanna
and Western tracks in culvert near
the Tripp homestead. His head had
been crushed almost 10 jelly.
John Grishka. who boarded Win
Mickus. was arrested under pecuiiar
At the coroner III
quest in the court house last night no
conclusive evidence To proNe the muir
der theory was adduced although
Grishka is critically involved and Will
be held until after the continued IN
quest at s O'Clock Saturday night.
Grishka was arrested because or
the suspicion attached to the presence
Of blood stains on his overcoat. lie had
$ TODD among the crowd which surround
ed the body when the coroner arrived.
The coroner noticed the spots ON Tue
coat and ordered the arrest Of Grishka
after he had failed 10 satisfactorily e&-
plain the stains.
The body uf MicEus was discovered
about O'Clock in the morning "
workman who was walking along the
tracks. He notified the ilagman at
the crossing, who, in turn, hou-
lied the police of the West Side
station house Coroner l.ongstreet was
and when he reached the
scene, found crowd Of morbidly curl
Gus persons surrounding the remains.
POSITION OF THE BODY,
The position of the body Indicated
that human hands placed 1t where IL
was found that 1t could not have been
hurled there by passing train. rms
was the opinion of the coroner ana OF
the police There was caus" also for
the theory that murder'was committed
On the spot. -.
ON the retaining wall where the body
rested there were II few drops OF bloou
The wall is part Of tt"stle over
private roadway in the rear of the
Tripp homestead ON North Main ave-
nue.. The body lay on its back near the
south abutmcnt and almost beneath the
outside northhound track. The head
pointed up the road. Evidence that the
body had not fallen was offered in the
regular position of arms and legs which
did not Indicate any violent action at
the time Mickus' form reached the spot.
The murder theories are suggested by
the fact that the peculiar construction
of the culvrrt would rerder it almost
for u man to be struck by
q train and his body flung to the spot
where Mickus was found. Three tracks.
two of them for southbound and one for
northbO,md passenger trains only. cross
the culvert The space between the
ties of each set of rails is only two or
three inches wide, while there Is II
space of two feet or more between the
ends of the ties of the three tracks.
A southbound train could not have
thrown body through the two-foot
space and over to a point between the
northbOund track, and northbound
train certainly would have hurled II
somewhere else than directly beneath
that track and against the south abat-
ment. No trace of blood could be found
on the iron, stone or woodwork of the
culvert and it has not been learned
from any fireman or engineer that q
man was run down during the night.
HEAD BADLY BATTERED.
The head was badly battered. The
forehead was crushed, the nose broken
and the teeth knocked out. No other
marks of violence. excepting some con.
tusions and scratches on the face and
hands, were discovered. His hat was
found near the body.
Mickus' watch chain was dangling
from his vest; the watch could not be
found. A pocketbOok on his person
contained three pennies.
Any footprints that might have
thrown some light on the matter were
almost obliterated by the crowd be-
fore the coroner and the police reached
the scene, although there were tracks
indicating that one or two men had
walked down the embankment from the
hnI hnn r.I nf,t.
and up.
While the coroner was surveying the
body and scrutiniZing the locality, his
notice was attracted by 9rishka, the
man held on suspicion. Dark colored
spots were plainly visible on the lapel
and skirt of his overcoat. He told the
coroner he was friend of Mickus and
had seen him at supper on the preced-
ing evening. He evaded questioning
and appeared confused. There was lit
tie doubt that the spots were made by
blood and Coroner Longstreet ordered
PatrOlman Evans to arrest the man.
He tried to wash the stains off with
snow while being led to the West side
station house. but was prevented do
ing 50 by the patrolman.
The coroner impanelled jury and
ordered the body removed tn the
morgue Of Undertaken Price. where the
coroner and DIR. Pcnnypacker made 4
jost mOrtem examination al 3 o'clock in
the afternoon. Meanwhile County De-
tective Leyshon began work on the as
sumption that Mickus and Grishka
were together during Tuesday night
INQUEST LAST NIGHT.
When Coroner Longstrset began the
inquest in the court house last night
Il score ar mere of unusually we'll
dressed and intelligent I.ithuanians, oi
Russian Polanders, We're present. They
We're Of the same class as Mickus ana
the accused. The latter was rot pres
ent. The jury was composed Of II. T.
Mellon, George w. Keyes. Alfred G.
Pace. j. J. Howell, Evan J. Evans and
NJ. $. Matthews.
Samuel Nicholas. who found the body
was sworn. He lives at lalS ThGmp 'or
street and works in the Mount Pleas
ant mine. Nicholas described the pCsi.
tiOn in which the remains rested ana
said there were footprints in the SNOW
leading To and away from the spot
He did not notice the footprints except
In the immediate vicinity of the body
Some sensational facts which vii
tnishka with the crime were related
privately to the coroner by Andrew Cor.
don, who lives in the rear of l20S Short
avenue. Gordon may be sworn Satur.
day night. lie is a middle-aged pros.
porous looking Polander. and speak.
good English. He works in the Mount
Pleasant mine. and is known as an ar.
bitrator. adyice-giver and Interpreter
among hig cOuntrymcn.
Gordon first made his knnwledg,
known to Tribune rerorter. and latel
repeated the story Ia the coroner. III
acted as Interpreter during the inquest
Mickus. he said, was - years old ant
worked in the Brisbin mine. az die
Grishka. About a year ago his frs
wife died and within a month he mar.
ried girl named Miller, who was ther
working for n family on the boulevard
They first lived in the Seventh ward
where Grishka came to board with
them. Quarrels were frequent among
the three on account of the boarder'.
attention to Mrs. Mickus. Their rela