The herald., 1896-07-07
MURDERS At M0NTEC|TO
Crime ChrOnicled at Santa Bar
bara's Suburb
WOMEN CLUBBED AND SHOT
Only Vague Surmises as to the Crimi.
nal's Identity
WOMEN CLUBBED AND SHOT
BrutaIIy nurdered-The 7an on
Whom Suspicion Falls
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
SANTA BARBARA, July GA horri-
BILE double murder was committed last
night in the beautiful Montecto valley,
three miles from this city, the victims
being Mrs. H. r. Richardson aged
about So years, and her daughter Ethel,
H. Strong suspicion rests upon Scott
Richardson, stepson of the murdered
woman, as he had frequently made
threats to kill her. He is known as a
dissolute character, and while having
lived away from here for some time
past, it is reported that he was seen
| quite recently in this vicinity. The only
other theory is that the deed was done
| by some tramp who concealed himself
| in the house for that express purpose
| Early this morning as a man named
| Cordero was going to his work on the
boulevard. he saw a body lying in a
vacant field by the Richardson place,
twenty yards from the road. Badly
frightened, he went on and notified other
workmen, who at once returned to the
scene. Meanwhile Mr.. Johnson of Mon
tecito passed the place, and seeing the
body. went to it and identified it as
that of Miss Rachel Richardson, with
her throat cut and several bullet wounds
| in the back of the head. Near by was
a club that had evidently been broken in
the hands of the murderer. He at once
sumoned Mr.. Blood. living near, and
the two then notified the authorities.
| On going to the house, a handsome resi-
dence, occupied only by Mrs. Richard
son and her daughter, her husband
| having died three months ago, it was
found locked.
On the arrival of Coroner Ruiz an en-
| trance was effected and the coroner and
| sheriff went in to examine. A trail of
blood led from the front door up stairs
| to the sleepingroom of Mrs. Richard
| son, just inside of which the body of
Mrs. Richardson was found, lying on
her face in a pool of blood, while bullet
hole in the head of the bed and another
| in the easement of the window told of
| the work of the murderer and the fran
| tic endeavor of the woman to escape.
| The body lay just in the doorway, IN
| a great pool of blood that dripped from
| the ceiling to the room below. There
was a bullet hole in the face two inches
below the left eye, and another through
| the left hand. There We're also several
! long cuts on the forehead one about
five inches over the right eye, and an
other almost as long just above this one.
The back of the head was badly beaten
with stick loaded with lead, this caus-
ing concussion of the brain and being in
| itself sufficient to cause death Mrs.
| Richardson was still alive when found
but was unconscious and did not re-
gain her senses before death, which oc-
| Cured about IL o'clock.
The deed was probably committed
about 9:3 or 10 o'clock the evening be-
| fore, as both victims were in their night
clothes, Mrs. Richardson evidently hav-
| ing already retired and Miss Ethel hav-
ing her night dress in hand. Both were
out driving in the afternoon, and the
murderer possibly secreted himself in
| the house during their absence. Neigh
bors living not far away testify to hav-
ing heard one or two screams and re-
ports, which they took to be firecrackers,
about 10 o'clock that night. but attribut-
ing them to some belated Fourth of July
celebration, did not make investigation.
1t appears that the man concealed in
| the house waited until the ladies had re-
tired to their rooms, which We're oppo-
site each other at the head of the stairs.
| He first entered the room of Mrs. Rich
| ardson, who was already in bed. His
| first shot missed her and buried itself in
! the head of the bed, and it is thought
that as she sprang from the bed he fired
the shot that struck her in the face, as
there was a large pool of blood where
she had grasped the casing of the bay
window near the bed. Another bullet
sent after her struck the window above
| her head, and she then ran around the
foot of the bed toward the door, but just
as she reached it was felled by the load
! ed club, found later. and fell forward
| on her face. Her face was cut and
bruised and the back of the skull al
most beaten in by the repeated blows OF
the murderer.
Hearing the shots and commotion in
her mothers ROOM it is thought Miss
| Richardson, night dress in hand, at
tempted to run downstairs and give the
alarm, but was seen by the murderer.
! who fired, striking her in the left shoul-
der. She ran on, however, downstairs,
out by the front door and down the wind
ing driveway leading to the main road
| which runs within 100 yards of the house.
! tlecks Of blood were found along the
path of her wild flight, which led out
through the gate and then turned into
a vacant lot on the same side of the road
going still twenty-five yards further
where she was overtaken and brutally
murdered.
The blood-stained tracks of the MUIR
derer show that as she ran out of the
house he followed, and running dowI
the driveway a short distance saw hei
turn into the adjacent field and cut across
to intercept her. His bloody tracks are
plainly visible where he left the drive
way, and bloody finger marks on tht
fence show where he jumped over ant
caught his innocent victim, the imprint
of whose feet showed that she had be
the hair he forced her head back am
plunged his knife into her throat .anc
after she had fallen forward finished hi.
devilsh work by shooting three shot!
into the back of her neck and head be.
sides beating her with the loaded clut
which he had partially broken upor
Mrs. Richardson, and which was fount
near the body of the second victim TIL,
mufQefer'S s trail led from here toNVar.