The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-01
GRUBER'S SLAYER STILL FREE.
THE MYSTERY OF THE MURDER
NOT YET SOLVED.

The Fact That the officer Was on the
Trail of the slayer of a Baby and
Expected TO Find the Pistol With
which Miss Cato Was Killed May
Have Prompted His Murder-The
COroner's Inquest Not Yet Finish
ed.
Jacksonville, Fla, April 30.-The coro-
ner's inquest to-day into the cause OF the
death Of Police Lieutenant William z.
Gruber who was murdered here last We'd
nesday night by a person yet unknown,
resulted in no sensational developments
beyond what might have been expected.
The most important testimony submit
ted to the jury for consideration was that
of DR.. F. J. Stollenwerck DR.. Stolen
werck was appointed by the jury to mike
an autopsy of the body of the police OH
GER He swore that so far as his knoWl-
edge and belief was concerned that the
dead man came to his death in the same
position as that in which he was tound
Thursday morning l. e.. that he was re-
clining. Death was caused by severe
bow on the right side of the head at the
tunture Of the temporal and perital bones
The whole side of the head was crushed in'
hut the scalp was not injured Neither
was the other membrane of the brain.
Ten pieces of broken skull bone were taken
from the cavity made by the terrific dow
How the assassin struck so accurately
when the night was pitch dark is not I'M
derstood and it is thought by some that
the officer was not killed on the spot but
was carried there after death, which is
nlaustble as there was very slight hemor-
rhaee from the wound, there being no
abrasions of the skin to speak OF, ana con
seouentlv little danger of making tflal
DR. Stollenwerck further testihed thau
he had examined the state OF the ciolHlhs
and found strong evidences or mucus' out
stated further that the nara dow on Llie
head might have caused flow suIhcleHuy
large to have presented the appearance
noted -.
The whereabouts of the pistol that
should have been in the holster of the
officers belt is still deep mystery
Chief of Police Jack Keefe has found
a clew and is running 1t down.
outside Of any Information gained from
an official channel the Morning news
representative discovered that at 9'4O
o'clock Lieut.. Gruber was seen on Bridge
street. a mile and a half distant from the
scene of the crime, and that he had told
an intimate friend of his, Charles Blum,
a saloon keeper on Bridge street, that
Thursday morning he would arrest the
murderers of a little baby found several
days ago in a cypress thicket in Spring
field, a suburb Of the city. Lieut. Gruper
also told his friend that he had found the
locality where the pistol with which MISS
Marie LOUISE Cato was killed had been
hidden and would go out to search Tor IL
within a short time. Charles Blum stat
ed moreover that the lieutenant of po-
lice had told him that the pistol was buried
in the vacant block, where he was after
ward killed.
Idle rumors are rampant, and the talk
caused by the sad tragedy in which Miss
Cato was assassinated has given place to
the more recent event in the criminal his
tory of Jacksonville.
The coroner's jury adjourned, to meet
next Monday morning al 10 o'clock to
hear any additional evidence in the case.