The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-16
AN ASSASSIN IN AMBUSH
A YOUNG NEGRO. OSCAR WHARTON,
MURDERED AT WOODRUFF PLACE.
VIM. ID. Bridgewater Supposed to BE
the Murderer-Je Over the
Wife of the Knife User.

The beautiful suburb of Woodruff Place
was shocked by its first murder last night.
when a young negro. Oscar Wharton, was
stabbed to death. presumably by William
II. Bridgewater. another negro. The mo-
tive was jealousy of Bridgewater's wife.
who has been separated from her husband
for about a year. The woman in the case
is rather comely colored woman of about
thirty years. She has been married to
Bridgewater nine years, but they separated
about a year ago, since which time she has
worked as a domestic, being al present en-
ployed as a domestic in the family of Ar
thur Thomas, on the East drive of Wood
ruff.
Yesterday she was one of a party of five
that enjoyed a picnic at Grows Nest"
the party consisting of herself, Mary Bar
ger employed at No. 102 Woodruff on the
middle drive Artie Odem and the murdered
man. 1t was the second time Wharton had
ever met the woman, and he was not her
company" Apparently Bridgewater knew
something about the picnic party, for he
had evidently been lying in ambush, await
ing their return. He had been out to see
his wife the night before, but had had no
quarrel with her; on the contrary, he had
talked as if he desired that they should
live together again.
The picnic party returned to Woodruff
shortly before 10 o'clock last night in a
surrey that had been hired at some livery
stable by the murdered man. The Daggy
woman was left at her employers residence
and the other four drove to No. 102, on the
middle drive, where the Barger girl is en-
ployed. All went to the rear of the house
and Wharton and the Bridgewater woman
walked across the back yard to Thomas's
residence. There are no fences in the place
and it was nearer for them to cut across
the lawn. According to the story of the
woman, she sat on a bench on the rear
porch of the house, which is almost sur
rounded by lattice work. Wharton was
standing in front of her talking when she
saw man, supposed to be her husband
come slipping up the walk from the same
direction they had come. In another mo-
ment he was on the porch and the two men
clinched without saying a word. She ran
around to the front of the house and got
to her own room, but as she ran she saw
the two men struggling in the yard in the
rear of the house. Mary Barger and Henry
Odem were sitting on the back steps of No.
102, about fifty yards from the scene of the
struggle, but 1t was intensely dark in the
shadows of the heavy foliage and they
knew nothing of the affair until they saw
a man run toward them and fall TO his
knees They ran to his assistance and
found it was Wharton. They assisted him
to his feet and half carried him several
PAGES, when he dropped upon the grass
with moan. Odem asked him what was
the matter and he replied: Il am cut and
cut bad"
Where are you cut?" asked Odem.
THREE UGLY WOUNDS.
'tAll over replied the dying man, and
he spoke no more. He had told the truth.
He had three ugly wounds, any one of
which might have proven fatal One was
Immediately above the heart, another was
on the right side just above the abdomen
and the other was squarely in the abdo-
men. In addition to these he had a cut on
the left hand, where the knife mad gone
to the bone The wounds were not made
with razor but with pocket knife. The
wounded man expired in about twenty
minutes.
In the meantime, E. c. Test, whose house
on the Middle drive is opposite that of Mr..
Thomas on the East drive was awakened
by the struggle and saw man run over
toward the power house on the first drive.
He dressed and came down, and as soon
as he learned what was the matter teie-
phoned to the City Dispensary and the
police.
Bicycle officers Wallace and Holtz were
dispatched to the scene at once. They
found Wharton dead and had no trouble in
getting the story of the affair. light
hat, like the one worn by BridgeWater Sat-
night,
the struggle began, but Whartons nat
could not be found. The strange feature
of the affair was that the surrey the party
had left hitched in front of No. 102 had dis
appeared and whoever had taken it mad
thrown out of it half a dozen empty beer
bottles, the contents of which had been
consumed by the party The crash OF TINS
glass on the pavement had awakened al
miral Brown, residing across the drive, ana
he had heard a man running around ms
house. He had dressed and searched his
premises but had found nothing out OF
place nor had his butler, who was awake
all the time heard anything.
The three women and Odem were taken 10
the notice station and detained as witnesses,
while the whole force was turned loose In
| the effort to find Bridgewater.
Bridgewater is a man of thirty-tWo or
| thirty-three years, very dark, ana was de-
| scribed to the officers on the different beats
as ''bullet-headed." He works about at odd
Jobs with the street contractors. his last
employment being with Henry Mag. He
and his wife formerly lived In west In
| dianapolis and their separation was due
| to Violent quarrel, in the course of which
| he shot his wife and was arrested for 1t at
the time. The police sent out full de-
scription of him to all the surrounding
| cities last night
The murdered man, Oscar Wharton, was
| a light -colored short and heavy-set negro
| of thirty years He was employed as a
| hostler at Horace Woods livery stable, ana
| was known as d quiet, peaceable man. ne
| was unmarried and resided with ms parents
| at 33S fremont street. From MS wages he
| supported his parents.
-&-@-%-