The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-19
Was THIS MURDER?
SENSATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN
THE DEATH OF HENRY w.
HEINE.
BULLET CAUSED HIS DEATH.
ENTERED HIS MOUTH AND LODGED
At THE BASE OF THE
SKULL.
BODY WAS CONSIDERABLY BURNED
His Friends Believe He Entered the
Barn 30 Drive Out Some Tramps
and Was Shot.

The question as to whether Henry
W Heine was murdered or committed
suicide is now being investigated by
Coroner Nelson and officials of the
police force. The investigation so far
conducted leaves the subject open to
conjecture. Mr.. Heine, who was the
senior partner of the commission firm
of Heine & Cummings, at Is East
Third street, resided at 70 Hoffman
avenue. To the est of the house
about forty feet is three-story frame
barn, which is built on the edge of the
bluff overlooking the Burlington and
Milwaukee tracks 1t was in the top
story, or the loft of the barn, as told
briefly in the Globe of yesterday,
that the lifeless and charred body of
Mr.. Heine was found at 2:30 o'clock
yesterday morning by members of
Hook and Ladder Truck No. 4, who
were aiding in eXtinguishing a fire in
the structure. The remains We're re-
moved from the burned structure, and
after being viewed by Coroner Nelson
We're removed to the undertaking
rooms of William Dampier, on Waba-
sha street. 1t was supposed at the
time that Mr.. Heine had, in an effort
to eXtinguish the fire, assembled to the
| hay loft and had been overcome by
the smoke and burned to death. Yes
| terday morning Coroner Nelson visited
| the undertaking rooms and upon max
! ing a closer examination of the body
noticed what he thought to be a frac-
ture of the skull. An incision being
made at the base of the brain, a 3S-
caliber bullet dropped out The theory
that Mr.. Heine had been suffocated and
then burned to death was shattered by
the discovery of the bullet, and COron
er Nelson called on Chief of Detectives
! Schwetzer to assist in an investiga-
ton. The finding of the bullet was re-
garded as indicating beyond all doubt
that it was either a case of murder or
suicide.
A post-mortem was held last evening
| by Coroner Nelson, assisted by Drs.
! Ohage, Spates and l.. A. Nelson.
The post-mortem showed that
death had been caused by a pistol bull
| let, which had entered the mouth and
| gene almost directly through the head.
Death, the physicians declared, must
have been instantaneous. The body
| was burned III a most nOII1Dl6 manner.
The murder theory is made partic-
ularly strong from the fact that the
weapon from which the shot was fired
has not been found. AS soon as it be-
came known that a bullet had been
found in the dead mans head the
! police of the Margaret street station
were notified, and Capt. Pottgieser
gave orders that all straw and debris,
both inside and outside the barn, be
f,111 Cd 0nfn ro1,a
sent to the scene, and a careful search
made for "a weapon, but none could be
found. The floor of the third story of
the barn, or, rather, the hay loft, where
Mr.. Heines body was found, was not
damaged by the flames, and those who
claim murder was committed argue
that the person who fired the fatal shot
took the weapon away with him. This,
in fact, is the only theory entertained
by the friends of Mr.. Heine, who say
that there was no reason for him to
commit suicide; that he was not the
kind of a man who. even under the
| most adverse circumstances, had they
existed, would have taken his life. The
| physicians who conducted the post
| mortem attempted to ascertain if there
were any powder marks on the face or
near the mouth, but this was impos-
sible from the fact that the face had
been so badly burned by the flames
Wednesday night Mr.. Heine and his
eldest son, Carl, sat up very late read
ing At lis o'clock Carl called atten-
ton to the Iateness of the hour and
remarked that he was going to bed as
it was getting late. His father replied
that he would go to bed as soon as he
had finished the chapter which he was
! reading. Carl, who is nineteen years
of age. went up stairs and Immediately
to bed He was asleep when he was
aroused by the ringing of the door bell
and then noticed the glare from the
! burning barn. Without waiting to
more than half dress himself he ran to
the barn accompanied by his younger
brother. The roof of the barn was
ablaze and the horse which was in the
lower floor of the barn, was making
considerable noise. He ran into the
! barn and down the stairs, and while
he was leading out the horse his broth
er had wheeled the buggy from the