The record-union., 1898-03-20
The Three Murders on Beat I0,

pressing il mildly even for a news
paper reporter of the nineteenth CEN
tury. And no one in the city appre-
ciate6 more keenly the fearfulness Of
the rhine than the chief of police, an
less il was the patrolman on whose beat
the terrible murder had been commit
ted
One crime of the kind would have
worried and perplexed the police Off
GERS, out ii was the second friShtful
murder that had occurred within six
months and in the same locality.
The chief of police was oct OF hu-
NOR W hen he came to his office after
having heard of the man being, found
dead i'll his bed with his throat cut
from car to ear, and he summoned his
chief of detectives somewhat petulant-
~ for Il private interview.
The murder committed last night,
he said. took place not very far from
the spot where the other similar crime
was committed about six months ago.
The chief Of detectives merely nod
ded his head
We'll, we must ferret out this muir
der" continued the chief of police, or
resign our positions. Both crimes have
occurred on beat eighteen. and l wish
you would have Patrclrnan John K.
Bolton sent for at once. He was on
| beat eighteen last night
IN about an hour Bolton appeared,
having been awakened at his home.
He was cne Of the finest-looking police
men on the city force, and the chief
knew that he was brave and discreet
officer and one to be entirely trusted.
10 tO1I |, .in1 off
that full report of the murder on his
beat was wanted And added the
chief, the murder which was commit
ted nearly six months ago also occur
red on your beat and when you We're
on duty
The patrolman was quite serious as
he replied:
Yes, and l have considered the pro-
priety of rendering my resignation. OF
course / don't believe you or anyone
else VIII lay any blame on me, but L
just don't feel exactly right about 1t,
and if you so advise l win tender my
resignation"
NO, l would not think of doing any
such thing the chief replied. We
want your assistance and | wish you to
prepare for me a report of all you have
ascertained about the murder last night
and we will go to work on the case
with the assistance of the detective
bureau"
While the patrolman was busy pre-
pairing his report the chief of police
was reviewing the facts in the first
murder, for he could not dismiss the
idea that the two crimes were in some
way connected.
The murder to which the chief refer
red rs the first on beat eighteen had
been committed on the night Of June
10, 1896. On the morning after that
night Charles II. Bradford had been
found lying in his bed near a windoW,
which had been left open during the
night, and a bullet hole through his
head showed how he had met his death.
There was no weapon near the dead
body, and it was never for moment
hinted that it was a case Of suicide.
There had been most careful inVesti-
cation by the police authorities and the
coroner, but no evidence could be found
to implicate any one in the crime. In
fact, there were three witnesses exam
ined at the coroner's inquest and their
testimony, as nearly as can be recalled,
was as follows:
Sarah Jenkins, a negro woman who
slept in q basement of a house adjOin-
ing the one in which Bradford had been
killed. sWore that she had awakened
about O'Clock in the night and heard
a man walking along the sidewalk. y
few minutes later she heard the sound
of pistol shot and got up and looked
out IF the window. She could see no
one and concluded that somebody had
shot at a cat or dog. She had heard
dog barking.
Walter Simms testified that he had
heard pistol shot in the night, and
that he located the sound in the di-
rection of the house where Bradford
was living He also looked out OF the
window. but saw no one. He lay awake
some time afterwards and thought he
heard the footballs of a man passing
in the streets He resided half a square
from the Bradford home.
Patrolman Bolton stated that he
knew nothing of the murder until it
was reported to him by a storekeeper
early the next morning Il did not hear
the pistol shot" he said, but as my
beat extends over several blocks / could
have been too far away at the time
1 went to the house at once and found
Bradford lying on his bed dead He
was on his back and there was no
weapon Of any kind near him.
1t was shown in the investigation
that Bradford was alone in the house
and his room was near the street, the
window opening on the sidewalk.
In justice to the police authorities,
n ho+ =,
in their power to discover the mur-
derer, and there was no one more dill
gent or Jealous than the patrolman On
beat eighteen.
Now the Chief of Police was once
more called upon to ferret out a muir
! der mystery From the report made
out by Patrolman Bolton ne gathered
the following facts in connection With
the second crime:
AT 1 O'Clock in the morning a servant
girl went TO the room of young man
who boarded in the house where she
was employed and knocked upon his
door for the purpose of awakening him.
He made no response, and she so in
formed the master of the house Will
lam Adams. A little later Adams went
to the room, and receiving no response
70 MS cdllS ne summoned PatrOlman
Bolton. and together they broke open
the door. They found the young man,
Arthur Waites, lying on the floor in q
pool OF blood. His throat had been
slashed with some sharp instrument.
Neither razor nor knife could be found
in the room. Adams stated that the
young man mad been boarding with him
for several months and had retired in
good health and spirits the night be-
fore. He knew of no enemies who