Pleasantville weekly press., 1898-06-08
4 FOUL MURDER
At SOMERS POINT.
A ten-year old boy decoyed
to the woods and Strangled.
| SEARCHING PARTY OUT ALL HIGB1.
THE DEAD BODY FOUND TUESDAY MORNING
A TRAMP ARRESTED FOR THE MURDER
GREAT EXCITEMENT IN THE VII
LACE.

Somers Point was thrown into q
fever of excitement Monday evening,
when it was announced that Japhet
Connolly, the bright ten-year old son OF
Ephrain Connolly, formerly q resident
of Pleasantviile, had mysteriOusly dis
appeared and could not be found. The
alarm was soon given and alarge crowd
of citizens organized themselves into O
searching party and with lanterns in
hand spent nearly all night in securing
every nook and corner of the Borough
for the missing boy but no trace of
him could be found. The parents were
nearly distracted aud the mother wild
with grief. Another party went on a
fruitless search again early Tuesday
morning, but shortly after one O'Clock
Tuesday afternoon the dead body of the
little boy was found in the woods near
New Jersey avenue and about 200 feet
from the railroad tracks. The body was
carefully covered ovsr with leaves aud
twigs and the searching parties the night
before had passed within q few feet of it
without discovering it. The body was
half nude and the nndershirt stripped of,
and tied in knot around the throat
thus producing death by straDgulation.
When last seen alive the boy wasnoticed
to go into the woods near where the
body was found in company with a
young man who says his name is William
O'Mara, drunken tramp, who has been
staying around Somers Point since Sat
urday afternoon. Twenty minutes later
O'Mara was seen to come out of the
woods alone and then he Immediately
left town. Being suspected, Lewis Col
liDs, Theodore Riddle, Edward RotbeD-
berger and Milton Clements started up
the Shore Road aud found him in Lir-
wood and brought him back and lodged
him in jail. O'Mara is musical tramp
who plays the autOharp, and he dispos d
OF the instrument to Samuel Barrett, of
Linwood, only a short timo before he
was arrested. O'Mara had been under
the Influence of liquor ever since he came
to the Point, and claims that he knows
nothing of the murder. He is well edu-
Gated and claims TO be resident of
Yonkers, N. Y, aud that he was educated
at st. Joseph's Academy, South Troy,
N. Y. The motive for the crime was
disclosed at the medical examination
when evidence was presented that a
most foul and unnatural assault had
been committed on the body of the poor
dead bey. A pipe and necktie known to
belong to the prisoner was found near
the body, and Will Z. Keates Identifies
the pipe as one he had previously sold to
O'Mara.
At 6 o'clock in the afternoon O'Mara
was taken from the elOckup to Hagerthy's
Hall and arranged before Mayor E. A.
Higbee and charged with murder upon
the complaint of W. II. Keates. When
asked what he had to say, he plea ded
guilty but afterwards changed his plea
to not guilty. Several witnesses testi-
fed to seeing O'Mara go up near the
place where the murder was committed
with the boy, and others testified to his
going up the railroad alone shortly
after.
A necktie and corncob pipe
which were known to have
been in the prisoners possession
were found and identified and will go far
toward eonvicting the murderer.
At the conclusion of the hearing Mayor
Higbee committing O'Mara to jail with
out bail ard he was taken to Mays
Landing by CoDstables Bowen and At
kinson. The late hour at which the
facts were obtainable make it impossible
to give the minute details of the shocking
tragedy. Coroner Mclaughlin appointed
the following gentlemen to act as
Coroner's irquest and the hearing will be
held to-day. Wednesday,, Robert Rid
die, Edward Robinson, VIM. B. Steel
man. Alvin Garrison, Chas. Clements,
and W. r. Fox.