The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-07-26


The Murderer Threw the AK Into
the River, and Has Escaped.
A murder of the blacklist type was
committed between 10 and 1890 o'clock
yesterday forenoon in the lower Sec
tion of Old Forge township. Up to
midnight the murderer had not been
captured. Joseph Santoro, teacher of
the King Humbert Italian band, of Old
Forge, was almost decRpitated with an
ak. Raphael Pascere of Spring Brook,
is supposed to be the murderer Jeal-
ousy is given as the cause of the
crime.
1t was a murder most hideous in it's
| cold -blooded and deliberate execution.
| The two men had been walking to-
| gether for two miles or more, and as
they were about to separate, Pascere
| stepped behind Sanford and sunk the
AK twice into the back of the head,
| cleaving the skull in separate place
with each blow. Either blow would
| have caused death. There were two
deep flesh wounds in the mans back
in the region of the shoulder muscles.
Not content with that much done the
murderer caught the head of his VIC
| tim after he lay stretched on the
ground and hacked at his neck until
the spinal column was severed at the
| vertebra known as the atlas that sup
ports the head. The AK sunk into the
neck so far that there was nothing
| holding the head to the body but the
front muscular tissue of the throat.
The scene of this bloody tragedy was
l.
| Bloomsbury division of the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western road, one
hundred and fifty yards north of Lack
awanna station. Though it was in
broad daylight, no eye witnesses were
near, except few boys.
WAS NOT IN A HURRY.
AS Santoro fell he lay crosswise, face
downward on the track. Pascere, so
| the boys who saw the crime said, was
not in a hurry leaving. He stood for
| several seconds viewing his carnage
and walked at a rapid gait up the rail-
road. His hands were smeared with
| blood, and the AK was dripping with
| it, They watched him until he reached
the curve in the road.
Then he looked back and walked to-
ward the river. He made a move such
| as if he were throwing the ak far out
! into the stream, and next he stopped
| down to cover his hands with culm or
| dirt to hide the blood on them. One
of the boys, Homer Davenport, who
| lives near the station, was sure that
the man wrapped the AK in red hand
kerchief when he walked away from
the dead man.
AS far as could be learned these boys,
| three in number, We're the only ones
| who saw the crime. The names of the
| other two are Ernest Richardson and
| William Davis. They were sitting on
| the bank thirty feet above the railroad
| tracks. There was very little time for
| them to observe many of the details.
The murderer had stepped behind his
| victim to deliver the blow before the
| boys took notice of them. 1t was a
| few minutes before train time, and six
| or seven passengers were at Lacka-
| wanna station, but they were either in
| the waiting room or on the other side
of the station out of the sun. The boys
were too thrilled with horror to make
ar outcry until PaGcere was out Of
| sight.
When they did attract attention it
was to bring a man passing in a car
riage along the main road out of his
| vehicle to remove the body from the
track out of the way of the passenger
train which bounded along few min
utes later.
NO NEED OF A DOCTOR.
Justice of the Peace Brodheads office
is a few hundred yards from the cross
ing. He was notified, and about the
time he got toward the scene of the
crime, DR.. Stegner of Rendham, hap
pened to be passing. The doctor got
out of his carriage and went down the
track to examine the body. Life had
passed out almost instantly after the
blows were delivered, and there was
no need for his services.
All these occurrences consumed a
half hours time, and gave the mur-
derer an opportunity to make quick
steps for a hiding place.
! Sanford had many friends in Old
Forge, and when the news spread they
began to search for the murderer. This
was a very difficult task. The three
boys who saw the crime did not know
the man. They described him as hav-
ing on light colored coat and a small
| brown hat.
| DdHlOIO DOdIueu WIFI JOStDn Ger
undo, who lives on a side street inter-
secting the main road about 200 yards
below the Old Forge high school, The
first step taken by the pursuers was to
go to the boarding house and ascertain
If possible with whom the murdered
man had been. Mrs. Cerundo could
give them no further information than
that Sanford left about o'clock in the
morning to go to the Spring Brook for
a bath, as had been his custom nearly
every morning since summer set in
Santoro was a fine musician, and was
reputed to be a composer of band
music. He taught music around Old
Forge and Lackawanna, and was pos.
sessed of considerable leisure time.
Antonio Biancardo, a barber, and
Michael Inglese, both members of the
Humbert band, We're the ones who SET
out to fasten the crime on the perpe-
traitor. Biancardo knew that Sanford
was in the habit of going toward where
Pascere lives, and he and Inglese start
ed for Pascere's house. Pascere live,
along the Spring Brook a mile or more
above the Moosic Powder mills. He
worked for the Spring Brook Water
Supply company.
MRS. PASCERE CRIED.
When they got to his house it was !
, o'clock. Mrs. Pascere met them at the
gate. They asked her if her husband
, was home. She asked them what they
/ wanted to know for. and she began tC
! tremble like one stricken with agut