The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1900-04-25

marierer wouId stop n do this seems OK
tre,nely unlikely. And it : further
daghifnl if the blade in question. which
fS in possession OF Squire Sell At Wind
b4r. is keen enuugh TO do such work As
was exrerted sunday night
Il il notieeable that ali ths victims n
the Italians knife are young men. Hsl-
verson. the Swede. WIS only righteen-
He flrrns-ly work al H7a II ~. aad
leaves fsther aud mother. f'ar sisters
and one brother. Grieyh hack. the Slsr.
WAS only nineteen. Samuel Shivriy WIS
native Of Maryland and was sh"ut
twenty-five years old. lie lived with his
brothsr-in-law aud sister, Mr.. aud Mr..
Levi Skiles, in wsndber. The only Cam
bria Countian who was victim was Ed
ward McCauley, native Of near Hast
ings- He. with his mother-Mrs. Annie
McCanley and his brothers and sisters.
has been at Windber about year, the
father being an inmate of Dixmont In
sane Asylum. He was aged twenty-three
and had been working for the Berwind-
White people as miner.
Mrs. Stocks. the woman who IS sup
posed to have been the cause Of all the
trouble. has bad very checkered career.
Four years ago her husband aud son
were killed in the mines of the Berwind-
White Company at Dubois. and the
Company, on account of her misfortune,
gave her lot on which to erect home
at windber. with the understanding that
=, IN.
order to make a living for herself IL
was soon found that she was conducting
very tough resort, however, and she
was elected from the COmpany's proper
ty, but managed TO get other quarters
near by, where the crime took place.
The man Stocks was never married to
her, il is believed, though they lived to-
gethsr awhile, and finally he left and
went 70 Dunlo, since which time she had
been openly conducting sporting house
and speakeasy. She has little daughter.
Testimony taken before the Coroner's
jury here throws considerable light on
the situation and comes very near up
setting some Of the heories that have
been quite generally accepted.
The Coroner's jury consists Of Messrs.
]. C. Harding, s. II. Goldsmith. Levi
Skiles, w. w. Braeken, W. $. Barefoot
and Joseph Mccormick. They have been
doing their best to get full knowledge
Of the crime since last night, when testi-
mony was taken up to l2:30o'cloek un-
der the direction of Squire Sell.
And right in this connection we may
make note of the fact that the people of
Windber feel anything but kindly toward
Rufus Z. Meyers, District Attorney OF
Somerset county. He visited windber
Mon day afternoon. giving the people in
terested in the case to understand that
he would take hold of affairs and conduct
the investigation, which, it was consid-
cred on all sides, was his duty. While
the matter was in progress, however, he
suddenly got up and left, saying he
would be back in a few minutes. That
was the last seen Of Mr.. Meyers.
The greatest change that has been
wrought by the testimony is TO throw
into doubt he supposition that the killing
was all done by one person. and estab-
lish theory that there were three of the
murderers. one of whom was probably
armed with a revolver and the other two
with knives. This was the case, if the
women who were in the house at the time
are 10 believed.
One Important fact that has been
brought out is the names of the men ac-
eused. which were given by the woman
who WAS formerly Mrs. Stocks. She
said on oath that she was married three
weeks ago at Lilly to an Italian named
| Frank Napoleon. She admitted that she
had been selling beer, as a sort of side
issue. She said that two Italians named
Antonio Medina aud Andrew CrunzO
were in the house Sunday evening and
left about ten minutes before the shoot
ing occurred. To these the other women
in their testimony added the name OF
Napoleon, but his presence was denied
by his wife. for very obvious reason.
The testimony agreed on the fact Of their
leaving the room where the carousing
was going on a short time before the
crime. and the theory of the women j.
that the men who thus went out lay in
wait for the fellows who remained within
and killed them as they appeared at the
door, the three Of them sharing in the
crime, instead Of one committing il alone
When the house was searched theie e was
found, in addition to the dirk already
mentioned, barlow knife with a blade
about four inches long. but no one who
has seen these weapons believes that
either Of them was used in the execution
OF the crime.
Mrs. Napoleon says she knew nothing
of any trouble until the door was broken
in and the men commenced to go out to
meet their doom. No cutting was done
in the house, aud, as she and the other
women did not venture outdoors at the
time, she attributes to that fact their
escape. She preJends to believe that
something else than jealousy was the in
citing cause. Mrs. Napoleon, it may be
noted, has six children, all of whom
were about the ranch all the time, and
seem To take as quite a joke the indis-
criminate killing that WAS going on. As
to the whereabouts OF her husband at the
present time, she profssses complste
ignorance and is strenuous in her denial
that he was about the house at the time
of the tragedy.