The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1900-04-25
THE WIRBBER TRAGEDY.
Coroner's tiry Places The Crime
of Numbering Five Men Upon
Three Italians.
$500 REWARD roR THEIR CAPTURE.

The town of Wiudber has resumed its
wonted quietness after the terrible trsg-
edy Of last Sunday night a week seo.
The bodies Of the five murdered n'en
have ali been buried aud the people gen
orally have gone back to their regular
vocations.
The proprietress of the brothel where
the sffray took place was brought here
Thursday afferaoon and lodged in jail. to
be held until court meets in May. when
she will probably be called upon 10 an
swer to numerous criminal indictments
that have been or viii be lodged against
her. The two inmates Of her house. who
were arrested and held for several days
as witnesses, have been discharged.
The citizens of Windoer have offered q
reward for the arrest and conviction OF
the three men who are now accused of
the murder, aud an appeal has been
made to the County Commissioners to
offer an additional reward.
The windber people are practically
unanimous in charging the county OH
cials with exhibiting lack of interest
in the matter, bat, outside of offering a
reward. we are unable to see what re-
mains for the county authorities TO do,
unless they should see fit to secure the
services Of skilled detectives to run down
/ the mnrderers.
Esquire Sell visited Somerset Friday
for the purpose of interviewing the Com
missioners and the District Attorney. but
was unable TO see the former, as they
were not in session. Squire Sell has
been very diligent in executing bis
duties in the premises. and prior to com
ing here held several interviews with the
county officials or their clerks over the
long distance phone. He held an in
quest on the remains Of the dead men on
Monday and Tuesday following the muir
I der, at which a number of witnesses, in
clnding the women who were in the
French woman's resort at the time Of the
tragedy, were examined. The coroner's
! jury returned verdict finding that John
Halverson, Gustav Grieyback. Edward
McCauley, Samuel Shively and Thomas
/ Kipling came to their death on Sunday
night, April 18th. by stiletto wounds re-
ceived from weapons in the hands OF
/ Frank NapoAOu, Antonio Medina aud
Andrew Crunzo, three Italians. The
men accused are charged by the women
with havin z been in the house where the
cutting occurred and leaving few min
utes previous to the trouble, presumably
to secrete themselves just outside the
door and wait for the egress Of some OF
the inmates OF tho place.
The jury had also in its possession pho
tographs OF the three men in question,
which were found about the house where
they had stayed and were identified by
the women.
The following version of the tragedy
appeared in the Johnstown Tribune last
Tuesday evening:
The many stories concerning the crime
are being sifted down and it is possible
to arrive at a fairly accurate knowledge
OF the motive and the manner OF execu
ton which rendered it possible for the
murderer TO deal death blows to five men
and escape himself unscathed.
Jealousy was the motive beyond doubt,
and it is also established pretty well that
the Italian who did the killing was the
paramour of Mrs. Stocks, the French
woman who kept the house of i'll fame
where the crime was committed: they
claim to have been married, but it is
doubtful fthey were. At least the wo
man paid little attention to the Italian
when other men were around, and this
was evidently what caused the trouble
The drinking bout which ended in the
murder began Saturday night and con
tinned without intermission over Sunday
and into Sunday nigh. uEtil between II
and IL o'clock, the hour of the crime, tive
young women participating besides the
proprietress of the place and the mer
concerned. The beer. which was the
beverage principally consumed, was KEEP
in little shanty opposite the sporting
house and speakeasy where the women
had their headquarters, and from the
number Of empty kegs the thirst mus
have been great.
AS the orgies progressed Mrs. Stocks
gave less and less attention tn her re
puted husband, and he grew more glum
aud snllen. finally refusing to take any
part in the drinking and carousing and
keeping iioof from the others, eventually
Withdrawing from the crowd altogether
What he was up to became apparent
when "Jerk' Buck walter. one of the men
injured, stepped To the door OF the shaDty
The Italian was standing there with q
drawn revolver, from which he fired two
shots at Buckwalter. The latter ducked
just ia time to miss both of them, and
then. seeing that his assailant was out foI
murder. started 10 run.,. A shot quickly
followed him, the bullet catching him in
the left leg. He did not stop. aud the
Italian let drive with the remaining two
shots in tie weapon, missing with both
OF them. however.
By this time the drunken men in the
shanty were pretty well aroused, and they
began to come to the door TO investigate.
The door was narrow at best, and the
Italian, standing outside with knife
drawn, had a decided advantage as the
men emerged. wi ich he used for all il
was worth. The inmates of the shanty
were very drunk, and at best could only
stumble forth, so ii is doubtful if they
could have done anything with the Ital-
ian, who was almost entirely sober, had
they bean able TO emerge in a body and
attack him. And certain il is that, com
ing out one by one. they were completely
at his mercy. Which one first emerged
even the men who were there do not
know. But whoever il was, he received
his death blow in a second, and those
who eame aflerward were similarly dealt
with in one-twO-three order-as they
slaughter stock in a Chicago abattoir.
There was not much fuss about it-only a
few subdued groans-and bnt for the shots
no outsiders might have been attracted
Assoon as his bloody work was done
the Italian fed. and in the intense ex-
cite'nent no one seems To have thought OF
looking for him at the time. Iu fact, that
matter was strangely overlooked all along
in the furor over the discovery of the ex-
tent of his crime.
All the dead bodies were not found AT
once. That of John Halverson. the Swede.
was found two hundred feet from the
spot where the cutting took place. His
brother made the discovery in the
early morning. after it Vas believed sll
the bodies had been gathered up. Gust
Gneyback, theSlav, had crawled away
fully five hundred feet. and his body was
| found on the grass. The nfher tn Viz