Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-05-03

he did not see Josiah, and the opinion
OF those who are Investigating the
case is that John was mistaken, and
that his uncle at the time at which
he thought he saw him sitting at the
window, was lying at the bottom of
the cellar stairs, cold and stiff in
death. Both Sheriff SHUTS and Mr..
Richards express the belief that the
deed must have been perpetrated at
some time not later than Friday
night, and they are reasonably GER
tain from every indication that has
been presented, that the murder was
committed outside of the house and
| the body carried to the cellar and
deposited in the manner above de-
scribed for the purpose of covering
every suspicion. There was blood on
the clothing OF the deceased, which it
Is said shows conclusively that the
| murdered man must have either fallen
in his own gore or was brought in con-
tact with it in some way. Ii he had been
| murdered at the foot of the stairs as
thought by some, there would not
nave been d trace of blood below the
wound, as he fell with his head to the
bottom of the cellar, while his hips
and legs remained on the lower steps.
There is no dirt in the cellar except a
very thin coating of lime which has
fallen from the plastered ceiling of the
basement part of the house. With this
exception the dirt floor of the cellar is
perfectly solid. A quantity of differ
ent variety of earth from the clay
formation which comprises the floor
of the cellar was found on Mr.. Carr's
| clothing. 1t was loose black dirt, and
by many is said to be conclusive evi-
dence that he was murdered out on
| his farm or else while on his way to
town, and carried to the cellar for the
purpose of hiding the crime. All of
the above are substantially the theo-
ries that are being advanced, while in
4 the meantime, Coroner c. C. Powell as
sisted by County Attorney A. W..
Enoch, Sheriff Frank Suits and other
officials OF the county and city are bus
lily engaged in searching every possible
clew that is presented.
| Sketches Of the House and Cellar.
A Courier reporter and an artist for
the paper spent the afternoon at the
home of the deceased yesterday, in
search of any new evidence OF facts
that might be given to the public.
The sketch of the house where the bo-
dy was found, the drawing of the inte-
rlor OF the building, including the dark
cellar where the corpse was evidently
thrown, will assist the reader in form
ing an idea of the surroundings of
what is believed to have been one of
the most brutal and unwarranted muir
ders ever committed in Wapello
county.
The building occupied by Mr.. Carr is
one and one-half story frame struct-
ure which sits back only few fet from
the. road. The view of the building as
printed is from the south. The interi-
or arrangement of the ground floor is
substantially as outlined in the draw
ing accompanying this article. The
only bed in the house was in the south
west corner of what would be termed
the sitting room. Mr.. Carr lived alone
and consequently did not have the ar
rangement of his rooms as systematic
as some tidy housewife, but the sur
roundings were comfortable and the
old gentleman enjoyed life. There is
a door opening from the porch to the
room in which the bed is located, and
also door from the porch to the kitch-
en- which is the room included in the
west wing of the house. There is a
third room on the ground floor and all
are accessible, one from the other.
i The stairway leading to the upper
story is directly over the stairway to
the cellar. The door to the former is
from either the room where the bed is
located or from the room north of it.
The entrance to the cellar is from the
kitchen or room in the east wing of
the house. The stairs leading to the
cellar are steep and narrow. To the
left of the basement stairway is a large
brick pillar as may be seen by refer
ring to the drawing. Those who cling
to the theory that Mr.. Carr was muir
dered in the cellar believe that his as
sailant hid behind this pillar, and by
making a noise or in some manner
causing Mr.. Carr to enter the base
ment. The blow, it is suggested, could
have been struck by powerful swing