The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-03-12

!, One of the best pieces OF 1nformdtion
ever received in this neighborhood was
the announcement made public last FIJI
day that the murderers of Washington
Hunter had been discovered and that
three of them were in custody. This in
formation came through the newspapers.
| Prosecutor Atkinson and Sheriff Fenton
had inside information for several weeks,
but very discreetly kept quiet.
The men in custody are Charles Brown,
alias Monheimer, Otto Keller, and John
Young. The latter is said to have been
the moving spirit. He had worked for
Hunter one summer and had told the
others how the old man kept money
around the houses. On this tip they de-
cided to do the job.
The story of how the New York author
tiles got on the track of these fellows will
make interesting reading some time, but
it is not ready for publication just now
Captain Titus, of the detective force of
New York, worked the whole affair and
will probably receive the rewards that
have been offered.
The men are said to have confessed.
This is the story Keller told:
''The four of US got together in saloon
on the Bowery and tried to hit on some
thing sure and easy. We were all little
leary about city job just then, because
the cops were getting too frequent. So
we picked farmer Then we threw up
a nickel to see whether t'would be a Jersey
| farmer or one on Long Island.
'It was tails and Jersey won. That
was good thing, too, for Young had
worked Jersey both ways, for wages and
for graft, and knew all about it. We
bit he picked out old man Hunter. He
said Hunter was old and would be easy
and that he had lot of stuff. So what
Young said went with the gang and we
had drink all round to Hunter, the Jer-
sey farmer, and then started off to do him.
"We left Cortlandt street on the Z
o'clock ferry boat that night and got to
Riverside an hour before midnight. 1t
was a devil of night for slush on the
roads. We all got kind of sore on Young
for taking US up there, because we had to
walk lot before he pointed out Hunters
house.
"Well, when we got there, Young stayed
out by the COW lot because old man Hun
ter had given him job once and knew
him. stayed by the gate and Brown and
the other man went up to the door and
knocked.
"The farmer came to the door him
self You'd have died laughing to see
him He had night cap on. His old
woman was behind, peeping over his
shoulder She had night cap on, too.
1t was pitch dark outside and kind of
drizzly. The old man held a kerosene
lamp up over his head to see by. l could
hear Young off in the COW lot smoker.
''The old man said to Brown and the
other man: Come in quick; it's cold out
| there
"And in they went and did the job.
And it was a mighty mean job at that
only one old silver watch, good for junk,
and about $4-dollar apiece. We'd been
better off laying low in the Bowery.
''But the fellows didn't get more, cause
they got scared. The old lady was game
knocked the old man over with a chisel
she got an old gun from somewhere and
| let 'er go. The bullet hit Brown in the
| leg, and we all sneaked. Brown left his
hat like damn fool The old man wasn't
dead when we left, cause the woman was
helping him into chair. The two were
all alone there.
Young told the rest of the story.
'Keller went off alone He walked all
night toward Camden, got freight to
Philadelphia and then got another freight
to New York. Brown, the other man,
and myself walked over to Burlington
and broke into church to sleep. / went
out in the morning and bought cap for
Brown and got some crackers and
cheese. Then we sneaked back to New
York on freights. 1t was bum job"
This agrees in almost every particular
with the reports first published about the
affair There is no doubt about Young
having worked on the Hunter farm. His
photograph was taken to Riverside and
was identified by many people in the
neighborhood. Brown, one of the gang,
committed burglary in New York after
the murder, and is now in Sing Sing, on a
sentence of three years. The Governor
of New York may allow him to be brought
to New Jersey for trial on the charge of
murder.
| Prosecutor Atkinson and Sheriff Fenton
have been in touch with the New York
police department for nearly month, and
they have no doubt the men in custody
are the fellows wanted.
| Several stories have been afloat in con-
nection with this affair, one to the effect
that the man named Keller is a former
resident of Mount Holly. This is incor-
rect. The men are all strangers. Neither
are they the tramps who have been under
suspicion from the start. They are of the
tough gang of New York city, and have
never been suspicioned or even known to
the authorities of this county. Another
story in circulation is that letter was
written to detective signed by Keller,
giving information of valuable nature.
A letter was received, but after careful
investigation the authorities promptly
pronounced it hoax.
The Prosecutor and Sheriff went to New
York on Saturday with the expectation of
bringing the prisoners home, but they
were unable to do so. The magistrate in
charge of the court insisted on all sorts of
evidence being produced and the officials
were compelled to return to this county
and get the desired papers. Sheriff Fen
ton went to Trenton and secured the re-
QUESTION papers from Governor VOORHEES,,
with which he started to Albany yester-
day morning. Prosecutor Atkinson, armed
with certified copies of the complaints in
the case, went to New York Chief of
Police Denness, went to Riverside and got
Joseph Rubach, and they, too, went to
New York. Rubach is the man who slept
in the Hunter house on the night of the
murder. He had worked on the farm for
a long time, and when shown photo
graph of Young, at once recognized it as
that of man who had worked at the
place under that name.
In the magistrates court the prisoners