The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-01-08
BULLET HOLE IN
LENAHAN'S SKULL
Indications Are That the Man Whose
Body Was Found on the Rail-
road Was Murdered.

A great deal of mystery surrounds
| the death of John Lenahan, whose
mangled body was found on the tracks
of the Bloomsbury division of the
Lackawanna railroad, near the Dodge
mine, early yesterday morning.
Some workmen employed at the
Dodge mine found several pieces of
the unfortunate mans skull alongside
| of the track yesterday morning. and
sent them to Coroner Roberts, who ex-
! amined them carefully. He was SUR
! prised to find q clean cut hole Just the
size OF II bullet through the center of
! the largest piece. which he said ap-
| peared to DC the right side of the
| skull.
! He examined this carefully and eX-
| pressed himself last night as being
confident that the hole was made by a
bullet. As soon as he made the dis
covery. he FASTENED to O'Donnell's un-
dertaking establishment, in North
Scranton, where the remains had been
taken. He made q careful examlna-
tion of the small quantity of brain
matter which remained In the badly
crushed skull, but on account of the
fact that this was mixed with culm
and dirt, he could find no trace of a
| bullet.
Just how Lenahan came to be on the
railroad track at the place where his
body was found II he was struck by
a train, cannot be explained. He lived
with his family at liGg Brick avenue
North Scranton, and spent the greater
| part OF Sunday in company with his
wife, at the home of his sster-in-law
at the corner of Luzerne and Fifteenth
streets. He left there about 4 O'Clock
in the afternoon and went to the house
of his nephew, Daniel Lenahan, who
lives on West Jackson street. in the
Keyser valley.
He stayed there until between Q and
10 o'clock at night, when he left, say
ing he was going home. He was very
fond of walking and on previous oc-
casions, when he would walk home
from his nephew's house. he had al
ways taken Keyser avenue direct to
North Scranton. Neither his wife nor
his nephew can offer any possible ex-
PLANTATION as to how he could possl-
bly, have got as far out of his way as
the Dodge mine.
Mrs. Lenahan stated last night that
her husband never had any consid-
cradle sum of money about his per-
son and that on Sunday night lie
couldn't have had more than dol
lar. His watch, she said, had been
returned to her and there was no ap-
pearance of his clothes having beeeu
rihed.
She was asked If she could think
of any motive which would have inn
PEELED anybody to murder her husband
and she said in reply that she didn't
think he had an enemy in the world
She was puzzled, nevertheless, at the
place where the body was found.
Mr.. I.enahan was 50 years old and
had lived in this city for the past
thirty years. He is survived by q wife
ana six children: John. Thomas
Sarah, Margaret, Minnie, William
Bridget and Martha. The funeral ar
rangements have not yet been made.
II the hole in the skull discovered by
Coroner Roberts is a bullet hole and
if the man was murdered. 1t would APP
pear that the remains were placed on
the track to cover the crime. The
coroner has decided to hold an inquest
but has fixed no exact date.