The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-12-16
MYSTERY IN
LILLE MURDER
Two Rewards Amounting to
$4,000 Have Been Offered.
VERY PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCES
Pistol Fired So Close 10 Victims Head That
Skin was Burned BY Powder Course
Of Second Bullet.
VERY PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCES

| David City. Neb.. Dec. l6.-The county
board OF supervisors. now In session here.
has offered a reward OF $500 for the ar
rest and conviction OF the murderer Of
Harvey Lille. In addition TO this. the
widow of the murdered man and her
father. ]. g. Hill. offer a reward Of $500.
1t is now over a month since this COM
munity was horrihed by the murder OF
Harvey Lille. The crime is shrouded In
mystery and while IT is known that the
J authorities and some detectives are fol-
lowing UP every conceivable clew, no ar
rest has yet been made.
The community In rife with rumors and
! theories about the murder and the alleg-
| ed burglary. but as usual, In such cases,
when one attempts TO run down any OF
the stories he almost invariably finds that
they have no foundation In fact, and are
simply wild fancies of a fertile imagina-
ton.
One Of the peculiar things about the
| case is the early hour in the morning In
which the murder occurred. which In an
unusual one for burglar to be operat-
u.
| case is the peculiar manner OF the shoot
| ing. Mr. Lille and his wife occupied an
upstairs bed-chamber. The bed they oc-
cupied was on the east side OF the room
close TO a window The husband occupied
the west side OF the bed, while the wife
slept on the east side, next to the win
BURNED BY POWDER.
The distance between the bed and the
window at the head did not exceed one
foot The ball that caused Lilies death
entered the right side OF the head. or the
side next TO his wife, providing he was
rying on his back at the time the shot
was fired. The bullet struck the head a
few inches above the temple and passed
nearly straight through. the slight devia-
ton from a straight course being down
ward. The victims head was powder
burned showing that the revolver, which
was S2 calibre gun was held In close
proximity when the shot was fired.
The other shot. which was fired at Mrs
Lille passed out through the east win
dow The revolver was held 30 close TO
the window that hole was burned In
the lace curtain and there were powder
marks around the hole In the window
pane. The bullet passed through the win
dow at a point about two feet above the
floor, on a level with the bed. After leav-
ing the window the ball sped along
across the street. lot and the aley-a
distance of about 265 feet-and was found
imbedded in the side of barn., about
eighteen inches above the ground.
This of course indicates that the revol-
yer from which the shot was fired was
held nearly level and not at an angle
such as would have been the case had the
party firing II been stsnding erect and
pointing 1t down at an object on the bed
BUCKET SHOP PATRON.
From the evidence adduced at the cor
oner's inouest IL developed that Mrs. Lii
lie had been a regular patron of a bucket
shop managed by Edward L. Runyon.
Mrs. Lille testified that when she first
saw the burglar he was on the west SIDE
of the bed. revolver In hand: she did not
hear the first shot. but supposed her hus-
band was hurt because he was breathing
hard Instlnctively she knew she was In
danger and rolled off the bed to the floor,
and just as she did so, the burglar hred
the second shot at her, which passed out
OF the east window.
As soon as the burglar had made his
exit Mrs Lille arose and went into the
adjoining rooms, giving the alarm to her
daughter and niece, who occupied one
room and slept together and to couple
Of serving girls who occupied another
room She waited until the girls got UP
and dressed. They then ut lamp and
went downstairs. The girls then went
Cu' and called ne1HnDOT "a DloCk AWAY
and doctor whose Office is only short
distance from the Lille home. While
they were gone Mrs. lille remained In
the house alone
AS 10 her dealings In the bucket shop.
Mrs Lille testified that she had but very
little dealing during the past year. She
said the balance on the transactions
would not vary very much from $50 either
way. on this point Edward J.. Runyon.
the bucket shop manager. testified that
since August E. 1902 Mrs. Lille had lost
81. 300 and that her net loss for the year
was 500.
HER LAST DEAL.
The day before the murder Mrs. Lille
had made deal In the bucket shop.
which had the trade been reported to
the company, would have made loss for
her OF $500. and she believed the deal had
been made and expected to settle. But
Runyan said he had not reported the
Transaction 20 his Arm. and intended 10
inform Mrs. LiSfie of this fact when she
came TO settle the 1900
Mrs. Lille said the $500 that was taken
by the burglars. represented money she
had. taken In at her trade OF dressmaker.
Mr.. Lille carried life Insurance amount
ing to Sll 900 or this amount $500 Is pay
able TO his i2-year-old daughter
The detectives say they expect To make
an arrest soon and intimate that they
have come upon a new clew that leads
them IN fhe murderer.