The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-17
STRANGE MURDER MYSTERY.
The Old Detective Offers an Unsolved
Problem
Chicago Record Herald. J

tOnlCdSO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The night clerk had made long
argument to the effect that nearly ev-
cry celebrated murder mystery had
been solved at last. but old Barney
Patton, the house detective, refused to
be convinced.
Your theory that murder Will out
may be all right in what you call ceIe-
brated crimes" said the old fellow.
but my experience is that il won't
wash as regards the numberless minor
cases that are either never solved or
in which the culprit is never punished.
And it isn't always the fault of the
police, either. They may be morally
and most reasonably certain of the
guilt of a man or a woman, and yet
be utterly unable to prove it to the
satisfaction of a jury There are so
many obstacles in the form of court
practice, so many complicated hind
RANGES in the technicalities of courts
that. to me. the wonder is 50 many
criminals are punished.
II remember the first case I ever
worked on and what a disappointment
1t was TO find myself baked at last
by the fixed requirements of that ju-
dicial machinery that is supposed to be
inexorable in the pursuit of all wrong
doors 7 was sent mp from the city
to the town of Ford ham. which had
midnight murder The victim was a
married woman named Celia FordSce
who had recently moved into the
neighborhood and was living in a
pretty two story cottage at the edge
of town, with her husband and their
Only child. a daughter. II seems that
he had been detained tin late hour
at his store and. Having walked home
ward, was within block of his cot
tage when .he heard cries of murder.
and, running forward, saw Bertha his
daughter, in her nightgown. standing
in the front veranda seream ming for
help.
'-She excitedly explained that a bur
/ glar must have got into the house and
killed Mrs. Fordyce while she slept.
/ It was nearly 10 O'Clock that morning
when I reached the house glad 10 find
/ that the authorities of Fordham had
| taken charge of the place and that
/ the house and its contents had been
| kept I'm the exact condition prevailing
during the night of the crime.
| learned that Mrs. Fordyce's body had
| been found on the floor of the back
| parlor nearly six feet from the bed
/ which she had occupied: that Win
! chester rifle. the muZzle in her hand
] had been found beside the body An
examination of the body and of the
! room showed that two shots had been
| fired-both from the rife. One lodged
| IN the woodwork OF the bed Just above
I through the woman's heart. and was
/ found under the skin near the spinal
column.
''Fordyce told me that the rifle had
! always stood in the closet Of the room
occupied by himself and his wife That
since his coming to Fordf1Im. it had
never been out of its leather case II
/ bod
found the weapon. taken it out OF its
case and turned il upon the Awakening
| woman. Was there another weapon
in the house2 There had been he said.
a pistol, which was always kept load
Ell under his or his wife's pillow.
lSNhere Was it? Nobody knew ! ques-
boned Miss Bertha, who was denure.
rather eoniely girl OF perhaps IL She
had been asleep IN her room. which
was the hall room on the second floor.
The first shot had awakened her and
she remembered sitting W in bed to
| listen. Hearing no further disturb
ance. but quite frightened. she got UP
and bolted her door on the inside Then
she heard a second shot and mo-
ment later the sound as of body fall
ing. then a rush of footsteps I'D the
carpeted stair and back through the
hall leading the length OF the house.
1t had been some minutes, she thought,
before she gained cOura ge 10 light the
gas Then she called down over the
balustrade, but. getting no answer
came into the hall. lighting each gas
jet as she went. till she was in tine
reception haH downstairs From there
she saw her mother. face down on ths
, floor Unlocking the front door. which
, was fastened with 2 Yale lock and OF
! the latch. she went out on the verands
and began 10 scream Then her IA
Their had come running That was al
, either Fordyce or his daughter couIe
tell about the matter
Il went back through the upstairs
hall and found the window at the enc
raised about two feet I looked out am
saw on the tin roof of the little sum
nler kitchen below a leather rifle case
Then I searched the whole house frofs
cellar to attic but found no sign Of tn.
. missing pistol. No robbery had beer
. done because Fordyce identified every
thing of value. ard even showed n,
about $500 in bills. his wife's pin money
which was tucked carelessly into al
. old painted or gilded gourd on tn
. dresser. I was puzzled about the Pis
tolls disappearance but conclude,
? that The robber had secured that first
had probably awakened Mrs. Fordxc,
! | in that way and made Oft after tn
, murder with the revolver in his pocket
: Yet how or why. having secured tn
. pistol. the intruder had found time .
: | cause 70 1Incase the rife and sFSs II j.
preference TO the smaller. Ia ndier gun
couldn't figure out That robbery IA.