Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1902-05-01


thf Ham Waite, a negro prisoner
I he HIM HuHsex county jail, has made II
1usiI f6A6ipn in which he declares that
rd q Killed Mrs. Elmer Collins, near
raj arel, Two weeks'ago. OF this crimo
DYE Wor1an's husband now stands ac-
Ienc' che nding of Mrs. Collins body,
Herr III $f6 throat cut and skull battered,
ncesS isHx sensation in the county, which
ut dEA ghtened by the arrest Of the
thestH ab8$M soon after his wife's funeral.
fur ttef pc habeas corpus proceedings
mpl yieef4A Aays later Collins was released
r in tA& Nominal bail of $500. Relatives
,end tho accused man secured Pinkerton
1t al ltaetIyes to work on the case, and the
Cate detectiyes also continued trying
ughl lSolVe the mystery, saying they had
more evidence against the
to bs On the day of Mrs Collins funeral
S arsratt vent to the farm of j. Walter
near Delmar, whore he had
orked. He quarreled with Anderson
conner bicycle and finally assaulted
With heavy club. Pratt
havtAd, but was captured by u posse of
.nnotrnu&rs and lodged in Jail.
The Pinkerton detectives and Sheriff
EARNED that he had been around
.hareaurM the evening before the murder,
Mlt1ld 1T was soon found that suspicion
oint&d to him. His shoes fitted foot
railrlnt& leading from the Collins home
th5n}thieket. When pressed by the do
IS fasctires Pratt finally made a confession.
In bis statement he says he was
Poseepipg in the carriagehouse at the
frorpllif1s farm on the night before the
iranAird@r. He awoke in time to hear
llins tell Mrs. Collins to bring $50
nv n some tomato seed to a field as soon
In WHha had finished her household work
M ri had set hen. Pratt says he was
roye 4zed with desire to get tho $50 He
rht,M ted until Mrs. Collins went to the
/ ann IriaEehouse, when, he says, he struck
hnyN with an iron bar and afterward cut
be,k fhroat. He then took the money
an{{N went toward small creek near the
su A6o.A Fearing discovery, he took off
ahift, which had blood upon it, and
iedthe garment and the money.
8. Hratt was taken today to the scene of
aEime, he volunteering to come and
r an w hnd tho spot where he had buried
mppey. Upon the arrival of the
orme tx at the farm, which included be-
ter o8ea the prisoner, Sheriff Hart and
+ an 4keutives Dimaio and Butler, Pratt
lege #1t iTectly to the carriagehouse,
the zNsre be showed the party how he had
fug HIN aleeping in the carriage, and how,
dere &B Being awakened he had heard
Hf1ef collins tell Mrs Collins to bring
n thWl Aoney with her. He saw an iron
siona JYing upon the floor, he says, with
,as HiQh he crept up behind her and
wer lltok her. Seeing "a Ratchet he struck
IA ron three times in the forehead with
hinpW H]&fie, and cut her throat from ear
,tionI 3saI He then went into the woods
publ II huried the money, but he was SO
Reritbit0d he could not remember the spot.
stat{ sfntt was brought to Laurel about &
to In Hook and was given hearing before
hayNI&}8trate Hearn. James Collins,
,allotKNaf of the murdered woman, made
rtlan NdnRit charging him with the crime.
ganga fAther was so wrought up that he
mploy$ld scarcely be kept away from the
q thyIFo In tine magistrates office. 1t re-
4 me fred the combined efforts of several
Ientlk 1is friends to keep him from Jump
II thH upon the prisoner. The excitement
ion III at fever heat, the crowd extending
loycsl 1qst tive squares around the magis.
disaI te's Office.
WI nsater II ratt was taken back to George
sur@n and locked up. Some doubt the
wv be tells and say that his mind is
n hal; .ected The confession, it is said,
, farms Written by one of the Pinkerton
iectives and Pratt is said to have
med his name to it in the presence
Magissrate Purnell.
Pm the day of the murder Collins and
Tn, u two little children left their home
@ con IEo to ~ field a milo away to plant
~ tnanafo ased. When Mrs Collins did
awarTt join him in the field, as he says he
rning. tsApeSAeu, Ne returned 10 me mouse
n anda been murdered He went, with
onaR children, to the farmhouse of George
: SIM. Henry, 200 yards away, and ex-
Ioline. lt9 9vsu, tnat Elua hau heeh muir
ahonF Farmers for miles around hocked to
az III, p home md an armed posse searched
a. iii surrounding country all night. The
i spi; hte detectives found some articles on
.;naar ich there were bloodstains and other
rcome $3.50 tS7' Ni teu oiIeih W arics
Bech .L'sna " III. Sosiihs was purle9
Il everyone for miles around attended
-. a. N funeral.
W VI Nhe friends of Collins in the neigh
khcod were firmly convinced of his
locence Sheriff Hart has believed
I'm the first that he was guiltless.
:, :, The authorities have learned that
I loel 7ik8k served q year in Jail at Princess
a AZ as, Nd.
nitte't ssorgetown, April %. Tho mystery
!, Sep vwh TAI the Collins murder is sur
ted bJundsd gats deeper and deeper. This
3, M RS. o Finkefton detectives who have been
'hand .iployed BY the Collins family to Sc
@ shofe evidence against some person other
in Aipler Collins, the husband of the
irdered woman, claim to be able to
owe the negro, William Pratt, who is
wv in jail here charged with muir
dyioekoua assault upon James Anderson,
hshVbe the one who murdered Mrs. Col
a galda.
oeners1ne Of the detectives came here early
wereturdey morning and put Pratt
rough the Sweating process' in his
lat the Jail, and by some means ex-
iui. tted y Confession from him. In this
= = ~ Measion, which was sworn to before
" ", nla .giatrata Purnell Pratt says he slept
, cels' carthage IN the Collins carriage
IL !, lia -use, the night before the murder, and
hloiis tho morning of the murder he heard
rali,llins Gall To his vito about the
MnIcio ney after Collins had gone to the
Ahepd, he said, be killed Mrs. Collins,
Mained the money and fled. But be-
In he could get away from the
street Muses. the neighbors had arrived in
,ann 4Ase TO the alarm given BY Collins
I'M; i,,ro, &6{ng frightened he buried the
row naY md the tomato seed that Mrs.
,5cot Inns &s to take to her husband in
Il y, Held. iii the woods near the house,
alma, yterdaY iternoon he was taken to
y"r} scene 81 'khe murder, having prom
70 III M to show where he had buried the