The Saint Paul globe., 1902-02-25
FIND BRUTAL CRIME
AUTHORITIES ARE SHOCKED BY
THE BURNING OF A BOY I'm
AN OHIO CITY
ACCUSE FOSTER PARENTS
1t Is Charged That the Child Was
Slowly Tortured by Fire and
Then Almost. beaten
to Death.

WASHINGTON. G. H.. Ohio, Feb "a
Henry and Nancy Cross, colored, are in
Jail on charge of manslaughter, and if
one-half that is told of their awful treat
ment of Ralph Thompson, ten-year-oId
boy, who has been living with them for
the past month, be true, no punishment
can be too severe for them.
The lad was secured by Cross and his
wife at the Fayette County Children's s
home five weeks ago, and the evidence is
that they have literally beat the boy to
DEATH
Cross was released from the Ohio pen
itentiary three months ago on parole
having been sent there for chicken steal
ing. It is alleged he has hanged his
wife up by the thumbs One witness says
that Cross beat the boy all the way from
Heard Crying.
Sunday the lad was heard crying most
piteously, and it is supposed that he was
being whipped at the time He was
taken to a physician at IL O'Clock by
Cross and his wife, who said he had fits
He was then unconscious, and died
this morning. This afternoon Coroner
Bogess held a postmortem. The lads
toes and finger ends were burnt off and
other parts were burned. His sternum
and back were burned as if he had been
held against a red hot stove, scars
around his neck looked as if he might
have been hanged for punishment He
was beaten almost to jelly.
Claimed Innocence.
When arrested Cross and his wife said
they did not know the boy was injured
until yesterday. Sunday Cross strapped
the lad to the pump and thrashed him
TAr1
prison to the county Jail for safety
An examination from the postmortem
showed that death resulted from the in
Juries
Cross is said to have picked out
horses eyes with a stick
Dr.. E. M. Bogess, coroner of Fayette
county, says:
This is the most terrible case that I
ever met with in my life. Little Ralph
Thompson's body is in the most horrible
condition of any human body I ever saw
that had not been cut to pieces by the
cars, or in q thrashing machine.
Mass of Burns.
cit was a mass of scars, burns and
bruises. At first the physicians who as
sisted in the postmortem were of the
opinion that the child had been frozen.
While he may have suffered some from
of blows and burns. When 1 went with
Chief of Police Smith to the Cross home.
Cross and his wife told us the boy had
fallen against the stove and burned him
self. I asked them if he had wrapped
himself entirely around the stove, and
how the scars and bruises were produc-
ed. They could give no explanation and
] said to The chief, Take charge of these
people until I can investigate this mat
ter
Gross made weak attempt to explain
the terrible condition of the boys body,
but 1 told him he would have chance
later to explain matters. Supt. Tway,
of the Children's home, told me today
that when he turned the boy over to
Henry Cross he was a bright and per-
feetly healthy boy. es1
TearfuIIy Punished.
His fearful condition and death were
the result Of long and continued punish
ment administered by somebody. Chief
Smith says when Cross and his wife were
arrested they showed signs of being badly
scared. While there has been talk Of
violence being administered to Cross, 1
anticipate no trouble whatever, and the
law viii he allowed to take it's course
Cross is putting IN his time in his cell
in the county Jail crying bitterly. If the
charges against him be true he is evil
IDENTIFY beginning to realize the enormity
of his crime Should he be bound over
to court after preliminary examination
and indicted. he will be tried and not re-
turned to the penitentiary to serve out
the remainder of his old sentence but if