The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-04-04
HELD AND MURDERED
HATTIE BRUEN, COLORED, SHOT
BY JOHN BURKE.
He oUAKED AT SUICIDE.
HAD PLANNED TO KILL HIMSELF
But LOST HIS NERVE.

His Paramount, and Third
Through Her Brain-The Tragedy
Occurred on Bay street, West.
Burke Left the Scene After Reload
ing His Pistol and Rode in a Hack
for Two HOurs-Arrested Three
Hours After Commission of Crime
by PatrOIman Deignan-Denies
That He Fired shots, but Would
Say Nothing More.
After sending a bullet through the
brain of Hattie Bruen. his paramour,
John Burke, colored, lost his nerve last
night and failed to send one through
his own head, as he had promised
to do.
Burke fired two other shots into the
woman's left side, in their room on the
second floor of No. 6S2 Bay street. west.
He reloaded his pistol and left the
house, but was arrested three hours
later by Patrolman j. ]. Deignan,
near where the crime was committed.
The negro had driven over the city in
hack when he was arrested by the
patrolman, who was off duty and in
citizens cloths. Burke was seemingly
in a stupor and feebly denied that he
had shot the woman.
There we're no eye witnesses to the
killing, although there were several
people in the house. They were on the
first floor and heard the shots fired.
Anna Gordon occupies the first floor,
and was in the front room with Jerry
and Tina Gordon, her children. The
woman told of the arrival and depart
ure of Burke and of threats that he
had made during the day. The Bruen
woman was standing on Bay street in
front of the house when Burke ar
rived, about 8 O'Clock.
Took Her Upstairs.
He told the woman that he wanted
her to go upstairs with him and she
readily consented, although warned by
the Gordon woman that she was taking
her life in her own hands, and that
Burke would certainly kill her as he
had promised to do. The negro and the
woman went into the house together,
and a moment later the Gordon wo-
man heard Hattie telling Burke not to
fool around her with a pistol. There
was some scuffiing and three shots fol-
lowed. Burke came down stairs and
left the house through rear door. The
Gordon woman sent her boy and girl
upstairs to see what had happened and
they found the dead body of the Bruen
woman. She was laying on her side
on the floor with her arms outstretched
! and her head resting in a pool of blood.
A CHASTITY wound over the left ear was
bleeding but the woman was dead. A
further examination disclosed the fact
that there were two wounds in
the left side less than an inch
apart. From the location of the
wounds Burke must have had his left
arm around the woman from behind
and in the case of the wounds in the
side had pressed the revolver close
against her body. There were powder
marks on the woman's clothing, show
ing that the revolver had been placed
close to her side when the trigger was
pulled. The woman had probably
fallen when Burke fired the bullet that
entered over the left ear and crashed
through the brains of his victim. He
evidently feared that she would not
die from the wounds in the SIDE al
though either would have resulted fat
ally.
Had Planned Suicide.
Burke had a large number of female
friends, and this is said to have caused
the killing. He appeared to like the
Bruen woman better than any of the
others, but quarreled with her yester-
day morning for having gotten into an
alteration with a woman named Will
liams, with whom he was on intimate
terms. He said during the day to a
number of persons, including the Cor
don woman, that he intended to kill
Hattie and then shoot himself. He told
the woman herself so, and showed the
revolver, but she thought his threat
was an idle one. 1t was probably
Burke's intention to do as he said, but
he weakened.
The murderer left Yamacraw and
walked down Bay lane in an easterly
direction. He was seen near the
Morning News building by a woman
and this fact was reported to Superin-
tendent Reilly and Detectives Stark
and Murphy, who arrived at the scene
of the killing shortly after it occurred.
The detectives, superintendent Reilly
and Patrolman Fogarty had already
searched all of Burkes haunts on the
West Side, and the detectives drove
rapidly down Bay street lane in an
effort to over take the murderer. They
were unsuccessful however, and
Burke had secured a hack at East
Broad street and Oglethorpe avenue
before the officers, reached the East
Side.
He engaged a hackman named
Charles Street to drive him for an
hour or more, and occupied the hack
for over two hours. Burke took three
drinks of sherry wine during the ride
and was looking for a saloon to get
the fourth drink when arrested by Pa
trolman Deignan. He drove to three
houses occupied by women of his ac-
quaintance, but found none of them
at home.
Asked Result of Shooting.
On Harrison street he met a woman
whom he called Big Lou" and asked
her if she had heard about it"
"How's everything? Is she dead yet
Burke asked. The woman said yes
and Street was told to drive to Hall
street. The cabman says that he had
no idea what the man and woman were
talking about and that he little dream
ed that he was carrying a murderer
with him. On Hall street an unknown
negro got in the cab, but Street was
unable to tell what he>and Burke had
said. They were driven to Whitaker
and Anderson street and at Drayton
street the unidentified negro got out of
the cab. Burke gave instructions to be
told Street to stop at bar
When the hack passed the saloon of
Patrolman Deignan's brother-in-law,
the officer thought that he recognized
Burke, and was following the hack
when it stopped and the murderer got
4I~~C g.