Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-25
DEAD BODY FOUND
Had Been There for Some
Days.
MURDER OR SUICIDE
MYSTERY SURROUNDING DEAD
MAN FOUND NEAR BELTSvILLE.
Coroner's Jury Unable to State Cause
Of Death-Colored Mans
Discovery.
MURDER OR SUICIDE

Circumstances surrounding the nnoln8 OK
the dead body of white man in a clump
of bushes on the place OF Col. Frey. near
Beltsville, yesterday afternoon. do not MAKE
IT clear what was the cause of death III 10
the opinion of some that the man may
| have been murdered and his body left there
to decompose or that he may have commit
ted suicide. People living In the neighbor-
| hood of Beltsvlle think the man was SICK
and that his death was due to natural
causes The only garments on the body
were blue flannel shirt and pair OK
brown plaid trousers. BuzEards had so
badly disfgured the body above the waist
that identification was rendered impossible.
A colored man who was repairing a wire
| fefce the farm of Col. Frey found the
body in clump Of bushes near the fence.
| The condition of the bushes indicated that
there had been struggle or that the body
| had been pulled through the fence.
Justice Benedict J. Gallant was sum
moned to coroner and he summoned
a jury con. osed of George Armiger, fore
| man; John Weems, William Brown, Realm
Lancaster, John Whalen, John G. Wilson.
| L S Wilson, +, NJ. Tile L. Hartley, j. Is.
| Harrison and ]. Wassman. There WAS
nothing to show the cause of death, and
| the verdict of the jury so stated.
The Finder Frightened.
The colored man who found the body
was badly frightened. He ran all the way
to the residence of Colonel Frey. and was
| hardly able to tell what he had discovered
when he reached there. An investigation
was started without delay. and the body
| was examined for marks of violence or
evidences of Identification. As already
stated the mans face was diSgured be-
yond recognition. His right index finger
had been injured at some time during his
life and his nail WAS claw shaped. His
hair was light mixed with gray. His legs
were we'll preserved 1t WAS the opinion of
DR.. Fox that the man had been dead since
early in the week. 1t IS believed that the
man had a mustache the color OF his hair.
When the inquest had been concluded in
quiries were made about the country to as
certain If any residents of the county had
disappeared but so far as could be ascer-
tanned there was no one whose whereabouts
| could not be accounted for. 1t was recalled
! that strange man called at the house OF
| minister at Beltsville Tuesday morning
| and asked for food. 1t was before the hour
| for breakfast and he was requested to
wait a few minutes He said he could not
wait as he was i'll. A description of that
man could not be obtained this afternoon.
1t was stated that that man was fully
dressed. A search of the woods and fields
has been made but without finding any ar
ticleS of wearing apparel Ihe absence or
clothing only makes the case more myS-
terious and causes the belief the part
of some persons that the man was muir
dered away from the neig ghborhool in VIII ch
the body was found, and that his body was
case il was necessary to have carried the
body some distance from the road.
Matter of Conjecture.
Nobody in the neghborhood OF Beltsville
has any idea who the dead man was. They
are satisfied that he stranger in that
section. How he anaged to get there with
but so few garments on they cannot under
stand. Had he been seen on the road in
such condition he would have attracted at
tention. 1t is regarded probable. how
ever that his clothing will yet be found In
the woods not far from the place where the
body was found. 1t was suggested that the
body may be that of J. p III. Crismond,
clerk of the court of Spottsylvania county,
Va, who disappeared from home about
three weeks ago, and who addressed let
ter to his wife telling her he would not re-
turn. Others think it may be the body or
John NJ. Hofmann, who disappeared from
his home in Baltimore a few weeks ago.
The body was buried on Col. Freys farm,
near where It was found, after the coro-
ners jury had concluded the investigation
The inspection disclosed that the lower jaw
ing. When Capt. Boardman was informed
this morning of the finding of the body ne
sent the police photographer to Beltsville
to photograph it, This was not done, as
the body had been inferred, and for the
further reason there was nothing left of the
face of the dead man.