Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1903-01-23
MURDER MOST FOUL
Probably Connived at, if not
Perpetrated by Sworn Off
GERS of the LaW--Inexplica-
BILE Verdict of a Cor0ners
Jury.

HtO u WV VI - W.
Jury.
(Staff Correspondence of the SPECTATOR
Crimora, Va, Jan. 22-The horri
bic and brutal murder of DR.. Walter
b. Wine, a former resident OF this
neighborhoOd whose mutilated re.
mains were brought here for buria
last Saturday, is the absorbing topic
of convers 4tion here and sensation
throughout the county. The crime
was committed in Dupuyer small
town in Montana, where the doctor
lived and is most diabOlical in that 1t
seems 20 have been participated In by
a number of persons and connlyed at
by sworn officers of the law.
The annals of crime can scarce boast
an instance of such nerve and bOldness
as is shown by these Montanans. They
murder their victim in his sleeping
apartme nts, the deputy sheriff dlscOv-
ers the body in it's blood, the coroner
and a sworE jury view the mutllated
remains and render verdict of death
from heart disease, then the family
of the deceased is asked what dispOsl.
tion shall be made OF the remains. AS
If to add further horror to this shame
less miscarriage of justice the victim is
buried with secret order hODOrs and Is
followed to his grave by his comrades,
who if they knew the circumstances
of his tragic death dared not speak.
1t seems colossal plot or a colossal
intimidation in which a whole cOmmu-
nifty must have shared.
As repol ted in the Dupuyer papers
sent here, DR.. Wine was last seen alive
on Monday, the 5th inst. For three
days thereafter his whereabouts was
unknown, but as he was in the habit
OF visiting country patients, nothing
was thought of his absence by those
who found his office locked However,
on the third day after his disappear
ance a deputy sheriff by means of a
ladder climbed to an open office win
dow and looking in, discovered the
dead body of the doctor. Tue door
was then forced and those who entered
found the body in its night clothes ly
ing near writing desk on which sat
lamp with charred wick aud empty
bowl, thus showing the crime to have
been committed at night while the
lamp was lighted; and the body found
in its night robes indicated that the
victim had been aroused from sleep,
perhaps to write a fake prescription for
his murderers.
Then began the mock judicial pro-
ceedings-the coroner summoned bis
Jurors and together they viewed the
victim, for there he lay with his head
crushed as all egg she'll, from the eye
brows hack over the dome of the scull
and down to the spinal column. Gan
inc cnt wounds appeared above and
below the left eve and the forehead
was crusbed in. the result of not one
Int many blows from some heavy
hlnnt instrument. The verdict of this
inrv was "death from heart failure, },
and was an reported in the local town
nanars tooather with the further fact
that "the iury found no marks of vic.
ieuca IN th2 nerson of the DECEASED ;,
and that sshis death must have come
neacefnllv and suddeply.n The coro
ner then sent this message to DR..
Vines mother:
Dupuyer, Mont, Jan. Z. :
Dr Wine found dead In his room TODAY
of heart disease. What shall we do with
the body.
Signed. w. b. STERN.
This message was sent on Wednes.
dav. received here Thursday. and i'm.
mediately answered. directing the body
to he sent East. Without waiting fol
renly the remains were buried. escorted
to the grave by the secret order The
Woodmen of the World, of which sOci.
ETY. the deceased was an honored and
popular member. The coroner then
wired that burial would take place
at Dupuyer: upon receipt of which the
Wine family sent a peremtOry message
ordering the body exhuned and ship.
ped here. which was done. after having
lain in The grave five DAYS. At O'CLOCK
last Saturday. twelve DAYS after the
tragedy. the remains reached here
DR. n p Rbwman. a practicipg phv
sician at Crlmora. and who conducted
the post mortem examination, was
seen nv the SPECTATOR representative
and made the following interesting
statement
DIR. BOWMAN STATEMENT
or as Of tho station when the body
r;uod +ooa+her with q number oi
ot iar rsl . and friends of the fam
~, undartakar WiIheroer of New
~ Wcno w va also nresent with his hearst
it ~ 80 %" oharoo of tho hodv which
, mos s at once taken to the home of Mrs
Sn Sc Wine ahont q mile north of this
,,,nne " immediately after arriyint
tharo tho coska ut was onened for tht
, rmn Of identifvinp the body and
70 pu note f,ei IFS condition.
W . IT, iv davshad elansed since dealt
aud we sxnected to find the remain
ana n W. o SiscoIored condition. which
~ az was not the case. On exam
;notinn We were Mortified to discoye
,,mn;S.aIable sions Of violence abou
10 haad God face and I'd once CON
, m0n neu !. this STARTLING fact to th
ta,m,iu Soon Afterwards I returne
hnma INT was that night called on h
a ao non,her of the family who said tbs
On antorsv and in0nest on she bod
a az aI 1872 3acidod mon and that
n'a a ~ taka CHARGE of the examination,
: Ms7 Tho funeral was arranged for I'll
n ns mounting if was imperitive tbs
nc vork he done at once. 80 at q
e ea bour was again at the VIII
y