The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-06-29
MISS TEACHOUT
PROBABLY SLAIN
Indications Are That Minneapolis
Girl Was strangled Mon
day Night. Z
Body Found in Riversat st. Paul
Tragedy Of a Year Ago
Recalled.

body of the youns woman
found last night floating in the river
at the st. Paul boom, with a heavy
ribbon knotted tightly about it's neck,
of Miss Ruth Teachout, 1902 Third
avenue S, who disappeared from her
home Saturday morning, and it is
evident that she was the victim OF
murder. The Identification was made
by the young Woman'sI sister, Miss
Eva Teachout, and her grandfather,
G. M. Teachout, 1906 Fourth avenue
S. who were accompanied to st. Paul
by Journal reporter.
All the circumstances surrounding
the girls disappearance and the con-
dition Of her body point strongly. to
homicide. The ribbon was drawn
| about the neck hard enough to have
caused strangulation, and the decom-
| position of the body was great for one:
seyenty-two hours. This latter fact
seems to indicate that, the girl was
dead before her body was thrown into
the river, altho an autopsy will be
! held to ascertain definitely as to this.
on the sn head d, one Of S them ae 1 i It
| has not been determined, as yet,
whether were ante-mOrtem or post
mortem, nor whether they We're the
results. of blows violent enough to
have caused death. The truth about
these uncertain points will be obtained
when the anatomical examination is
made by the coroner. .EsET = a
While the police are, thoroly CON
WINGED that. the girl named Miss
| Teachout came to her death thru foul
means, they are at sea as to 4clue
upon. which; to: work, SO they say.
When the girl failed to return to her
home Monday night, inquiry was
n l,1yr Ia .I1Jt t1,iS oh
news of the girls whereabouts and
all day yesterday was spent. in search
for her. Yesterday morning her, hat,
} purse and umbrella were found on the
river bank near the Tenth avenue S
; bridge. No one near there remembers
ahvingr seen her, and as there We're
people in the vicinity all day Monday
it is believed that she visited or was
taken to the bridge in the night.
The fact that Ruth Teachout was
involved in the tragedy in the family
;, of Howard M. Taylor about a year
ago lends color to the suspicion that
: she met with foul play. Taylor was
employed in Minneapolis hardware
:, store, altho he is not attached to the
state auditors office. Miss Teachou1
was accused Of having been respon'
sible for the temporary disappear
ance of Mr.. Taylor. While he wa:
away, his wife committed suicide
| Mrs. TaylOr'S friends considered the
girl innocent Of any wilful wrong
y cannot believe that the tragedy Of {
= year ago and the present one are con
:. nected -
, The Strangu1ation Theory.
W. Delaney Richardson, superin
|. tendent of the Ramsey count,
E, morgue, is confident that the girl me
he = e,+,,0 lott VI
'. body is badly decomposed, rathe
:. more SO than could be expected Of on
. that had been in the water less THAI
: seventytwo hours, and Mr.. Richard
e son thinks that this is largely due t
It the fact that she died of strangulatior
Where death results from strangu
lation," said Mr., Richardson toda,
decomposition sets in much earle
! than in cases where death result
from almost any other, cause. !, Th
lr ribbon about this unfortunate girl
" neck was tightly knotted SO Tight,
:. r unfastened it. The cloth was in
bedded in the girls neck nearly a
inch and the skin beneath it was CT
and showed signs Of being bruised.
N am confident that she could not hay
u drawn and knotted it herself"
Another thing which was pointe
al out to indicate that Miss Teacho1
was murdered was the fact that h
4, body f1oated from near Is the Tent
c. avenue bridge, where her parasol an
err pocketbook were found, to the S
ty Paul boom, a distance of nearly te
be miles, in three days.
Had she fallen into the water ar
III been drowned, her lungs would hay
lis filled with water and the body wou
ne have remained on the bottom of tt
al river until the formation of gas
f. would have made it sufficiently ligl
of to float If she was strangled, hoy
he ever, the lungs would have RENAME
20. full Of air and the body would ha'
OF foated much more easily.
Cd Miss Eva Teachout positively iden1
Id fed her sisters clothing and a cam
n pin, her mothers keepsake, whit
was found on the body. Mr.. Teacl
ce out took charge Of the body and Q
he dered it removed to Minneapolis. Mi
s. Teachout was IS yaers old and h;
recently returned to the city from
visit in Michigan 24
=