The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-04-17

is an adage that does not always
hold good. 1t seems strange that
IGEM,M a person could be murdered in
- cold blood and the murderer es-
cape without leaving a trace, yet this is
done, and it is not rarity.
With all of the detectives, who have Sc
cured their training by years of expert
ence and with the close police system that
now exists, it is yet possible for a murder
to be committed and the person responsible
for the deed escape detection.
There is very plausible theory, however,
advanced by the police why murderer
might escape more easily than any other
criminal. A man may be taken, for in
stance, who is a house-breaker. 1t will
take him some time TO learn this branch
of the business for it is something similar
to learning a trade. In the course of his
first year the chances are that he will be
arrested and do his Bit in the peni-
Tertiary. In this way the police get his
Bertillon measurements, and they also
learn his methods of work. When he gets
out of prison all they do is to keep track
of him, and if burglaries are committed and
the work resembles his-for it is said all
burglars have their own way of working
they have simply to locate their man. If
he has left town they can send his picture,
together with his measurements, broadcast
over the country, and it will not be long
before some policeman will pick him up.
Now, the difference between a burglar
and the man that commits murder Is that
the latter does not necessarily have to be a
criminal with record, and he may never
commit but the one crime.
When he covers up all trace of this one
crime he does rot necessarily have to leave
the country, but can go on living as he has
always lived, and no one will ever be the
wiser. Where a has not criminal
record it is harder for the police to find him
than If he has before been arrested for he
can cover up his tracks so easily, and, as
dead men tell no tales the police have
no clews whatever to work on, and they
are perfectly at sea as to knowing who
committed the crime what relations ex-
listed between the murderer and his victim.
Captain Kinney. of the detective force,
was asked the other day by Journal re-
porter whether or not murder will always
out" The captain is rather skeptical on
this matter and did not hesitate to say
Taking down a book in which all of the
murders are recorded an idea entirely orig
inal with Captain Kinney, which has not
been in vogue many years. he said.
This record does not go back a great
many years, but by looking over it you
can readily see that murders very often oc-
cur and we are unable to find anyone who
was connected with them. There is seldom a
of this kind that we do not have some
one under suspicion and / will venture to
say that in nine cases out of ten we are
right if the truth could be known, but we
cannot get evidence enough to convict the
persons we have under suspicion.
All of this time the captain had been
turning over the leaves of the record, and
finally coming to a certain page he said
Now here is a case where a man was
killed and suspicion pointed very strongly
against man. He was arrested, but with
the evidence we had we could not hold him.
THE murder l am speaking of is that of
Andrew Dillon, who was for years the mar
shall of Haughvile before that suburb was
taken into the city.
"On the night of June IS, 1890, while
Dillon was making his rounds he met a
number of young negroes coming from a
dance. They were making a great amount
Dillon ordered them to their loud
talk and of course an argument followed
during which he placed one Of the negroes
under arrest Before he could get away
with his prisoner one of the crowd drew a
revolver and fired at the marshal, killing
him instantly.
ut was known that the negroes were
from this city and the police worked dill
gently on the case and strong suspicion
rested on a certain colored man. In fact
il was of such n convincing nature that he
was arrested. but l said before the evil
dence against him was not enough to con-
Wet him and he was acquitted"
Here is another case" said the captain,
as ne looked over the large book in front
of him. This occurred in 1891 and at the
time created quite a sensation on account
of the mystery that surrounded it.
"A farm hand who was employed on the
Hanna farm, south of the city. was on the
morning of July IL going through a field
in which there was a large spring from
which water flowed all the time. When he
arrived at the spring he was Mortified to
find q dead body, which, owing to decom-
position. ii was almost impossible to
identify.
There were however. marks at the base
of the brain whichc showed that whoever II
was-for the victims identity was never
ascertained-had been hit on the back OF
the head with some kind of a blunt instru.
ment. About this murder. for there was nc
doubt that IL was a murder, nothing was
whatever To work on.
"Who the victim was and who was his
murderer. and whether he was killed al
this particular spot. or taken there from
distance. was never learned. This Is one
of the few murders on our record where