The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1904-10-25

|Of SinAreSure-
| ly Paid
Intrigue Lasting for
Years Ends Badly.
ANENCOUNTER
Between a Woman
and Indignant Son
Of Her Paramour Results in
the Formers
Death.

Peoria, Ill, Oct. 22-Mrs. Nellie
Thomason, wife of a former promi-
nent real estate dealer in this city, is
dead at her home in Lacon, as the re-
suit of injuries received in a sensa-
tional encounter with Richard and
Jennie Higgins. son and daughter of
John G.. Higgins. member OF the
board of supervisors of Peoria county
and prominent in republican politics
Young Higgins is "a years old and his
sister is 20. They intercepted letter
written to Higgins. sr.. by Mrs Thom-
ason, In which she asked the older
Higgins to meet her in the depot Of
the Rock Island railroad in this city.
Higgins was at ST. Louis and the
son opened the letter. The missive
asked Higgins to be in the waiting
room. When Mrs Thomson arrived
she was confronted by young Higgins
and his sister. What took place is Q
mystery, as only the three and an
uncle of Higgins were present. Some
time later. however. the woman asked
A. C. Brant, the ticket agent. to assist
her to a train. He did so and when
she was gone. discovered the floor Of
the waiting room covered with blood.
The woman fingered in great agony at
her home in Lacon until she died.
Higgins is under arrest on a war
rant charging him with murder. The
case has created a sensation. Mrs.
Thomason had been IN a comatose
condition since Wednesday night, raj
lying enough at intervals to speak O
word or two. Her lip was severed.
both eyes were blackened. one shoul-
der was dislocated and her back was
covered with bruises. She was also
suffering from internal injuries. The
attending physician was unable to
rouse the patient sufficiently to get q
dying statement from her.
I'VE had been trying for years to
break up the relations between my
father and this woman" said young
Higgins. when we got that letter
my sister and l went to see IL we
could not make some arrangements
with her. We met her in the waiting
room. / went up to her and touched
her on the shoulder. She turned
around and said: oh. it's you, is it?
and drew out her hatpin. 1 then
knocked her over a chair. My sister
pulled me away and told me that
| do anything with her. That's all there
| was to It"
Higgins sister corroborated this
statement
| Mrs. Thomason has not lived witt
her husband, ]. W. Thomason, fol
| three years and at the time of hel
death did not know where he was 10
Gated. They were not divorced.
That Detective William E. Murphy
who was murdered under sensationa
circumstances in this city last June
was connected with the Higgins
Thomason case was a startling de
velopment of yesterday. II appear
that on the night Murphy was killet
he was shadowing John II. Higgins, a
the instance of the members Of tn,
Higgins family. Young Higgins say
that either on that night or on the fol
lowing night Mrs. Thomson called VI
the Higgins residence by telephon
and said: Murphy was a good frien'
of yours. Well, he got his tonight
Kierans Ga fellow detective Of Muir
phy) is your friend too. He will &c
his next" Mrs. Higgins Is wealthy
She married ]. II. Higgins 80 year
ago and had decided much OF her prop
erty to her husband.
Young Higgins says his family ha
made frequent efforts to break up tn
attachment between the elder Higgin
and Mrs. Thomason and had in val
offered her large sums of money. II
declares that she frequently called u
the residence by telephone and tauni
ed the family upon the failure I
break of the relations between tn
elder Higgins and herself.