Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-10-09
H. c. BURKE FOUND DEAD
Young Man Evidently Killed in Struggle
at Florence Sunday Night.
SECOND DEEP MYSTERY FOR POLICE
No Clue to crime L. known. Nor is
There Any Link to Connect
IL with RummeIhart
Murder.

ing. his body bearing evidence OF murder.
\ post mort,m examination showed
broken neck and disclosed a bruise at the
base of the nostrlls made by heavy blow.
Dr. u. a. Foote and Dr. W. X. Foote made
the examination at the morguC Monday
night They found severe bruise at the
base OF the nose and the skin was so little
broken they decided the blow had been
either from fist or some blunt instrument
Ike billy or slungshot. The breaking
on the neck. they said, in all probability
had been caused by the terrific blow in
the fac2s-
Several bruises were found in the right
temple, one of them severe and seemingly
made in the same manner as the one on
the face. No marks were found the
neck or on other parts of the body.
Coroner Brailcy says it is plainly case
of murder. lie thinks the nature of the
bruises admit on no other explanation.
An inquest will he held today, but at
what hour the coroner has not decided.
Like the Rummeihart mur1er, the second
one leaves no tangible clue as TO it's per-
petrator and simply adds to the overwhelm-
1 ing task imposed upon the police and de-
tectives.
Burke was about 20 years OF age. His
father, a well known live stock commits
sion man at South Omaha, died only about
one month ago
The body was found at $50 Monday morn
ing by William Kindred. an employe Of the
water works. as he was going to work al
the inlet house at the bank of the river
He had just passed beyond an ash car and
saw the body lying about six feet from tha
roadway with the head downhill on some
cinders. Being startled at the sight, and
I a I first he N no aS1ppn bsa
went to the body. II was lying on it's
breast, with one hand partly under the
| body and the other extended lengthwise.
/ with the hands closed The face was
| turned partly upward and underneath the
| head was a pool Of blood
Makes search mt once.
Mr.. Kindred Immediately called D. G.
! Hass, superintendent of the pipe lines,
/ and made an examination of the prem
! ises, but found nothing that would give
any theory as to the cause of death,
though their first impression was he
! might have fallen from the ash car.
| Young Burke lay about fifteen feet from
| the car and that theory at once dis
/ PEELED by the examination of the car which
had been loaded Friday and there was no
! evidence of any one having been on the
car.
1 SOIOucT bTAlley was dt once nOll1eu anu
arrived on the scene about o'clock. An
examination of the body showed the face
somewhat bruised and scratched with the
nose and lips swollen, as IL struck with
fist or sand bag No abrasion was Wis
| ible on the face to indicate that Burke
| had been struck by any instrument, nor
were there any evidences of any weapon
being used In an assault. The body was
taken to the morgue in Omaha.
The clothing was in such condition as tc
lead to the belief that If Pn assault was
committed it must have been elsewhere
than where the body was found lying. One
of the employees of the pumping station
said that about or o'clock Sunday even
ing he saw some person answering the de-
scription OF young Burke in the pumping
house looking at the machinery, but being
with a number of young people. he did moi
pay any particular attention to him. Ow-
ing to the pleasant nature Of the afternoon
there was a large number of visitors at the
pumping station and for this reason his at
tenton was not attracted to anyone par
ticularly.
1t has been the habit of both young mer
and women TO go down east Of the sidinl
used for loading the ash cars, a location
which gives an excellent view Of the river
and II is also a favorIte trysting place
The siding extends down along the rivel
bank nearly half a mile from the inlet
house and for over half that distance skirt:
the river bank and between the track and
river Is a steep bank overgrown with su
mac and other underground.
wide Open Plateau.
Near the inlet house is an open pIatea,
| of 100 or more feet, the track being 10
Gated about 200 feet from the big pumping
station. roadway leads from the pump
ing station TO the tracks and a trestle o.
about 'fifteen feet In height has been bull
! there on which the cinder and ash car
run for convenience in loading, the tract
being about a cars height below the enc
of the trestle to facilitate loading Thi
trestle or bridge lies just south of tn,
roadway leading from the pumping station
TO the inlet house and midway between tn,
two buildings.
An examination underneath, this trestl
or chute Monday morning developed tn,
fact there were evidences OF a struggle
In which one or two men and one or tw,
, women were participants, from the foot
. prints. Al the west wall OF the fran,
support Of the chute were manifest finRc
prints OF a bloody hand. which leads I,
! the presumption that the victim OF tn
=.
the trestle and there knocked insensibl
, and the body then carried out and Iai,
, where II was found.
Motive for Death n PuHsIe.
D IL is yet a mooted theory as TO the mo
? tive of the killing. The fact that severa
dollars in money and a gold watch wer
found on the body leads to the inference
! that another motive than robbery was tn
incentive. Yet al the same time IL i
thought possible that Burke was lure,
a under the trestle with the motive OF rob
berry and before accomplishing their in
tent the assailants may have been scarce
away and, biding their time, carried tn
body out and laid IL in such place an,
position as TO lead 10 the tehory that h
, had been killed by the cars or that n
had fallen on the ash car. However, tn
position OF the body and it's distance fror
the car disprove that presumption at tn
start. The only reasonably theory adopte
. by those Investigating was that Burk
y | was knocked insensible under the tresti
y and carried out where he was found an
l. that being laid in the position in whic
= he was discovered with his head dow
e hill he was strangled TO death BY bloc
e before he could have regained suficien
G consciousness to help himself Tn