The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1906-01-23
No Murder In This Case.

No Murder In This Case.
} The county was stirred on Wednesda
when it was announced that murder ha
been unearthed at Masonville. The stor.
was first told to the Camden authoritie
, and through their system of allowinl
newspaper men to examine the records a
any time the news was soon spread around
Wild stories of abuse and cruelty wer'
brought to the attention of Prosecutor
Atkinson, who ordered the arrest of AL
bert L. Jones and his wife
The basis of the charge was furnished
by little girl, named Clark, who is about
five years of age. Jones is her STEP
father. Her mother, for some reason,
separated from her husband, and took up
with this man Jones, the family living on
the back road to Centreton near Rancocas
Park The little girl, whose name is
Carrie, was recently taken to Camden to
live with Mrs. Baldwin, an aunt, who de-
cided that the child ought to have better
home surroundings. There were two
other children who were supposed to have
good homes at different places, but this
supposition was weakened by the story
told by Carrie.
Mrs. Baldwin says Carrie was uneasy
and fretful and would call out for her Sis
ter Mary. This continued to such an ex-
tent that the aunt questioned Carrie and
finally got from her the story that she had
been horribly treated by her stepfather.
Carrie also told that Mary had been
subjected to similar treatment and that
Jones had mutilated her body and thrown
| it into a little stream that runs by the
house. In order to make the affair COM
plete he had tied rope around the child's
neck, first attaching a large stone to it.
With great minuteness this child of five
years told this story, insisting on having
been an eye witness
Mrs Baldwin, after hearing the recital,
called physician who, after making an
examination, was reported to have con-
firmed portion of the child's story. On
Atkinson set his officers to work and in a
short time Jones was arrested. He is a
large, fierce looking fellow and when de-
tective Parker went for him it looked as if
there might be trouble for he ran to the
rear of the house where some firearms
were handy. Parker was too quick for
him, however, and soon had handouts on
him. The first exclamation of Jones was:
II didn't steal the chickens; somebody put
'em in the yard" He was brought to
Mount Holly and on being confronted
with the serious charge denied it in en-
tirety. He said the child supposed to be
murdered was living and could be found
in Delaware. He said he had never as :
saulted either of the children. The wife
was also locked up.
Following the information given by
Jones the Prosecutor sent Justice Jami-
son to Delaware to work up that end of
the case and received telegram that Mary
was there alive and well cared for. This
settled the case so far as murder was con-
cerned, but it was decided to hold Jones
on the charge of being implicated in the
theft of chickens.
While Justice Jamison was in Delaware
looking up his part of the case the Prose
cutoT was running out lines here. He
had the child examined by DIR. Prickitt
the prison physician, who reported that
the statements of Carrie so far as the abuse
was concerned, were untrue This was
entirely at variance with the report of DR..
White, the Camden doctor, and he was
called upon for an explanation. Instead of
supporting the statements he was reported
to have made, he said he never had posi-
lively asserted what had been published
and further added that he did not believe
the child's story.
Mary, the child in Delaware, has a
good home, and is living with a minister.
She goes to school and appears to be
happy and contented. She says she never
suffered any severe treatment at the hands
of Jones, but says he had Whip ed her at
different times. but" she added, imam
ma often whipped me, too. THAT the child
has never been criminally assaulted is an
indisputable fact
Jones has a bad record. He has served
a term in the New Jersey state prison for
stealing chickens. He has brothers and
sisters in Delaware who are very respecta-
BILE. This fellow is the 'black sheep" of
the family. In his earlier years he went
wrong. He tried following the water and
while in Philadelphia got into row with
some of the wharf loungers, in which he
received severe blow on the head which
sent him to the hospital. There it was
found that piece of the skull was press
ing the brain, but Jones refused to allow
an operation and the trouble is still with
him. His neighbors tell of his walking
around at different times in an apparently
dazed condition. He was arrested once
in Delaware town and his brother heard
of the occurrence and went to see what
could be done for him. He found that
Jones had been taken into custody in a
town where he was not known simply be-
cause he could not give a satisfactory ac-
count of himself. The pressure on his
brain was the cause of his mental aberra-
ton.
During the examination of the prisoner
on the murder charge he gave some in
| formation which was seized upon by the
haip IF xralna IN, 6ic0ouor-
ing the gang that has been bothering the
neighborhood of Masonville by stealing
chickens. AS a result Jason Archer, Wes-
ley Bishop. Budd Colby and John Bald
win have been taken into custody and will
be subjected to investigation.
There are various reasons assigned for
the origin of the story against Jones. Fol
loug time there have been numerous
thefts of chickens in the vicinity of hi:
home, and it is thought that other mem
bers of the gang, fearing the knowledge
possessed by Jones, tried this means to ge
rid of him. Motives in other quarters
are assigned, and there seems to be nj
doubt that the child who made the frs
statement was not capable of concoctinl
the story and that she was coached b,
somebody who had reason for the &C
ton. This idea should be thorough,
looked into, for while Jones may not b
the right kind of citizen, he is not en-
titled to be held up to the world as muir
derer and have his life jeopardized merel,
to satisfy the spleen of somebody whC
wants to crafty desire for revenge.