The Paducah sun., 1906-01-31
OF Mrs. Mangrum's Death---NO
Clue Found Yet.
Postmortem at Nashville Showed
CoDclusively the Body Was
Mrs. MangrrIm's.
DETECTIVES HARD AT WORK.

the mystery surrounding the murder
OF Mrs. Rosa Mangrum than at first.
IL Will go down In criminal history
as one of the most mysterious and
baffling cases officers ever had to
deal with in the south and certainly
a parallel to some Of the notable
cases which during the. past few
years have puzzled shrewd detectors
of crime.
Drs. Louis Leroy and w. A. Bry-
an. two of Nashville's most promi-
nent physicians held a post-mortem
over the remains of Mrs. Mangrum.
The investigation on the part of the
physicians was made at the instance
OF Attorney General Price The re
port OF the physicians may not be
completed for several days, but II is
said that with the exception of the
head and face. the body of the wom-
an was found TO be in an excellent
state of preservation. The physic-
ians are said to have found numer-
Gus marks of Identification which
tailed exactly with the statements
of relatives concerning the woman.
The loss of hair on the woman's
head Is explained by some as due to
the hair catching on objects at the
bottom of the river and then being
torn loose and pulled out by the swift
current as It rolled the body on the
bed OF the stream.
Local detectives are satisfied be-
yond a doubt that she was murder
ed and that Il was a murder of the
most cold-blooded type. The most
puzzling feature of the affair Just
now is whether she met her death
here or near here, or at some dis
tant point; whether she was muir
dered in Nashville or st. Louis. or
Evansville. Detectives apparently
scout the Idea that she met death
here. but are inclined to believe that
the deed was done somewhere in the
vicinity Of st. Louis.
There are several evidences to the
fact that the murder was planned
and executed very quickly. IL could
not have been committed on a train.
and there is little belief that il was
done in a house, as attention would
likely have been attracted If an at
tempt had been made to carry the
body away. Some of the officers be-
lieve she was killed in the open,
whether on the river bank or some
quiet thoroughfare. There are little
evidences of violence on the body,
and since II is thought chloroform
was used there could have been but
little resistance on her part. The
fact that she had on much of her
clothes gives rise 10 the belief of an
open air murder The theory of sui
eide is advanced.
If detectives could find some trace
of Mrs. Mangrum after she left the
Union Station they would then have
good working clew which might
ultimately lead them on the right
track,
Rivermen say that in warm wealth
er a body will rise to the surface in
a period not exceeding nine days. In
cold weather body may stay in the
water for a period as long as three
weeks While under the water, the
body still floats and can go a long
distance from the place where 1t was
placed in the water.
According to the theory Mrs. Man
grum's body possibly may have been
placed in the river a long distance
from where Il was discovered, and
have fioated many miles under the
surface. II that is the case, Mrs
Mangrum might have been thrown
into the river near here. IL is be.
lieved from the state the remains
were found in that the body had
been in the water for some time, and
that 1t was tolerably well preserv.
ed on account of the cold water.
From all facts obtainable Mrs
MaDgrum's death seems likely to
have been due to robbery solely
Her money and jewelry were taken
indicating this and II there was any
other sinister motive. no trace OF IL
has been found. Mrs. Mangrum'
diamonds. which were fine ones,
were worn on her hands and possi-
bly, may have attracted attention.
There is an almost endless num-
ber of theories and alleged clues,
many of which officers are now
working on. but one thing is a set
tied fact. the murder is still a mys-
terry to the police and relatives, and
no tangible clue to the perpetrators
of the deed has yet been discovered
One interesting development Is
that despite the efforts of the detec-
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