The Cairo bulletin., 1906-05-07
Body Found In illinois Central Freight Yards
With Neck and Arm Broken and Shot
aoI In Right Side.
MuRDERERs' HAT WAS FOUND

A murder mystery contronts the
people and police department of Cairo
this morning such as has not occurred
here in many years ana which, judging
from appearances as presented now
ingenuity on the part of the latter II
it Is to be solved.
At 1878 this morning police head
quarters was not fed that the body of
a man had been found in the Illinois
Central freight yards above the Stone
Depot Sergeant Cowell and several
officers hurried to the scene and found
the body TO be that of a young man
who, at first glance. seemed TO have
fallen from passing train and thus
met his death II was found that the
mans left arm was broken al the ell.
bow, and the railroad men who found
him sad he lay on hi: race with his feet
touching the outer rail of the track
running next to and along the long
freight shed above the depot. They
turned the body over, but none recog-
nized it. A yellow lead pencil was
found lying just inside the rail near
his feet. The railroad men felt sure
that 1t could not have been an aeci-
because no train had passed in or out
since 715 in the evening. and the body
had not been there at a much later
hour when they had passed the spot.
All doubt as to the manner of death
was dispelled when Coroner McManus
arrived. He found that the man $ neck
was broken and his left arm shattered
This indicated a heavy fall, There
was some abrasion of rhc nose and up
per lip, but not such as would be made
by a blow sufficiently hard to break
his neck and there was still no posi-
tive proof that death had not been ac
cidentally caused by some tran or en-
gine striking him violently, for the
broken neck was undoubtedly the
cause of death.
Further investigation left no doubt,
however. that II was a case of muir
der. The Dr. searched the clothing for
proof of identity and on opening
the vest the proof of murder presented
itself In the nature of Jagged hole
in the shirt, blackenei with burning
powder, and wrapped in the folds OF
the clothing the leaden missile was
found 32calibre bullet, with a
large chip cut out of its head, |
showing that il had come in contact |
with a hard substance. The bullet had |
entered the right side just under the
lower rib. had struck the rib and |
glanced off. making its exit about four |
inches from where It had entered.
This wound was not fatal, however
1t was merely flesh wound and would |
hardly have caured more than a lit |
tie soreness for time. The doctor |
probed 1t and found that IL did not ex-
tend below the skin.
The cause of the mans death was,
as stated the broken neck and how
this was caused Is q matter for some
speculation.
A careful examination Ct the /
ground developed an abrasion near
where the pencil was found, showing
that a foot had been set there, with
a heavy wreching tread; and IL was
concluded that the man had been shot
cn the platform Of the freight shed
and violently showed off the platform
to the ground which was fall of about
FIVE feet II he fell where the body
was found. the shove must have been
a very powerful one. for il lay quite
ten feet from the edge of the platform.
Elre he was showed off and then
dragged over the rails. In either case
he fall broke his neck. end may have
broken his arm. although that may