Smyrna times., 1908-07-22
WILL EXHUME WILLIAMS
BODY FOR MORE EVIDENCE
DETECTIVES HOLD TO SUICIDE
THEORY AND WILL INVESTIGATE
Believe That Old Man Was so Worried
He Made Way With Himself-Puz-
zIing Authorities of Both States.

Marydel, Md, July 81. Believing
that a second autopsy on the body
OF William Williams, the aged far
mer who was found hanging to a tree
IN Neal's thicket, Queen Anne S
county, CaccOunt of which is given on
our third page) may shed some light
on his mysterious death, Detective
Dick has gone to Centreville to con-
suit States Attorney Heating. While
the detective realizes that the brain
OF Williams is not in the skull, he
hopes to find other evidence on the
body which may point more directly
to either the theory of suicide or
murder. His main desire is to see
whether there are any marks on
Williams neck that could hae been
made by the rope. If marks are
found he believes the suicide theory
would have even more substantiation.
The detective has gone over all the
ground in Maryland and Delaware
with Constable Dunn. He leans
strongly toward the suicide theory,
despite the opinion of DR.. Joseph R.
Smith, who performed the post
mortem examination and said the
victim died from hemorhage of the
brain. DR.. Smith declares he found
a blood clOt on the brain, but admits
that he stopped his investigation
there, as he believed he had reached
the cause of death.
Strong Circumstances of The Case
The autopsy, he also said, was per-
formed under inconvenient circum-
stances, but he adheres to his theory
that the old man was struck on the
head with a piece of wood containing
a nail or knot, which caused a wound
on the scalp. 1t was also said bv
some persons investigating the case
that the old man was beaten about
the right hip with the same instru-
ment which made the wound on his
head. A small blood stain was found
on the license the old man had OBJ
tanned to marry Elizabeth Walls, but
the blood did not soak entirely
through the pocket All this the de-
tective and Constable Dunn regard as
favoring the theory that Williams
worried over the talk about himself
and Elizabeth Walls, left the Vessel
farm, II miles from where the body
was found, wandered about in the
woods from z p. M, July II, until !
late on the night of July 13. The
body was discovered the following
morning, and DR.. Smith said life
had hardly been extinct more than
10 or II hours. That no one has
been able to locate Williams from the
time he left Vessels until his BODY
was found has been one of the most
mysterious features of the case.
No Evidence of Robbery as a Motive.
There was no evidence about the
clothing to show the pockets had
been rifed and his papers were found
in order. RumOr has connected the
Walls family, John and Frank Vessel.
Frank Blessing, a son-in-law of
Walls, the father of Elizabeth. and
several other persons, but Dick and
Dunn appear satisfied they have told
straightforward stories and have
found nothing substantial to hack nm
the theory of murder. On the other
hand, he believes the stories of the
children of the victim, who say Will |
liams was in great fear of getting in
trouble about the girl Dick says he !
thinks that preyed upon the old mans
mind, which members of the family |
and others declare had been weak for
years. A number of people here now
favor the suicide theory.