The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-10-22
to Fire Bullets Into
Bodies of Women.
WERE SHOTNINETIMES
Man Also Had Four Bullet Holes
i'm Body.
Leads Officers to Believe There
Were Two or More Murderers.


miles west of Kansas City, Kan, has
convinced the police that two men
| committed the crimes.
Mrs. Van Royen was shot three
times and her sister. Miss Rose McMa-
hon, received six wounds. The women
were found in the kitchen of the
house.
Van Royen. who was a short dis
/ lance away, cutting wood, was shot
| four times.
| These circumstances, the police say,
make it obvious that one man did not
do all the shooting. The ordinary 81
| calibre revolver, such as was used TO
slay the victims, holds at the most six
cartridges. If one man. armed with
| two revolvers, had done the killing, he
would have had to have shot the wom-
en-, reloaded his revolvers and gone to
where Van ROyen was working TO nave
shot him.
Had this been the case, say the Off
| GERS Van Royen would have heard
| the shots which killed the women and
would have started toward the mouse.
That he did not hear them, is proven
| by the fact that his body fell on the
spot where he was cutting wood. This
leads the police to believe that while
the first murderer was shooting the
women, the second murderer was kill
| ing Van Royen.
At the suggestion of physicians who
! examined Miss McMahon's body. police
are attempting to learn if the girl had
a disappointed sweetheart. The hrst
shot fired into Miss McManons pooy
| doubtless killed her, physicians say
and they believe that only hatred or
extreme jealousy could have prompted
! the murderer to fire five more shots
into her body.
The suggestion has been made that
the sweetheart of the girl inveigled
mysterious stranger who had been
seen about the farm in the last few
days to plan the murder and Kill van
RCyen while the sweetheart murdered
she women. The stranger probably
got the missing $500 and the jewelry
| for his part in the crime, the officers
| think.
tricts, both here and in Kansas City.
Kan, has been made in an effort to
find the stranger who has become so
prominent in the triple tragedy.
Tramp Seen in NeighbOrhood.
The only stranger seen in the neigh
horhood OF the Van Royen home was a
tramp going west Monday afternoon He
| is described as about So years old,
weight $50 pounds. six feet tall, with
eray hair and eyes. He wore a faded
brown coat, striped trousers, vest of
light material and a soft hat This
nan walked with a slight limp and
carried a cane. He stopped at the
home of W. D. Van Fossen, about a
mile east of the Van Royen home.
Mrs Van Fossen =. as afraid of the
tramp and locked the door. He went
to the rear of the house where Mr.. van
Fossen was working.
II want to get another dime to get a
bed with" he said to Van Fossen,
showing a similar coin
What are you doing?" Van Fossen
asked him.
Just going through the country"
the stranger replied.
why don't you work, saw wood or
earn your money like do?" Van Fos-
| sen Intercepted
I'm too Old the stranger said. He
left the place without receiving aid.
Van Fossen described the man as
| of a striking appearance and says he
would know him If he met him again.
| The same man stopped at the home
| of John Craft who lives east of the
Van Fossen home. and made the
same request there. Mr.. Craft also
refused to aid him. The man was
! last seen going west toward the van
| Royen home.
1t is the opinion of the neighbors
| that some tramp murdered the Van
Royen family. Their theory of the
| crime is that who ever committed the
| murder had gained the confidence of
van Royen and had accompanied him
| to help haul wood to the house. Van
Royen is said to have been an affable
man and very communicative. 1t is
believed that he might have given
/
money he had and the man with him
killed him in the woods and then
went toothe house to rob the women.
Reward Is offered.
The Wyandotte county commissioners
Icffered reward of $500 yester-
cay for the arrest of the murderer.
7 his reward is so framed that 500 is
offered in each of the three cases. JOS
| eph Brady, undersheriff of Wyandotte
lcounty telephoped to Topeka asking
Governor Stubs to offer reward also,
hut the governor was out of the city.
'rhe OFFICERS base their theory of rob
berry upon the fact that Van Royen was
planning to go to Colorado. His farm
had been offered for sale and he had
considerable money in his house. or it
was believed that he had. Because the
house does not appear to have been
searched for this money shows, the
officers say, that whoever committed
the crime knew where it was kept. Had
stranger the house would have been
| found in disorder. AS it was, only the
! trunks were unstrapped. In one of these
two empty pocketbooks were found
The bed clothing appeared to, have been
raised as if by someone reaching I'M
der.
Murderer Knew of Money.
| THE murderer was some one familiar
with the premises and acquainted with
! the family, and not a tramp" Joseph
19gsart, prosecuting attorney of
Wyandotte county, said yester-
day after he and Albert Beck
er, sheriff, hal visited the farm. st be-
lieve that the murderer. for there ap-
pears 70 have been only one, first shot
I, Mr. Van Royen and then the women
| Anyone unfamiliar with the farm would
not have known where he was in the
woods and a tramp would have ran
sacked the house to find the money.
while the thief appears to have
known where it was. The tramp seen
in the locality appears to have Deeri a
man about so years old The murder
was committed Tuesday afternoon.
from the facts that the lamp IN the
room had not been lighted and the
leaves that covered Mr.. Van Royen's
body were wet. showing that it had