Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-07
DOUBT AS TO VICTIM
Body in Church Stove Not
Pastor, Says Sheriff.
CARPENTER NOT LOCATED
Jawbone and False Teeth Only
Clues to Identification.
BROWNING GUIDED TO HOUSE
Two Missing Men Were Friendly.
Mechanic Not Seen Since
Journey to Hickey.

DETROIT. Mich. January with ru.
mors Of every description and stories OF
all sorts floating about the countryside
today near Columbus township, where a
dismembered body was found, yesterday
| afternoon. stuffed into the Methodist
Church stove, there Is not one positive
development toward solving the mystery
which shrouds the crime.
Suspicion of the accuracy of the identi-
ficaton of the body Rev. John II
| Carmichael of Adair developed today
Many people living about the neighbor-
| hood expressed doubt that 1t is the min
lister.
| Sheriff Wagenseil of st. Clair county
added weight to the suspicion by stating
that he is not positive that Rev. Car
michael was the victim of the horrible
| tragedy.
| But two men are missing from the
| neighborhood. They are Mr. Carmichael
and Gideon Browning, Il carpenter who
| lived near the minister, and for whom
the officers have been searching since
| the crime was discovered Wednesday.
Jaw and False Teeth Clues.
| With only the trunk of the body and
| part of the jawbone and the false teeth
left by the murderers Ratchet and fire
| to offer possibility of identification the
| sheriff made the startling statement to-
| day that he did not consider that the
| identity OF the victim is clearly estab-
| lshed.
The Identification Of Mr. Carmichael is
| largely based upon the fact that bloody
| clothing belonging to the minister and
| other possessions of his, including his
| spectacles, were found in the church.
| But Sheriff Wagenseil said today that he
| did not consider this necessarily positive
proof that it was the minister who had
been killed and hacked to pieces.
While the authorities Immediately began
| d search for Gideon Browning yesterday
afternoon, after the discovery of the muir
der. there had never been any serious
trouble between Browning and the minis
ter, so far as is known. In fact. they
are reported to have been quite friendly,
frequently driving about together.
Guided on His Way.
Tuesday afternoon Browning left a
Grand Trunk train at the nearby village
of Hickey and inquired the way to the
Methodist Church in Columbus township.
He said to two different men that he had
an appointment there with a man. c. o.
Conat. a rural mail carrier, and Thomas
Calvin walked part way to the church
with Browning to make sure that he MADE
no mistake in directions.
They left him a mile from the little
building. He has not been seen since.
No reason is known why Mr.. Carmi-
chael should have gone to the church, un-
less he had an appointment there.
Carmichael Supposed Victim.
PORT HURON, Mich, January THE
Rev. John ]. Carmichael, fifty-six years
l,i, 10 hol viz
tim of murder Tuesday night by an I'M
| identified aSsalant after a furious battle
| in the little Methodist church where for
of fifty worshipers.
| The slayer dismembered the body and
cas-, the pieces into two big stoves. to
be consumed by the heat of a hardwood
fire. Then he escaped.
Under cover of darkness he is supposed
to have driven the minister's horse to
Pine River where it was found yesterday.
hitched to tree. In the carriage was
Mr.. Carmichaers overcoat and some of
small village near Thornton, on the main
line of the Grand Trunk railroad and
twenty miles from Adair.
| Myron Brown. who lives near the scene
of the tragedy. was the first to discover
the crime. While he was waiting at the
ment the cold wind drove him to seek
shelter in the church.
| He was surprised to find the church
doors unlocked. Upon opening them he
pews and even the communion table
daubed with blood and fragments of
| bloody clothing Scattered all around.
Brown Notifies Sheriff.
Without investigating further. Brown
a bi u-he % had kew n
the church He returned and locked the
doors and then hurried to Hickey from
which place he notified the sheriff's Office
at Port Huron.
The authorities on their arrival at the
church found parts of the dismembered
body in the two stoves. located at the
front and rear. and discovered in one
stove the head of what was apparently
new Ratchet, the handle of which had
been burned off.
and it is believed that the dirk served
for the murder while the hatchet was
used to cut the body to pieces.
AS far as could be learned, the minis
ter was without an enemy. Ihat foD-
berry was not the cause was prdctlcallN
determined by the finding of coins In
the pockets of the charred garments and
among the ashes in the stove
Mr.. Carmichael was pastor OF thfee
churches His congregations were AT
| Adair, China and Columbus. He resided
With his wife and three children at
! Adair.
Il am going to drive to Columbus TO
arrange for the revival he told his wife
! Tuesday morning. Il will be back to-
night"
| About 1880 am. Tuesday he left
| Adair From that moment all trace of
his movements has been lost.
| Arson Cid Browning is suspected Of
the murder ~ diligent search has been
made for him by Sheriff Wagenseil and
! his Deputies.
| Just how Browning is connected with
the affair is not known. as it was stated
at Adair that the man has borne a good
reputation since coming to Adair. less
| than six months ago. The officers have
traced Browning to Hickey.
| The residents of Adair believe that
no one but ii maniac could have commit
/ ted such crime
Lecture on Interior Decoration.
| e. G. Dodson of the arts and crafts
| department of the Armstrong Manual
| Training School will deliver an illustrated
lecture in the assembly hall at Armstrong
| tomorrow afternoon at :45 O'Clock. The
subject will be Interior Home Decoration