Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-08-09
TRUNKS IN MURDER MYSTERIES
Are Favorite Receptacles Of Homi
cides In Which To Hide Victims
Bodies.

Nv the discovery of the body of Mrs.
Charlton in a trunk at the bottom OF
Lake Como, Italy, another mysterious
rhine has been added to the long list o.
trunk tragedies which from time TO
lime have Mortified the world
To commit a murder is comparatively
easy The difficulty comes in when the
.rme has to BE concealed. Where the
identification of the victim must leao
to the discovery of the ASSASSIN, the
difficulty is increased At first sigh
,he Kidding Of the body in a box Woul'.
seem to be an easy and ready mode OF
disposal, provided always that the DON
md its contents can be kept Sullicleh'
long to render identification Impossible
AS a matter OF tact, however, IN every
case-with one CXcetpion-Where a box
las been employed discovery has fol'
lowed.
Although England set the example IN
..egard to box crimes. it is to the con
tinent one must go for, the majority o.
cases. In Paris, in the year 1852, .
bank porter named Ramus was poison
ed by his friend Ragey. The head wa
placed in a box and thrown IN tht
Seine, to be fished up almost immedl
ately afterwards by party Of boat
men.
in 1850 a well-known dealer in arr
brOnzes. named POirnr Desfontaines, al
old bachelor was murdered by his ser
want, one Won. Desfontaines's assas
sin sent the evidences of his crime IN Z
trunk to ChateautrouX Ito be LETT TIL
called for" There was no trace OF Vi
on to be found, and he was only cap
cured by an ingenious use of the public
journals devised by the celebrated DIG
tective Canler. Canlcr had a paragraph
inserted to the effect that all search for
he criminal would be useless. seeing
that he had managed to escape into
Spain Believing that the police had
abandoned pursuit, Won imprudently
show ed Himself in Paris and was APP
pretended.
A few years later Victor Domby imi-
jated Vion's exploit for he also dis
patched bis victim in a trunk, ito be
left till called for" This time the bur
len went to Lyons, and when the body
was found suspicion fell upon Domby :
friend CallouX, who had bought the
wooden case, ana had trundled it to the
railway station. not knowing what it
contained. Do,nby's guilt was brought
hCme to him.
A terrible example of oalousness is
that of young man named Vitalis and
a girl, Marie Boyer, who killed the for
mer's mother and remained seated or
tho box containing their victim the
whole of the day.
EI., .f.1l r fn hy- Inot ~
raud and Gabrielle Bompard was one
of the most deliberately diabolical con
ceptions that can ne cited. But, in
spite of their elaborate precautions, the
guilt of the assassins was established.
America can claim two notable in
stances of box crimes. In 1914 q man
named Samuel Adams was murdered
by John .. Colt, bookkeeper and
teacher of ornamental writing, in an
Office in the broadway. The remains
We're placed in a box and shipped on
board vessel bound for New Orleans.
But Nemesis followed. as with other
crimes of the same kind. The vessel
was Unexpectedly delayed for a week,
ard the nature of the hideous contents
OF the packing case was revealed.
The other instance is that of Alice
Augusta Bowlsby. a charming and
beautiful young woman. in whose
death d doctor was implicated. There
was good deal of mystery in the af-
fair. A woman. accompanied by a big
trunk, alighted from cab at the ter
minus of the Harlem River Railway.
and asked to have the trunk sent on
to Chicago. When she found that there
was no train that night she instantly
fled, leaving the trunk behind her The
murder was speedily discovered, and
the doctor in question apprehended
through pieces Of the victims garments
marked with her initials being discoy-
cred by the authorities in his house.
American can also beast of a terrible