New-York tribune., 1910-05-10
DAYLIGHT BURGLARS
KILL TWO SERVANTS
Aged Housekeeper and Hindu
Butler BrutaIIy Murdered in
Doctors Home.
THIEVES POSED AS PATIENTS
Gained Entrance That Way, Say
Police, and Slew Pair, Who
Surprised Them at Work,
with Pistol and Jimmy.


Some time between 8 and $50 o'clock
yesterday afternoon burglars entered
| the home of DR.. Mott D. Cannon at No
131 West 122d street and murdered
Mary Meehner, sixty-nine- years old,
housekeeper, who had been in the en-
ploy of the family for forty years, and
William Beman, Hindu butler. Both
the victims were first hit with a steel
Jimmy or a sharp iron bar and then
shot with a 32-calibre revolver.
The body of the aged woman was
i. found by DR.. Cannon when he returned
to the house at 5.45 O'Clock. She was
| living on the floor of the parlor on the
first floor. Beman. the butler. was
found at the door of the basement two
| ia gged gashes in his head and bullet
wound behind the right ear.
| DR. Cannon's home is a four story
| house. of Indiana limestone. with a
street entrance up one flight of stone
steps and a second entrance through
the basement door, which is slightly be-
! low the street level The house is IN
| the middle of the block between Lenox
and Seventh avenues and is adjoined
by many private houses of well-to-do
| persons.
DR.. Cannon lived in the house with
! Miss Julia Freeborn and her sister
school teacher the two women occupy
ing the third floor front, while Dr. Can
non had a room on the second floor rear.
| On the third floor rear lived Mary
| Meehner. the housekeeper. DR. Cannon
has had the old woman in his employ
for twenty-fi five years. and she had acted
as maid and nurse to his wife, who died
| about a year ago.
Victims Alone in House.
At the time of the tragedy in the
| house DR.. Cannon and the Misses Free
born were out, having left the house
| about 8 o'clock Only the housekeeper
and Beman the butler, were in the place
when the burglars entered. 1t is the sup
| position of the police that the burglars
gained admittance to the house by way
of the front door, passing themselves off
| as patients of the doctor. This belief
gains credence over any other by reason
of the fact that no doors or windows
| were jinmied From the evidence which
! the police and Coroner Winterbottom
| gathered Yesterday it is thought that the
men rang the front door bell. after wait
| ing until DR. Cannon and the Misses
Freeborn had left the house.
Presumably representing themselves
as patients of the doctor, the two men
succeeded in gaining entrance to the
house and were admitted by Mary
Meehner who told them that DR.. Cannon
was out The men are then thought to
have told the old caretaker that they
would wait few minutes, on the chance
that the doctor would return, as their
case was imperative.
Surprised in Doctors Room.
After the white haired servant had let
them in. and had left them waiting in
the front parlor, it is thought that she
went bac to the second floor, where she
was looking over the doctors monthly
account book. 1t was then, according to
the belief of the police, that the two men
started in to ransack the place, going
first to Dr. Cannon's room in the rear of
the second floor. In doing this they must
have passed by an open door which leads
4
! from the hall into the front room on the
| second floor where Mary Meehner was
b,1sv on the books This may have been
possible, owing to the fact that the old
woman was very feeble and defective in
| her hearing.
! Once in the doctors room. the burglars
went through a bureau near the rear
| window, forcing the drawers with a
! Jimmy and taking out five or six stick
| nins belonging To DR.. Cannon and 500
/ i'm bills While thus engaged they must
have made noise enough to attract the
attention of the old housekeeper. who
came down the hall To see who was in
the room.
From the position of her body on the
! first floor IL Is evident that when she
saw the men at work on the bureau she
! ran down the stairs to the front door
! calling for help. This call for assistance
must have been her death warrant. for
the burglars. using a revolver which they
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