The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1911-11-07
ROBBERY EVIDENTLY
The BRUTAL CAUSE
BODY WAS FOUND ABOUT DAY
LIGHT SUNDAY MORNING.
Crime rommitted on Eastern Out
skirts of City in Building Occu-
pied b. Ruff.

Will S. Ruff, a. white man about 6O
wears of age, was brutally murdered
IN the little store room which is a
mart of the house in which he lived, On
the eastern outskirts Of the city, some
time during Saturday night, the mo-
tive evidently being robbery. His dead
body was found lying on the floor at
about daylight Sunday morning. A
blow on the left side of the head with
q blunt instrument had torn open the
skull, and the head was lying in a
pool of blood, and of the brains of the
deceased, which had oozed out. An
old axe standing against the fireplace,
with blood and hair on it, was evident
ly the instrument with which the das-
tardly deed was done, the injury be-
ing inflicted with the back or pole
of the axe.
From the position in which the body
was lying, it is supposed that Ruff was
standing behind the counter at the
time the blow was srruca, and that he
fell to his left, which threw his head
beyond the end of the counter towards
and near the fireplace. There was a
paper sack partly filed with candy
on the counter, and candy was found
in the hands of the dead man, the
theory being that re was filling sack
of candy from the show case for sale
to a. customer on the other side of the
counter, and that as he was leaning
over the counter to reach in the show
case, the fatal blow in the head with
the axe was struck.
1t is possible that there nay have
been only one implicated in the mur-
der, but it is strongly urged by some
that there must have been two parties
connected with it. Some of those who
studied the premises On Sunday morn
ing strongly advance the theory that
if only one person was implicated LII
the murder, and that was the person
on the other side Of the counter max
ing the pretence of buying candy,
that when the person picked up the axe
or made the motion TO strike, it would
have called Ruffs attention, and bas-
ing their conclusion upon this pre-
mise, they urge that one person must
nave BEEN on the front side of the
counter holding Ruff's attention by
pretending to buy the candy, and that
While Ruff was thus engaged, the blow
was struck by another person. All
this, however, is pure speculation. up
until Monday morning there had been
no, the slightest clue to the murderer
or murderers.
In Ruf's bed room, in the same
building, was found a small trunk
which had evidently been priced open
and ransacked. A cigar box with
a ten-cent piece in it was lying On the
bed by the little trunk. It is said that
Ruff kept his money in this little
trunk, and the finding of the little
trunk in this condition leads to the
supposition that robbery was the mo-
tive Of the murder.
The little building in which the
murder was committed is about lille
east from the public square, Straight
ont Main street. This section Of tn.
city is somewhat spaTsely settled,
though there is little store across
the street kept by Mrs. spehl, and the
dwelling of Mrs. Spehl and her fam
ily is situated there, and about 70
wards above the building where Ruiz
was killed is a larger store kept hy
Ruff's nephew. This larger store was
formerly occupied by Puff, but some
time ago he moved down in5o the
little building where ne Was kiilec.
The building in which Ruff was kill
ed contains three rooms. The west
room was used by him as store room,
in which he kept soda waters, candies,
frI,iis. and different kinds OF light con-