Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-05-06
SON ARRESTED
FOR MURDER OF
RICH ILLINOISAN
Boy Held for Murder of
Father at Jerseyville
Money Cause?

ace A. Reddish of Jerseyville. Ill,
was arrested today in Alton ILL.,.
on a warrant charging him with
the murder of his father, Stephen
NJ. Reddish. IS years old, wealthy
Jersey county land owner, whose
body was found in his home the
morning Of April 80 with bullet
wounds in his head.
At the same time the body of
Mrs. Rachel Cisco, a negro ser
want, was found in the home.
In the warrant upon which DR..
Reddish was arrested the Cisco
woman is not mentioned.
Not in a score of years has the
surrounding country beer stirred
as it has been over the murder of
Stephen Reddish, reputed to be
worth half a million dollars.
Admits Quarrel Over Money.
States Attorney Hamilton today
said evidence had been collected
practically pinning the double
killing on Dr. Reddish Recent
demands for money by the physi-
clan and the refusal by his aged
father and a quarrel have, it is
said. been admitted by DR.. Red
dish
The warrant was ISSUED by Fred
J. Bartman. justice of the peace
of Jerseyville, upon request of
States Attorney Paul NJ Hamil
ton.
When a message from Alton an
nounced that the arrest had been
made, States Attorney Hamilton
and Sheriff James Gait departed
for Alton.
Clarence Reddish, cashier of
fJerseyville bank, and brother of
the accused man, accompanied by
his wife, started for Alton about
the same time in an automobile.
Arrested at Garage.
The arrest was made at the ga
rage connected with the Mineral
Springs hoeel in Alton. The Alton
police had been requested by Jer-
seyville authorities to keep
watch on DR. Reddish and to de-
tain him should he show any dis
position to leave Alton, where he
had been since Wednesday, the dav
before the bodies of his father and
the woman were discovered in the
home
DR.. Reddish was returning from
St. Louis with his mother, who had
been patient in st. Luke's hos
pital His statement at the time
the bodies were discovered was
that when he reached Alton on
his way home from ST Louis his
mothers condition was not favor
able. and he stopped for the night
instead Of continuing for the re-
naming Is miles of the journey
from Alton to Jerseyville.
Soon after he reached the Min
eral Springs hotel, DR.. Reddish
says, his mother fell and injured
her hip, making it necessary for
him to take her to St. Joseph's
hospital in Alton, where she now
is.
With Mother When Hurt.
In Alton it is said that DR.. Red
dish was showing his mother the
plunge bath that is a feature of
the Mineral Springs hotel and that
she slipped down the steps and
injured her hip.
A steel box containing valua-
bles and papers had been tampereI
with and an empty pocketbook
was found on the floor in Mr. Red
dish's room
How Bodies Were Found.
The discovery of the double slay-
ing was made in this way:
Clarence Reddish, who is cashier
of the Jerseyville State bank, last
Wednesday received a telephone
message from his brother, Horace,
in this city, asking him to meet
his mother, who had been in a hos
pital there undergoing treatment.
Until the phone call Clarence had
assumed that his father was in ST.
Louis, but his brother over the
phone, it is said, professed ignor-
ance of the senior Reddish's
whereabouts, so he decided to see
whether his father was at home. :.
Suspicious he might be i'll, he took
DR. D. E. Beatty of Jerseyyille with
him and the two forced an entrance
by a kitchen window and, walking
upstairs, found the bodies.
Murdered Man Was Wealthy.
The elder Reddish owned about
1,500 acres of land in the Nutwooi
drainage district.
He was a native of Jersey county
and had resided in Jerseyville
number of years. He was 81 years
of age and Rachel Cisco was
about so.
Since the finding of the bodies,
the funeral and the coroner's in
quest Dr. Reddish has been staying
in Alton SO as to be near his
mother. His automobile was in the
Mineral Springs garage and after
he received a telephone message
yesterday he went to his room and
hurriediy changed clothes. Then
he went to the garage and ordered
his car.
The car had been SO placed in the
garage that it could not be taken
out in a hurry, and it was some
minutes before distractions to its
removal had been cleared away By
that time the police arrived and
placed DR.. Reddish under arrest.
Find Ticket for Revolver.
In Dr. Reddish's pockets when he
was arrested were found two pawn
tickets, one for a watch and the
other for a revolver. The revolver
pawned by DR.. Reddish. it is said.
contains empty shells and similar
caliber bullets to those sent crash