Putnam County herald. (Cookeville, Tenn.) 1903-1922, 1920-04-01
HORRIBLE CRIME
Corporal Raphael PerImutter Muir
dered and Mutilated
VERDICT OF THE INQUEST JURY

I
the big drive for army enlistments.
On Tuesday night the 10th Corp.
Raphael Perlmutter. a member of
the band was seen on the street and
never seen again alive by his COM
panions. He was reported missing
and careful search for a week failed
to disclose even a clue as to his
whereabouts. On Monday, March
29, about 10 o'clock a. m. Tom and
Harvey Kuykendall found his dead
body in the brush about two miles
west of the courthouse, near what is
known as the "old crock kiln" and
came to town to report.
Coroner J. r. Douglass went at
once to the place, summoned jury,
brought the body to town and began
legal inquest, which has continued
until Friday
Many witnesses were examined
and suspicion early pointed to GER
tain parties as guilty of the murder
or having criminal knowledge of the
affair. Wednesday evening Let Hill,
Negro woman made important
statements, and that night John Kir-
by made confession in which he
told the whole story, according to
his version, which was to the effect
that he and three other men induced
Perlmutter to go out with them, Kir-
by, Jim Madewell Alfred Smith and
Will Robinson, a negro known as
Greasy" That they had g6ne out
/. for the purpose Of gambling, and
arriving at a place near the place
where the body was found, without
any row having occurred, Smith shot
Perlmutter, the negro cut his throat
and Madewell beat up his head with
a hickory cane belonging to Kirby,
the skull being crushed in badly.
That Smith then went through the
dead mans pockets, and they car
ried the body to the place where it
was found. Kirby also stated that
Smith took whatever was found on
Perlmutter.
Kirby, Madewell and Robinson are
in jail here and Smith has been ar
rested in Detroit, Mich, where he
had gone soon after Perlmutter dis
appeared.
This is a brief statement of the
case as developed up to date, without
confusing our readers with many de-
tails.
The body of Corp. Perlmutter was
sent to New York for burial, he hav-
ing relatives there.
The motive for the crime is thought
to have been robbery.
Perlmutter was supposed to have
considerable money, drafts and post
office money orders with him.
1t was one of the most. horrible
murders ever committed in this Sec
ton, and the people are determined
upon a speedy trial and that every
possible effort be made to punish
the guilty whoever they may be.
The jury OF inquest brought in the
following verdict:
State Of Tennessee, Putnam County: |
An inquisition holden at Cookeville
in the state and county aforesaid, be-
ginning on Monday, March 29th, and
extending until this April End. before
J. R. Douglass. Coroner OF Putnam
County, upon the body of a person
identified as Raphael Perlmutter,
found dead about mile and half
west of Cookeville. and brought to
Cookeville, by the jurors whose
names are hereto subscribed, who,
upon their oaths, do say that the
dead body is that of Raphael Perl
mutter, member of the band in the
United States Army. Headquarters
Company, 26th Infantry, who was
at Cookeville with said
band, and whose residence prior and
at the time of his enlistment was in
the state of New York, but that he
was Russian Jew, and that he was
about the age of -- years, and
white man. They find that he had
been shot in the right side of the
head just back of the. eye, near the
temple, and in the mouth, with some.
thing like 80 or 3S caliber ball;
that he had been hit with some blunt
instrument, apparently stick, on
the right side of the head, that had
bursted his skull; and that his throat
had been cut two or three times.
The evidence disclosed that he was
killed on the evening of March 18th.
That about dark on said date, this
deceased, in company with John Kir-
by, Jim Madewell, and Alfred Smith,
went to the home of Will Robinson
(colored), near where the dirt road