The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-07-01
STOLE WOMAN'S HAND
TO SECURE HER RINGS
Gruesome Feature Of Auto Fatality
at North Adams--Woman
identified.


North Adams, June 30.-Follow-
ing the accident yesterday afternoon
in which Miss Josephine Burke of ia
maca Plain and Frank E. Huxley Of
Boston lost their lives when their
auto was struck by a northbound
Boston & Albany train, the left hand
of Miss Burke, which was severed
from the body and which, 1t is said,
bore wedding ring, was stolen, aft
er the body had been viewed by Med.
ical Examiner 0. ]. Brown.
The hand was found 80 feet from
the body Newspapermen who were
among the first to arrive at the scene,
declared that when viewed by them,
several riggs, incMGng wedding
ring and guard, we're found on 1t.
The hand was viewed also by the
medical examiner and later was
placed with the body of Miss Burke
beside the tracks
During an interval of 10 minutes
before the body was removed to an
undertaking establishment, the hand
together with the rings was stolen.
The police are making frantic
search 20 recover the lost member
for determination of whether or not
Miss Burke wore a wedding ring is
expected to throw much light on the
case. Miss Burke was 43 years old,
and Huxley 81.
The couple, according to Edmund
Burke of Jamaica Plain, brother of
Miss Burke left Monday on bust
mes trip Huxley was travelling
salesman for hardware concern and
was making a visit to about 20 firms
in Western Massachusetts. 1t was
said last night by Miss Burke's broth
er, who is an undertaken in Jamaica
Plain, and who employed his sister
as bookkeeper that Miss Burke
made the trip to visit a friend Mrs.
Grace e. Briggs, in Turner's Falls.
However, according to Mrs. Briggs.
who was interviewed today, Miss
Burke did not spend the night wiz,
her, although she stopped at her
home about l5' minutes Monday noon
The clerk at the Mansion House in
Greenfield recalls that couple regis
tered in the hotel Monday night un-
der the name of Mr.. and Mrs, Frank
I e. Huxley CT Boston. An automobile,
with the Massachusetts registration
number 109, 1863, according to records,
at the Mansion House garage, was
put up there Monday night. This reg
istration number is Identical with
tha. on the machine wrecked in North
Adams.
Identification of the bodies was
made this morning by w. A. Twom-
bley of Jamaica Plain, who is en-
Iployed by Edmund Burke, brother of
Miss Burke. He declared that the
HUXLEY and Burke families are in
innate friends, and that Miss Burke
had accompanied Huxley on the trip
over the Mohawk Trail, which she
had never made before They were
returning to Boston by way Of Pitts
field when the accident occurred.
The bodies of the two victims
I we're shipped this afternoon at 4.30
to Jamaica Plain for burial. a
A peculiar feature in connection
with the case is that the bodies
are both to be sent to the brother
of the young woman, Edward c.
| Burke, an undertaken at Jamaica
Plain. 1t is said that Mr. Huxley
and Mr. Burke were inseparable COM
panions and in view of the fact 1t is
the opinion of many that Miss Burke
who left her home to visit in Turner's
Falls, might have met Mr.. Huxley in
Greenfield, and started home with
him.