Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1922-06-09
DANIELSON AND PUTNAM NEWS

heavy fence wire to the rails is more or
less matter of uncertainty, If Jencks
worked alone in piling up the barrier that
he probably expencted would ditch the
train he did mans size job, for the
discarded ties were large and heavy and
the night unusually sultry The especial
ly puzzling feature of the case is the
wire marks around Jencks neck These
marks are cut down into the flesh and
would indicate that moose of the same
kind of wire that was used to lash the
ties to the track was Topped around the
dead mans neck. This led to a theory
which still holds in some minds, but not in
official quarters-that Jencks was strangl-
ed and later placed by some one on the
pile of railroad ties that might have sent
lighter locomotive than the ponderous
freighter that crashed against it off tho
rails and into the ditch.
Another assumption is that Jenckes, in
his unbalanced state of mind, placed a
| loop Of wire around his own neck and
hitched himself to the ties as a part of
| his horrible and elaborate program of
passing out of this life with a train wreck
as a sensational feature of his going.
| Certain, in any event, is the fact that a
man wearing shoes with rubber heels did
much walking back and forth between a
pile of old ties corded beside the track
and the track itself exactly at the point
| where the obstruction was placed on the
rails The heels of these shoes supposed
4 ly belonging to the dead man, had Pc
culiar markings. 1t would appear that
| he had removed them from his feet rather
! than that they were torn off when the
train struck the pile of ties, for the shoes
were in good condition when found,
| though Jencks' right foot was partly torn
off. One readily can, in considering the
facts incline to the suicide theory, I'M
usual as were all the attendant circum-
| stances.
Those who believe in the murder the
Dry and have the cruel wire marks
around the dead mans neck to point to
in support Of their contention that the
man was strangled are without support
ing evidence. Up to late Thursday aft
ernoon no one had been found here who
had during Wednesday seen Jencks in the
territory. There is nothing at the place
on the railroad where he was killed to In
dictate that there had been anyone with
him or of struggle prior to the work
ing out of the train wrecking plan. Yet
two hats, both of which might have be
longed to Jencks were found with his
coat and vest and again, one of the
hats might have belonged to a companion
At daylight Thursday morning State
Officers Albert S. Field and Arthur w
Williams, accompanied by railroad police
and other officers, returned to the spot
where the attempt was made to wreck the
train and were successful in a search fol
garments belonging to Jencks that were
missing when his body was found lying
beside the track.
They found a rain coat, suit coat
vest and two hats-a straw and Fe
dora. In the pocket of the vest was
good quality watch. These garments
were found near a swampy piece of lanC
about 100 feet distant from the track
These finds were later turned over t.
Corner A. G. Bill and were later identi
fed by Mrs. Jencks as the property O
her husband. Disposing of the peculia
fact that two hats were found-and
demented man conceded1y might have car
ried an extra hat in roaming about tn
country-there was nothing about, tn
clothing to furnish a clue to what trans
PRED before the piling of ties upon tn
track was understaken.
In the present status of the case. one