Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1922-10-20
THE D MURDER

pages Of New York newspapers and
begins TO command nationwide atten-
ton 1t Is fairly certain that, sooner or
later, the commentators will com
mcnce 10 draw comparisons between
It's details and those Of the Burdell
affair, n Of the most mysterious
crimes In the annals Of the metro,
pOlitan police force, a murder which
included every element of the sensa.
tlonal and bizarre.
Dr. Harvey Burdell, the chief figure
In the mystery, was a dentist who,
solely through his own efforts had
built up a wide and extensive practice
In the city and had been connected
with at least three approaches to
matrimony which had resulted in pre-
nuptial quarrels and consequent sever
ancc Of agreements. At the time Of
his death, DR.. Rurdell had been living
in a house rented by n Mrs. Cunning
ham, the dentist using one of the
front rooms for his Office and sleeping
Mt the rear. He kept only one serv-
ant, a combination Otice-bOy and valet
who slept outside the house. The only
residents Of the building were a manu-
facturer named Ezekiel and George V.
S%nodgrase, the son Of a clergyman.
One rainy afternoon DR.. Burdell left
the house about five o'clock and, as
cnVnru1 nprr,ta oft,rt-nr1. +n.tiGnl
walked in the direction of Broadway
up Chambers street. Mrs. Cunning.
ham and her two other dodgers were
in the house all evening, but heard
nothing which seemed in the least out
Of the ordinary, retiring at the usual
hour.
Early the next morning, the Office
boy attempted to enter DR.. Burdell's
office in order to attend to his usual
round OF cleaning and found that the
door appeared to be TANNED by some
heavy object pressing against 1t from
the inside, Pushing harder, the door
finally gave way and the servant stag
gered into the room, only to be halted
by the sight Of his employer lying
upon 'he floor, fully dressed and with
the lignl still burning brightly. The
corpse, however, was covered with
clotted blood und there were large
splashes Of blood over practically
every piece Of furniture in the room,
as well rs on the floor, the walls and
a portion Of tie ceiling. The dentist
mad evidently put up a hard fight for
his life but had finally succumbed to
the more than n dozen wounds fouRd
upon his body-wounds which had
very evidently been made by a long,
slender dagger, something on the order
of n s~tilett0.
Further to compllcate matters, the
Investigations Of the police developed
that at least two persons had been
connected with the crime-one Of
them having partially throttled the
dentist by means Of n thin cord, while
the other had repeatedly stabbed him.
The position OF the wounds also indl-
thltu lllHl one Oh lle dSSllldIlS WIS
left handed, for no ~rlght-handed per-
son could have delivered blows at the
angles of those in DR.. Burdell'S body.
Upon the slight evidence presented
by the fnct that Mrs. Cunningham, the
landlady, was lcft-handed, she was i'm
mcdiatcly arrested as We're ECkel and
S~nodgr1sS. But, at the trial, which
cnsded. the defense was able to riddle
the statements Of the prosecution,
with ridiculous ease, presenting a num-
her of counter questions which were
still Wsolyed by the theory of the
police that Mrs. Cunningham, with
the aid of her dodgers. had killed DR..
Burdell. Among these were:
Where had the dentist been during
the time which elapsed between five
o'clock when he left the house and mid
night, the hour at which the murder
had been committed? A number of
persons had seer him 20 ont, but no
n had seen him return.
Why had the noise Of the struggle
not aroused n oma in the next
house, separated only by a very thin
wall? What were the papers which
had been burned in the fireplace of the |
murder-chamber? If Mrs. Cunning
ham, ECkel or SnodgrasS had been i'm
plicated in the crime, why did none
" their clothes bear the slightest stain
Of blood, while the room where DIR.
BurdCll had been killed was literally
smeared with it? And. finally, what
was the motive for murdcr-Since the
dentists jewelry and several hundred
dollars in cash had not been touched?
After the trial, which lasted only
three days and resulted in the i'm
mediate acquital of Mrs. Cunningham.
the laudlady sprung another sensation
when she declared that she had been
married to Or. Burdell and that she
was entitled to his estate. Her con-
t~cntion, however, was never fully eS-
tablished and she lost her suit for the
property of the dead man, finally dy-
ing IN poverty In a tiny fiat in Harlem,
while DIR. BurdellS brother went in
sane rs Il result of the strain of the
trial and Eckell died in the Albany
penitentlary, while serving a sentence
in connection with the whisky frauds.
Years have elapsed since the Burdell
murder, but today the case is just as
n.,h Of a mystery as it was upon that
morning early in January when the
body Of the dentist was discovered BY
his valet.
"WHO WAS PAMELA?"