The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1923-01-06
court Hears
HORRORS OF
HOODED band
Barbaric Murders
Of Tw 0 M e n
Are Portrayed
by Pathologists
BY T.. A. sHELLNUTT

Ey T.. A. SHEILNuTT
COURTHOUSE, Bastrop, La.
Jan. 6. - Watt Daniel and
Thomas r. Richards were crush
ed 10 death by hooded terrorists,
pathoIogists who examined the
broken, mutilated bodies testified
today Ia the open hearing here.
With barbsrous ingenuity and
caIIous indifference, hands. head
and feet were wrenchsd from tl1e
battered bodies, DIR. Charles w.
DuvaI and DIR. John A. alsnford
testified.
Scientific means were used To
break each arm In three places and
then the chest cavities Of the helpIeGe
victims--one a world war veteran
and the other his friend-were
smashed in by ''pressure applied
from front and from back" the Wit
nesses declared.
The most grucsoms outrages tn
the pages of history were outdono
that night behind the veiiso of dense
foliage in sheltered spot In the
wooded section near Mer Rouge amer
Daniels father had been brutality
BEATEN and two others had beeu
severely fiocged by the hooded her
ror. The Spanish inqussitions. TURK
ish outrages and tortures Of Apocho9
\ in the days OF "a were far ieng ~
human than the tragedy Of that
black night an described In IlO1l1r-
iana's public hearing.
Rumor generally has credited tA4'
murders TO rage Of fury by one nlc1
member who had been unmas18d ~
Daniel batticd TO free himself. me
story had been whispered about tha<'
after the unmasking DANIEL nn0
Richards had been shot down to pvo-
vent them exposing the men.
! But the physicians in their report.
under the heading Pertinent Co1n-'
ments." declared:
''rhe striking symmetry an1
character Of the bone FRACTURES
and their relationship to the -
juries surrounding soft tissueo
suggest that the body WA -
Jccted to some force spcctnl
designed for inflicting punk
ment."
DR.. n. NJ. McKoin. former m1yor
OF Mer Rouge. wanted by the tk1te
I'm connection with the kidnaplnG1
and murders. was at liberty today
on $1,000 bail He was arrested ou
a charge Of murder when he a.
rived here from Baltimore.
Then the remains were wired 10
iron wheels and cast into Lake Il
Fourche. The reports are prmc-
ticaily identical except that q crude
operation was performed on Daniel.
Much OF the findings under ''pexti-
nent comments" are unprintablo.
In part the report says:
Body is that of well-developed
and nourished white man. without
head, feet and hands. II IL noted
that some of the bones Of the g.
tremities. particularly the upper. ere
protruding thru the fragments %
the clothes and flesh"
Then is described the Operations
performed on Daniel.
THE tendons and ligaments about
the stumps OF the legs and forearme
are ragged and uneven as tho they
had been torn or pulled from their
attachments"
THE bones OF tho body. particu-
iarly those of the extrcmitics. are
found fractured. The strikinx
features OF fractures OF the long
bones are their character similarity
and symmetry. These fractures ron-
ularly occur at the upper. middle
and lower portions respectively Ia
each instance. AS a rule they are
eaui.distant and approximately throo
and one-half inches apart. Tho char
acter OF the fractures indicates that
they are produced by a crushing
force or one in which the force was
applied simultaneously from uoro
than one direction.
Then most of the ribs. together
with the right clavicle and breast
plate are fractured and dislocated.
The ribs were broken loose and are
fractured and dislocated. The ap%
pearance and location of these fraq-
lures to the bones OF the thoracfo
cage would Indicate that the forco
was applied simultaneously on the
front and back OF the torso.
THE greater portion of the skull
is missing"