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Made.Bloodhounds Find Trail, But No jar n ab'V2 t ;c 'vss ^oiher\ CI03. lK*iidsJ the weapon used by theArrests Have Yet Been jmwlerci, wl.ich was lt;Yand behind :bcI counter in the frortro,m, v;:ismuie j evidence— rifled money drawer— the motive ior the crime. The buctry axle had apparently served a double purpose, that of a death dealing weapon and a burglars “jimmy.” The cash register resting on the sideboard in the rear of the counter had been broken into and the contents removed. The piece of steel had been used as a pry and the marble top of the register was broken into and the till removed and placed on the floor where it was foundPiece Of Buggy Axle Was Wed-pon Used In Crime.SEVERAL CLUES HAVE ATTENTIONill[TOR018.lagerrtionlightlell’e.ail to oe 216iy, of • W.anks-jst ofinding ne toksgiy-f bis unily.itcheilIs, to*es.thisYork 8, Mr.olitic, iia forspentriends.i Mail of the :e and »ns to le pic-►edfordon this i -Doyleindent 1 vania,“Workre8by-ton.ed the opriat-and a eneral place, lie haul Post-is cityto'Bp*9 gain-Is sup-1 four 1 light rs fol* tat ion, it th# ie stp-is be-ape.C old and stiff in death, the body of v„ fJGeorge Moss, who ran a small grocery | by the officials, store and soft drink establishment near the Salt Creek bridge, was found early Thursday morning in the rear room of his place of business. A glance was sufficient to tell that the dead man, whose head was horribly beaten, had been foully murdered.James Hinkle, who resides on the Smith farm in South Oolitic, paused at the Moss store, known as the half way place, to inquire the best way across the bottom. Owing to the fact that the bridge between Oolitic and Spion Kopj is in course of construction and cannot at present be used, Ms. Hinkle was compelled to detour by the way of the bridge at the half way place,Wishing to make some inquiry about the route to take, Hinkle pushed open the front door and entered the build ing. Finding no one in the front room where the stock of groceries were kept, he walked to the door of the rear room.As he entered the threshold of the door a horrible sight met his eyes. The murdered man lay stretched full length on the floor, resting on his back, with his sightless eyes staring at the ceiling. A large area of the floor was covered with dark blood stains and great pools of blood had formed in the vicinity where the body lay. The head was laying to the northwest, a little west of the center of the room, with the feet pointing in the direction of the door to the store room. The right hand had in the death struggle grasped the round of a chair near the prostraterbody.After a hurried look at the dead man Hinkle ran out of the building and called Worth King, who was near. Mr.King looked at the bloody sc6ne and using the telephone in the building, called for Coroner Voyles of this city.Sheriff Box was then notified and both hurried to the place.Coroner Voyles and Sheriff Box arrived at the place about 7:30 and at once started an .investigation. The officers had no trouble in finding the instrument used to commit the murder and the blood-clotted weapon used by the guilty man to perpetuate his awful crime, was an ordinary piece of a buggy axle about 18 inches in length.. The piece of steel while not exactly new, had never seen serv:ce. It was in the form that is generally purchased by bUcksmiths and buggy makers, which is the round axle with a metal shoulder and several inches of square steel with square corners. The end is tapered to an edge in the form of a chisel.The murderer had, evidently from t 'le wounds on the head of the dead man, caught the piece of Bteel by the round part and had struck with all his strength. Blow after blow was rained on the top of the head and the right cheek. Practically all of the severe blows were delivered on the right side of the head and face Commencing on the right cheek on a line with the mouth the flesh had been horribly hacked. At a point on a li$e with the right eye the skull was crushed. The skull above this ugly wound bore the marks of the heavy iron cudgel. A blow on the forehead between the eyes laid the skull open as did a blow delivered at the back or base of the skull.That a fight for his life had been made was evident. The right hand, which, in the death struggles, had grasped the round of a chair, was cut and bruised, in the attempt to ward offAfter carefully viewing the remains the officer ordered the body lifted frorti the pool of blood and carried to the other Bide of tha room where a search revealed the fact that on his person was $63 in money, a watch and other jewelery. The find caused considerable wonder and many theories are advanced as to tho reason for the murderer and thief failing to search his victim.This, however* is not hard to explain, as after killing his victim and rifling the place, some noise, possibly some one passing the place, frightened him away.There are any number of reports regarding the amount of money that was hidden in the house. Some who were well acquainted with the murdered man place the amount as high as four or five hundred dollars.There are several different theories as to how the murderer approached his victim aAd where the first blow was struck, From the indications found this morning ani from the lay of the rooms, it appears that the first blow was delivered in the back room where the body was found.The building occupied by Mos3 and used by him as a grocery store, res* taurant and soft drink establishment, contains three rooms and is built upon a high foundation, and at the rear is several feet from the ground. In the front room wa3 tha grocery stock, with a counter running east and west across the greater length of the place. East of the counter is a door, entering the rear room of the place, where lunches and soft drinks were served. In this room Mo3s was found. The room is scantily furnished with a table, one chair and an ice box. The ice box is placed against the east wall of themurderer aiid left lying on the flodt inthe rear of the counter in the front room. Near the money receptee lay | the blocdy instrument of deaui and ' from both of these articles the scent was taken up. From there the dogs went through the building, going«' through all of tho rooms. From the! point behind the counter the scent led \ through the door into the north room, where thef body was found. After nosing through that room they malt;?c a rl cuit of an adjourn^: room, that had i evi ’ently been used for storage pur-p?ses. The dogs retraced their steps and left the building by the front door.From the building the trail led up the pike for a distance of about twenty steps and there turned through a gate. The dogs continued down through the meadow past the barn standing some forty yards from the house.Soon after passing the barn the scent led into a wagon road through the bottom. This was followed for a considerable distance. At one place the trail led off from the thoroughfare and made a short circle through a stubble field. When the dogs left the road the footprints of the man they were tracking were plainly visible in the soft earth of the tended ground.A short distance farther on the trail they again returned to the road and no more detours from the lane were encountered. Directly along the thoroughfare the dogs continued until the road that extends across Salt Creek intersects with the Bedford and Spion Kopj pike road. The pike road was followed for probably a distance of some one hundred yards or more, before the bloodhounds turned into an alley at Spion Kopj. The trail wound through weed patches, alleys, across lots to a house occupied by Frank Staggs and family in the extreme north part of Spion Kopj. The dogs entered the yard and went directly to the front door and into the house.When the dogs entered Staggs was not in the house. Both went directly to the bed and smelled about the covers. From there they went out of the rear door and trailed down into a corn field, a distance of about fifty yards from the house. Here the trail led to a shock of fodder, where the dogs stopped and were smelling about an object laying on the ground. Noticing the action of the trailers, Mr, Snow, who had them in lash, picked up the suspicious little bull that had so attracted the attention of the dogs and found that it was a long blade of fodder that from its appearance had been wadded up and used as a kerchief. The blade of corn was covered with blotches of red that had the appearance of blood spots. The crimson be-specked object was carefully preserved. From the scene of the finding of this important bit of evidence the dogsroom and near the door leading from the front room. The side or west room i made a short circle in the corn field.the blows. The hand had been split between the third and fourth fingers and had probably received the full force of the blow. On the back of the hand was another cut and on' theIwas used as a place to sleep and also to store plunder.It is the opinion of many that went over the scent the morning after the discovery, that the man who delivered the blow wa3 well known to the merchant. One explanation of the affair is that when the murderer entered the stove he concealed the weapon somewhere about his person and probably ordered something to eat. The ice chest is located just inside the rear room near the door. According to the belief of many the first blow wa« struck while the merchant was in a stooping position before the ice box,. This is borne out by the location of the hat, which was laying near the refrigerator. The band of the head gear had been cut almost entirely through by a blow fiom a sharp instrument. After being struck the first blow the man seemingly staggered backward, facing his assailant and endeavoring with his right hand to ward off the blows. After the merchant fell the murderer evidently continued to strike the prostrate man.From the fact that Moss must have been facing his assailant and as all the wounds were on the right side of the head, the man who delivered the blows must have been left handed.Shortly after 8 o’clock the body were taken to the undertaking establishment of E. S. Ferguson in this city, where it was prepared for burialThe bloodhounds owned by Joseph Snow, South 0 street, reached thescene of the crime about 8:30 o’clock, and were at once placed on the trail. The dogs were taken directly to the rifled money drawer, that had been taken from its usual position by theThe dogs spent considerable time at another shock of corn and crawled partly beneath. Thinking that something was concealed under the corn the shock was overturned, as were several, in the search of incriminating evidence. If there had ever been anything concealed under the shocks overturned, it had been removed, as there Was nothing Sucriminating found there. The dogs then continued their trail towards the house and would apparently have re-entered the domicile had they not been pulled off the scent.After the Snow dogs had been returned to this city, a bloo*) hound owned by Charles Blackburn, of Oolitic, was brought to the scene. The dog took the same route as that taken by the Snow dogs but before the home of Staggs was reached, it was taken off the scent.When the dogs arrived at the homeof Staggs, he was not at home, but ashort time later was mingling in thecrowd that had gathered near thehouse. Sheriff Box, noticing somespots on the working blouse of Staggs,questioned him concerning them. Theman is reported to have become angryat the questions and replied that it waspaint which said statement was verified by later examination.After questioning the man and look*ing around the place the officers returned to this city.In the afternoon Deputy Prosecutor John H. Underwood, with a search warrant and accompanied by Constable Eldridge Rout, Deputy Sheriffs Joe Ikerd and Lem Harbaugh, went to the Staggs home. The officers made a careful search of the property and found nothing to connect Staggs with the crime. In the afternoon StaggsATADES“THE HOUSE OF QUALITY;AH Special Sale Prices hold goolt;and including Saturday.Delay your purchasing noDOLL CONTESTOn Xmas day I will give away 10 fine Dolls to the 10 little girls holding the largest number of credits in thisDOLL CONTESTTo the little girl holding the largest number of credits a $10.00 Doll2nd a........................... $6.00 Doll3rd a. . . .......................$3.50 Doll4th a..........................$2.00 DollThe next three prizes will be of equal value, $1.00 Dolls dressed in Girl's Sailor Suits. The last three prizes will be $1.00 Dolls dressed in Boys’ Sailor Suits.All the little girls who desire to enter this contest will please call at this store register their names and addresses and get the credit cards to distribute to their lady friends. Remember this contest is open to all little girls who love dolls.RALPH C. C0SNER.The ]seemed willing to help the officers all that he could, saying that if the man had been walking about his premises he wanted to help the officers catch him. Staggs had changed clothing since the first visit to the place and had shaved and even changed shoes. The house had apparently just been cleaned up, as had a summer kitchen at the rear of the house which was used to 8tore old clothing.Staggs had been working at the P. M. B. quarry, but on account of Thursday being a holiday he was not working. He had not joined the crowd that flocked to the scene, but remained near his home and joined the crowds as they approached his home.It is co incidence that exactly twoyears to a day Dell Ross was killed inthe same neighborhood. Frank StaggF, the man whose house was searchedyesterday, was arrested for the crime and acquitted on the plea o{,self-defence. #It is rumored that Moss was in this city on the evening preceeding the morning he 'was found dead in company with another man. The pair is said to have stopped at a blacksmith shop in the north part of the city for some purpose, when Moss started for Oolitic his companion is said to have climbed up in the rear of the'rig. Whether this has any bearing on the case is not known.It is also alleged that some time ago9;If u.AT THE6)116)160 BRIM DRY 600DS HOUSEIf you are in the market for any of the below quoted merchandise we can save you big at»a trmi tr'ftrtinp- -with stores that arive rebate stamns? Bemembar they are absolute-mnnorrMoss had some * trotfble with an acquaintance over a horse trade. It is not believed that there is any signifi* cance attached to this incident.It is stated that there will be no arrests today. The actions of the officers indicate that they are making progress in their investigation and it is not at all improbable an arrest will result soon.Moss came to this county many years ago from Owen connty, moving first to Mitchell, About twenty-five years ago he removed to Springville, where he was engaged in the stave industry. Some fifteen years ago b s health broke down and he quit the business. Later he engaged in the saloon business at Oolitic and until quiet recently he has been continuously engaged in that busi* ness. With the expiration of his license some months ago he continued in his old stand selling groceries and soft drinks. He often came to this city and was a familiar figure on the streets here,Since quitting the stave business at Springville he recovered his health and at the time of his death at the age of sixty-five years, was vigorous and courageous and would «faave given his assailaint a hard fight had he had even a fighting chance.He had been married twice, the first wife and two sons and two daughters reside at Trenton, Mo.; and one son and one daughter reside at Oklahoma City, Okla.A wire was received this morning stating that Mrs. George K. William, the daughter residing at Oklahoma City, and two sons William and Samuel residing at Trenton, Mo„ had Btarted for this city and would be here Saturday to attend the funeral.Mrs. Craigie Moss, the last wife, with whom he has not been living for several years resides onWest 13;h str eet this city. The remains were taken there Thursday afternoon.| IT he funeral will be conducted from the home of the widow Sunday afternoon, by Rev. J. F. O* Haver. Burial will be at Green HilLCrc reste glass feet 1a.GrtHornStayOflI* / i [\
Newspaper Details
Bedford Daily Mail
Bedford, Indiana, US
Fri, Nov 26, 1909
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Pikes P.
CO, USA 17 Feb 2020
Other Publications Near Bedford, Indiana
Bedford Weekly Mail
Bedford Daily Mail
Bedford Democrat
Bedford White River Standard
Bedford Independent
