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| Via Newspapers.com |
In fictional murder mysteries, sometimes the victim manages to leave behind clues indicating the identity of their killer. In the following real-life case, that really did happen. Well, almost. The “Twice-A-Week Messenger,” November 24, 1903:
Elmira, N. Y., Nov. 20--W. H. Clendenen, a telegraph operator at Brown, Pa., a station fifteen miles north of Williamsport, on the Beech Creek division of the New York Central railroad, was found dead in the telegraph tower shortly after 8 o'clock last night. At 6:50 o'clock the operator at Oak Grove, Pa., on the same road, received this message from Clendenen: "Send switch engine quick to me; I am being murdered by---" The wire opened and not another word came. A switch engine was sent to the scene and reached Brown in a short time.In 1904, the wife of a local lowlife named Sherman Jamison told authorities that he was responsible for robbing and murdering a series of telegraph operators--including Clendenen. When police came to arrest him, he managed to escape. In 1905, a skeleton was found in the mountains where it was believed Jamison had fled. It was speculated that these remains were those of the missing bandit, but this was never proven. In any case, Jamison was apparently never seen again. Clendenen’s murder was never officially solved.The body was found lying under the desk, the head crushed in. A bloody spike maul lay on the floor beside it. Robbery apparently was the motive, the watch and money of the operator being missing. Clendenen evidently recognized his assailant and was about to wire his name when he was struck dead at the key.
Clendenen should have given the name first: "I am being murdered by Blank; send engine---" Guess he didn't think of that in the stress of the moment...
ReplyDeleteThe worst is when the victim only has conscious time to scrawl a name, or part of a name, in his own blood on the floor. You can get the problem of, he knows he's dying, and he's trying to write to his wife to tell her he loves her, or to his estranged old friend to apologize for a misunderstanding, but overestimates how much life has left, so the court puts the very wrong person on trial for murder. I hate that.
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