The New York Herald Newspaper, November 8, 1878, Page 3

NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER § 1878—TRIPLE SHEET: . GHOULS AT-WORK A. T. Stewart's Body Stolen from St. Mark’s Churchyard. WHAT YESTERDAY'S DAWN REVEALED A Shocking Desecration Committed Un- der Cover of the Night. THE FINGER OF SUSPICION. Snocess of the Miscreants in Avoid- ing Detection. THEORIES OF THE CRIME Was Blackmail the Motive of the Resurrectionists ? WHAT JUDGE HILTON SAYS. No Reward To Be Offered for the Re- covery of the Body. ACTION OF THE POLICE. The Sleuth-Hounds of the Law at Work Upon the Case. ILLNESS OF THE MILLIONNAIRE’S WIDOW. Publio Indignation Aroused by the Horrible Outrage. A profound sensation was created yesterday in this sity by the rumor that the grave of the deceased mill- fennaire Alexander T. Stewart had been desecrated ‘and his remains carried off from the vault in St: Mark’s churchyard, where they have lain since April 18, 1876, At first the rumor was received with incre- flulity, Men eould scarcely recognize the possibility of such a revolting crime, but the rumor proved to be snly too well founded. When it was fully recognized Qhat this outrage had been committed the deepest in- @ignation was manifested by the citizens, and con- siderable surprise’ was expressed that such s crime sould have been committed under the pe hh a the police, THE CRIME DISCOVERED. ‘Taking sdvantago of the storm on Wednesday night ® gang of robbers effected an entrance into the grave- yard of St. Mark’s Church, and breaking into the vault carried off Mr. Stewart's remains. The thieves ‘complished their nefarious work without inter- . Waption, and it was not till yesterday morning that Whe crime was discovered. At seven o'clock Francis Parker, the assistant sexton of St, Mark’s Church, wpon entering the churchyard glanced over to that part of the grounds fing Second avenue, and to his astonishment discovered fresh earth lying in the stunted grass immediately in the vicinity of the Stewart family vault. At first he thought the earth fed been taken from the Worthen vault, a few fest distant; but, when he ran to the spot, be saw at a glance that the covering had been removed from the tomb of Mr. Stewart. He then hurried from the churchyard, aft «' carefully locking the great iron gate on the Eleventh street side, and sough: Mr. Ham- mill, the chief sexton. The two returned to the spot ‘and descended to the vault below. . The first object that attracted their attention in the Bloom was the heavy casket in which the body of the merchant prince had been enclosed. It had been re- fmoved from its resting place and was lying near the weaterly side of the wall and in close proximity to the steps. Upon examining the lid of the outer oaken box it was discovered that the screws had been care- fully taken out on both sides and that the lead lining bad been cut with a sharp knife. It had been wrenched from its end fastenings and had again been placed in its old place. This was removed, and when the main casket was reached its lid was found to be anscrewed, and whea they put their hands in they tealized that the body had been taken away. Tho sil- ver plate on the reverse side of the lid, immediately over the face, had also been pried off and carried away. ‘THE SCENE OF THE OUTRAGE. St. Mark's churchyard, the scene of the outrage, Mes in the very heart of tho city. It is‘ exposed to the view of passers by on three sides, and this fact had much to do with the incredulity with which the story was at first received by the public, for no more anlikely place for the commission of such » crime eould well have been chosen. Unlike ordinary church- yards, there are neither monuments nor standing tombstones to obstruct the view or screen men mov- {ng among the graves. The memorial slabs marking the resting place of some of the most honored of New York's dead are almost hidden in the grass and the wurface of the graveyard is as level as a lswn, broken only by ® line of willow trees which wand back from the grave and near to the church. Bven at night the situation is very exposed. Tenth Mreet, running parallel to Eleventh, crosses from Second avenue to Thiri, directly in front of the shurch and'cometery. At this very point Stuyvesant Place intersects Tenth street obliquely and « wide ‘wpace is on the south side of the edifice. The sometery, by am iron railing, skirts Second tvenue for a distance of about one hundred and fifty fect, the side front of the church standing back about Mitty fest. The Stewart vault is in the most conspicu- ous part of the ground? and while there is a number of trees scattered around none of them intervene be- tween the view of the grave and the avenue. The cemetery rises like a terrace from tho edge of the sidewalk to « height of about five fect. In a parallel line to the rear of the vauit are two willow trees, to the south are two others, and betwoen the sets is a space of about fourteen fect, Between the grave and the church are three or four more trees forming ® sort of broken background, While the gFavo,itseif lies prominently in front, with- put a twig to obstruct the view of it from the avenue. Bo policeman or casual pedestrian passing this way @ night could possibly fail to observe, if they hap- pened to be there, one or more human figures on the Mevated ground where the vault is situated, not alone verause it is so oxposod, but also on account of the Manner in which the whole wide area is lighted up. Oa the block betwoen Tenth and Eloventh stroots, on avenue, are the building of tho His- torical Bocioty and the Baptist Tabernacle. In front of these stand » row of balloon glass lamps, which illuminate the avenue clear teross, a0 that one might read a newspaper on the Spposite side of the street. At each corner of the jek on which the church stands is a regular street and along Stuyvesant and Tenth strects the owing to the two streets intersecting, are @ore than usually numerous. In fact, no better lighted section of the city can be named than where this outrage was perpetrated. The iron railing which qmolosss the church and cemetery is about eight feet bigh, surmounted by spikes six inches long, and rest- ing on 8 stone coping abouts foot in depth. A boy this railing about six weeks ago in search of a ball, got impaled on the spears and died from the effects of his wounds. DIAGRAM OF TRE GRAVEYARD. ELEVENTH STREET. “YSINYD SEW IS "SNN3AVY GNOOIS 0 ro | STUYVESANT RDOREY: 1—Vault where body was interred. 2—Place w which Pew mah ‘was removed about ® month ago. ri 3, 3, 3—Willow 4—Gates in front cof’ ‘St. Mark's Church. Nom The distance from wall of Church to railing at Second avenue is twenty-eight zara na te from Stuyvesant street to Bleventh street forty yur ‘here the remains were deposited is almost Ay the centre cf the churchyard, as indicated on the diagram. ‘TRACES OF THE ROBBERS. The finding of a Henarp of the 24th of September underneath a plank which was laid against one of the willow trees, and a stocking, serve to indicate that the crime was committed between the hours of two and seven A. M. When found both the stocking and the Heratp were dry, yet the night was a stormy one. Until two A. M. there was a constant drizzling fall of rain and sleet, and had these articles been on the ground before the storm ceased they must have become soaked. It is therefore probable that the robbers selected the hours between two and six A. M. of Wednesday for the carrying out of their project. A circumstance which has caused some suspicion to rest on Sexton Hamill is the finding of a rope which belongs to him fastened round the grave slab, which was moved to allow the robbers to pass into the vault, The explanation which he offers of this suspicious circumstance is that when the discovery of the outrage was made the rope was put round the slab in order to enable him- self and his assistant to enter and examine the vault. 4 PREVIOUS ATTEMPT. ‘The curious feature about the stealing of the re- mains is that such an attempt was not unforeseen by those most interested in preventing it. Some months since a letter was sent to the sexton warning him that such an attempt would te made, and just one month ago—on the 7th of October—the sexton of the church, Mr. Hammill, noticed one morning that the earth about Mr. Stewart’s grave had been disturbed, and on approsching nearer he found that the memo- rial slab had been moved from its place. He at once notified Mr, Hilton of this fact, which was carefully kept from the public in order not to excite the emula- tion of other possible ghouls. Precautions were at once taken to prevent any interference with the grave; but, as experience has shown, these precautions were insufficient. In order to baffle any future attempt Mr. Hilton directed that a night ‘watchman should be employed about the church for a month, but that no special instructions should be given to him in reference to Mr. Stewart's grave. This man was merely informed that he should pre- vent any one entering the graveyard at night or inter- fering with the church property. At the same time the memorial stone which marked Mr. Stewart's resting place was moved from the vault in @ southwesterly direction to spot where there was no vault, in the hope of misleading any grave robbers who might contemplate stoaling the millionnaire’s remains. These precautions seemed to mect with complete success, as nothing suspicious ‘was noticed during the month of October, and Mr. Hilton came to the conclusion that a watchman was no longer needed; so the man who had been engaged for night duty was discharged on last Monday. None of these precautions had escaped the attention of the ruffians who planned the outrage, and who seem to have laid their plans with coolness and foresight, INTELLIGENCE OF THE GHOULS. They were not a whit deceived by Mr. Hilton's in- nocent strategem to conceal the exact spot where an entrance to the vault could be made; they had taken the precaution to mark it with mathematical exact- ness. On one of the posis around the churchyard there has been found written in blue pencil the letter “B,” and two pieces of paper were attached to another post. A line drawn from the letter “‘B” to the pieces of paper érosses tho vault, while a second lino drawn to the first from a tree on the Second avenue side of the graveyard intersects the first line at the exact spot above the opening of the vault. This argues an in- telligence on the part of the robbers scarcely to be found in an ordinary body anatcher. DESCRIPTION OF THE VAULT. Having taken measures to insure success the robbers, no doubt noticing the absence of the watch- man, took advantage of the first dark night to effect their purpose, Some idea of the difficulties which lay in their way may be formed from the following description of the vault to which they had to dig before they could enter upon the serious part of their undertaking. Almost midway between the church and the Second avenue railings the Stewart family vault, as stated ab@ve, is located. There had been no monument—no memorial in wood or stone to mark the place, save the plain slab, on whi¢h was inscribed :— een teen eeeemennens $ es, ane Pras Undernesth the spot where the alab had originally been deposited is a square opening, cut in the mould of the churchyard. Just below it a deacent of eight granite steps leads to # stone portal, plain and massive, wedged in the solid masonry of the vault. On the other side of it the mortuary receptacle lies—a vaulted chamber, 10 feot in width by 8 feet in depth. It is about 12 feet high, with an arched ceiling and » lining ‘of plain brickwork. Along two sides runs oe stone shelf on which the coffins of the dead are de- posited. There are six on one side, two of them little ones, which evidently contain the remains of children. In the others are laid the bodies of rela- tives of the expired ago. The coffins are all decayed and worm- eaten, the inscription on the plates are dim and indis- tinct and the wood on one old fashioned casket has 80 rotted that under some ungentle pressure it has crum- bled and fallen in. On the slab facing the portal was placed the magnificent casket in which Mr. Stewart's remains had been placed. DIAGRAM OF THE VAULT. A—Entrance to the vault. B—Stairway leading to It. C—Stone portal opening inte It, bathe vault. BA al slab running about the walle, on which the cofice wore laid. F—Browart's casket, G—Whore coffius of deceased relatives of Stewart rest on at H—Surface of the gravey I—Where the thieves dug into the vault HOW THR EXTRANCE WAS KYYEorRD, ‘The carth in front of the entrance to the vault was dug out and scattered about. The instrument used for this purpose waa a small fire shovel, which was left in the graveyard. It was quite new and had never been in use. It is thouglit that while engayed in digging out the carth in front of the vault the mon laid prone on the ground 80 as to avoid attracting at- tention until they had worked themselves | lnving in the asighborheod, im attempting to cross | below the level, when they could proceed | sealed, with greater ease. Having reached the entrance to the vault they pried up one of the stones covering the vault, making by this means an opening lange enough to admit two men at the same time. In the vault there are some half dozen coffins, but there was no difficulty in selecting the one which was the object of the outrage, ‘THE CASKET. The casket in which the remains of the great mer- chant had been placed for interment was & beautiful work of art. It was of oak, completely covered with the finest black Lyons velvet, and trimmed with the heaviest gold fringe bullion and gold tassels. The casket was six fect in length, twenty-three inches in width and eighteen in depth. ‘The interior was lined with white tufted satin, and underneath the satin there was a bed or mat- tress on which the body reclined. Tlie interior of the casket was also trimmed with white silk fringe and pinked and fluted with wondrous beauty. A pillow, righly ornamented, was laid in the casket. The ex. tension handles as well ag the handles at the end were thickly plated with gold. @he screws all of imi- tation gold and the knobs plated with gol ‘The in- scription plate was of solid silver, on which was en- graved the words :— This costly casket was made of red enduring of all wood, and must have’ been at once recognized by the robbers. This casing of cedar was broken open, and the leaden box which enclosed the oaken casket was cut through, apparently with a large knife. ‘The robbers seem to have been under the impression |, that the mountings of the casket were in precious metals, but having evidently discovered their error they cast them away, except @ solid silver inscrip- tion plate which was placed on the lid of the oak coffin, REMOVAL OF THR BODT. The body was then taken out of the coffin, all the grave clothés being lifted out with it. Although en- closed in an airtight leaden box, there is unmis- takable evidence jn the coffin which was left behind that the body was ins state of advanced decomposi- tion. Itis supposed that the remains when taken from the coffin were placed in a sack and then handed through the opening in the vault to accom- Plices who had remained outside. But how it was removed from the churchyard is still a puzzle. The gates were found locked and apparently undisturbed. In all probability false keys had been procured for one of the gates of the churchyard, and the robbers, having secured the remains, were able to convey them to a wagon which was kept in waiting to receive and cortvey them to s hiding place. Not the least mysterious part of this outrage is that no trace of footsteps could be discovered, though the ground ‘was soft and damp from the rain and snow of Wednes- day night. The only mémentoes of: their presence which the robbers left were the rifled grave, tho abandoned fire shovel, a dark lantern, which was new and had never before been in use, the stocking and the Hepaxp already alluded to. OFFICERS ON DUTY THAT NIGHT. ‘The officers who left.the Fifth street station house to go onduty in the neighborhood Wednesday, at midnight, were Henry Schmenck, whose beat led di- rectly by the cemetery, from Houston street, along Second avenue, to Fourteenth street; Officer Maurice Reed, whose beat was along Tenth street, past the church and cemetery, from Fourth avenue to avenue B, and Officer McNierney, who patrolled Eleventh street, on the north side of the church and cemetery, from Fourth avenue to avenue B, None of these three officers saw any trace of the body snatchers, nor did they even dream of anything happening like what is here described. It was raining in « drizsling way from past twelve o'clock till near five in the morning, and the police say s more favorable night for the nefarious undertaking could hardly have been selected. They ascribe the mis- chance of none of the three officers named (each ‘of whom must have passed and repassed the cemetery at least half a dozen times on his beat) not observing the least sign of anybody stirring within the grounds of the church to the probability that an experienced and numerous gang of thieves was at work and had their videttes out at the neighboring corners to give timely notice of the approach of the police. All the workers at the grave had to do when the police chanced to come upon the scene was to slip behind the trees and stand in the broad shadows they threw acroas.the . grass, or when they had opened the grave sufficiently deep to lie down fiat in the excavation until the dan- ger passed away. yen ink Robinson, cbldiaRipealaltaipiecinih, ties opposed to the theory advanced by some that the gang opened the gate of the churchyard with false keys and brought out the body that way. He was satisfied that it was passed over the railing and placed in an air tight metallic coffin. He thought it must have taken them fully an hour with the crude imple- ments they used to open the grave so faras to reach the flagstone above the coffin. After that the work ‘was easy enough. THE MOTIVES. There can be little doubt that the crime was prompted by the hopes of obtaining a large reward for the return of the remains. It was, of course, gen- erally known that Mrs. Stewart was only waiting for the completion of the magnificent edifice at Garden City to transfer her husband’s remains to the beauti- ful crypt which is preparing for their re- ception, and the robbers counted on Mrs. Stewart's affection to secure # large reward for their return. , In this, however, the robbers are likely to be disappointed, as Judge Hilton yesterday ex- pressed a strong opinion that no reward would be offered, as the*miscreanta will not be long able to keep the remains above ground without discovery. In view of the prompt actfon of the police it will be difficult, if not impossible, to remove the body out of the city or to get rid of it without leading to detection. The theory advanced by some people that the body was carried off by modical students is most unlikely, as students must have known that the body could not be used on the dissecting table. So far all the evi- dence points to s bold and carefully conceived plan to get porseasion of the body, and the object could scarcely have been other than to compel Mrs. Stewart to pay a high ransom for the body of her late hus- band. JUDOR HILTON AT THR VAULT. When Mr. Hammill brought the news of the out- rage to Mr. Hilton that gentleman immediately or- dered his carriage and drove to the church yard. Tho news of the crime had already spread through the neighborhood and « large crowd of curious people were assembled outaide the church railings gazing in- tently at the square hole which had given access to the vault. The crowd was by tio means a silent ono, and the motive of the strange crime was the absorbing question discussed by the various groups. Some of the remarks passed showed that the people had formed some curious theories on the subject of the outrage. “I wonder why they took him ?’ said one youthful observer. “They wanted to sell him to the doctors,” replied a sharp looking fellow, “so that they could find out how to make money by studying his brain.” “He was awful rich,” chimed in a girl, “and must have had plenty of diamonds and gold in his coffin.” ‘The older folk, however, accepted the more prob- able theory that fhe motive of the crime was black- mail. In the meantime Judge Hilton's carriage drove up to the gate and the popular attontion was immodi- ately attracted to him, some one in the crowd having recognized him and pointed him out as “the man who had got all old Stewart's moncy.” As Judge Hilton descended from his carriage he looked pale and some- what nervous. He walked quickly to tho grave, where he remained in animated conversation with some men who were gathered about the spot. During the conversation he turned frequently to contemplate the Kittle square hole which the robbers had dug in front of the vault. On the termination of the conference Mr. Hilton re-entered his carriage and drove rapidly to the Police Headquarters. THE POLICE TAKE ACTION, On his arrival st Police Headquarters Mr. Hilton had # long conference with Inspector Dilks and other officers, which resulted in the sending out of a num- ber of detectives to work up the case. The following general alarm was immediately telegraphed to all the police stations:— camnot be torries or Blaced an: soe tenaee without praeey: Cause biligeut » arch to be made in your precinct, as the remains were evidently stolen in the hupe of reward. INTERVIEW WITH JUDGE BILTON. When Judge Hjlton reached the Chambers street store of A. T. Stewart & Co. he was joined by Mr. Will- iam Libbey, his partner, to whom the strange story was then communicated. Mr, Libbey agreed with Judge Hilton that the object of the desecration was the blackmailing of Mrs. Stewart, and coincided in the view that extreme publicity was the best course to pur- sue, both for the detection of the criminals and the pro- tection of Mrs. Stewart. Both gentlemen were greatly agitated, and their excitement was in no way dimin- ished by the crowd of callers, who asked all manner of questions and made all sorte of suggestions. Judge Hilton received the Heraup reporter courteously and, in the privacy of his back office, explained the entire matter as it seemed to him. The fol- lowing reyort of the interview will show that while Judge Hilton has decided views of the outrage and s belief as to its perpetrators he carefully abstain from making direct charges, “When did you first hear of the opening of the vault, Judge?” “This morning, at my house, Mr. Hamill, the sexton of St. Mark’s Church, called at my house in s state of great excitement and told me as well as he could that the vault had been opened and the body carried off." “What did you do?” “Iwas thunderstruck at first, and the more I thought about it the more mysterious it seemed.” THE MYSTERY. “Why mysterious, aside from the fact of the out- rage itsclf?” “Because no one but the sexton, Mr. Libbey and myself knew where the body was. It seems that some months ago the sexton received a note of warning that this was to be attempted. He destroyed the note, but kept his eyes open, he says. His dyty demanded his constant presence in or about the church and yard, and he kept a sharp lookout for all the vaults. But later on, perhaps a month ago, he came to me and said that an attempt had been made to open the vault. I asked how, and he explained that the slab on which the inscription of the Stewart family vault was made haa been pried up at one end, I was naturally sur- prised, and, after deliberation and consultation with Mr. Libbey, I concluded what to do. WHAT JUDGE HILTON DID. “I directed Hamill to take up the slab that marked the location of the vault and to move it about fifteen or twenty fect away, so that any one attempting to find the Stewart vault would dig in the wrong place and have his labors for his pains. The slab was re- moved as I directed. It, by the way, had not been directly over the entrance to the vault, but a little above it. Over the vault, resting on brick supports, were three smaller stones, perhaps three feet long and two feet wide, which any man could easily lift the end of. These I had covered with dirt and sod, and as the grass grew green and beautiful there was absolutely no sign of vault or anything but s naturahgrassy growth. In addition to. this I told Hamill to hire a special ‘watchman, with instructions to have him keep a gen- eral lookout for the graveyard, but h@jvas not to be told of the slab device nor to know that there were apprehensions in any particular quarter.” “Did Hamill hire him ?” “What I expected and ordered was that he should engage some poor person to whom the work would be shelp. Ithought he would be in the church, where he could see what was going on in the yard. Instead of that it appears hoe engaged a man who watched some stables near by, and that he was expected to look in now and then.” “Was he on duty last night?” “No, he was discharged last Monday, and this dese eration follows immediately. This shows that the parties not only knew where to dig, but that the watchman had been withdrewn.” “You supposed he was yet there?” “Certainly. Mr. Hamill, who has been the sexton mapy years, says the man knew nothing of the changes made, knew nothing of the cause of his en- gagement; so he appears to be fully exonerated.” “What motive could have induced parties to do this?” “Only one—the hope of getting money from Mrs. Stewart og myself.” ‘Was there no article of value in the vault?” “Not a thing. When Mr. Stewart died I sent for the sexton of St. Mark's Church because he was the sex- ton of the church where Mr. Stewart hed attended for Years. I had never seen bim before. I told him what to do... He had full charge of it all—the undertaker’s work, the opening of the church, the music and all. Mr, Stewart was buried with the same simplicity that characterized his life. He was clad in an ordinary dress suit, white shirt and cravat, and black coat and vest. He wore no shirt studs, no ring, no'valuable cuff buttons.” “How about the three pearl studs ?”” “Nonsense! He never wore anything of the sort. If I had permitted it after his death be would have turned in his coffin. Why, it was with great difficulty I persuaded him when last in Paris to buy a new pair of sleeve buttons to replace the old pair that wero worn out and troublesome. He noyer wore s watch chain, but preferred and took positive pride in a silk cord to which his watch was attached.” “But were not the gold handles to the coffin valus- ble?” “They were plated. In fact, there was but one soll- tary article of value in that vault, and that was the silver plate on the inside of the inner coffin, on which his name and the dates of his birth and death were engraved. Even I knew nothing of that till the sexton told me of it. No, there is but one motive, and that is the hope of getting money.” WHAT THE ROBBERS KNEW. “Do you think it was done by parties familiar with these facts?” “You can judge for yourself. In the first placo they did not dig under the slab that bore Mr. Stewart’s name; but they did dig exactly to tho alab, covered with grass and dirt, which was over his vault. They did not take the gold plated handles, which were of no value, but they did take the ailver plate, which was of some value.” “What did you do after the sexton told your” “I went to the graveyard and then to the Police Headquarters. Commissioner Nichols and Inspector Murray were there, so was Inspector Dilks, who at ouce sent out a general alarm. Then we went back to the graveyard.” “To what circumstances was your attention di- rected ?”* “First of all I noticed there was # rope tied about the end of one of the slabs over the vault entrance.” ‘THAT STRANGE ROFR. “Whose was it?’ “The eexton said it was his, and that he used it al waye to hoist stones with. He said he kept it in the basement of the church, some twenty-five feet away, and that when his assistant called his attention to the vault he got the rope and lifted the slab. It seems strange that, under the circumstances, he didn’t take hold of the stone and raise it without arope. He could have done it easily, and the danger of its falling in would not have been so great. Then I noticed a plank resting against s tree, and under it was « crumpled copy of the Heratp of September 24, 1878, and a soiled stocking that the men had evidently wiped their hdnds on. One of the officers throw these aside, but I regarded them an fmportant and had them taken to Headquarters. Do robbers ordinarily carry papers in their pockets to wipe their hands on? Then, why they should have left « now lamp and 0 new shovel behind I cannot un- derstand.” “What did you do then?” “Well, larranged with the police officials as to steps immediately necegsary and then came to work.” Judge Hilton then drove to Police Headquarters, At this time Commissioner Nichols, Inspector Murray and Captain McCullagh were in the rear room leading from the Inspector's office, Before them was the sexton, George W. Hamill. RXAMINATION OF THR SEXTON, On the arrival of Judge Hilton consultations were had by him with Messrs. Nighols, Murray and Mo- Cullagh, and his suggestions as to the line of ex- ainination of the ‘sexton and his deputy, Parker, were adopted. Captain McCullagh told the Judge that when he sent for Hamill he appeared at once, and on entering his (the Osptain’s) room he sank on the lounge, dropped his head and seemed overcome, He accompanied the Captain to Police Was put in s little front room, so that no communi- cation was permitted between them. STATEMENT OF GEORGE W. HAMILL. As a result of a long examination the following statement was made and signed by Hamill :— George W. Hammill, sexton of St. Mark’s Church, deposes:—About eight A.M. Francis Parker, who is the deputy sexton of the church of which Iam the sexton, came to my house at No, 210 East Ninth street, and in an excited manner said, “The body is gone.” I asked him what body. He said, “Stewart's.” ordered him to return to the church and said that I would be there in a few minutes. I soon after left home and proceeded to the vault, where I noticed that the earth had been shovelled from the slab leading to the vault of A. T. Stewart. I told Parker to get a rope, which he did, and with him fastened the rope around the slab, which we then pulled up. I then descended into the vault and padiees es oe body had been carried away. of the casket having been broken, un- off the outside box and the lead Mning had been cut sufficient to allow the cover to be taken off the casket. I then came out of the vault, went to my office and remained there until Mr. Carpenter came, who has office room with me. He was in my office sbout half an hotr. When Carpenter came I explained ‘the case to him, and asked him what was best to do in the mat- ter, He advised me to noti! e Hilton, which I did, going to his house, y-fourth street, near avenue. I then left his house and returned to my office, remaining there about ten minutes. I then wont to St, Mark’s Church and remained there until the arrival of Judge Hilton. I remained around the church until the police came there. GEORGE W. HAMILL. In the course of his examination Mr. Hamill said that he was at home at ten o'clock on Wednesday evening and did not leave until the next morning. A detective was sent to his house to ascertain ff this was 80 and the statement was corroborated. In reply to ® question as to Mr. Hamill’s antecedents Judge Hilton said, “All I know of him is that he has been the sexton and undertaker of St. Mark’s Church many years (fourteen, I believe) and he has a good record.” STATEMENT OF FRANCIS PARKER, ‘Meantime the deputy was examined with the follow- ing result:— Francis Parker, deputy sexton, No. 436 East Ninth street, deposes :—I came to St.Mark's about eight this morning, as is my custom. On entering the church- yard I nod I noticed the clay dug up around the vault of A. Tat once went to it and found that it had been meddled with. I at once notified Mr. Hamill at his residence. I returned to the churchyard, where I was soon joined by Mr. Hamill. I anny & rope and placed it around the stone and raised i from the entrance to the vault. Mr. Hamill Seat into the vault, remaining there for a few minutes. When he came up he told me Stewart's body had been taken a1 ae went aw: he said, to notify Mr. Hilton. one about lf an hour. On return- ing he told ‘me me he had not yet seen Mr. Hilton. He remained a short time, and again went away to notify Mr. Hilton. He soon returned and told me had noti- fied Mr. Hilton, Mr. Hilton soon after came to the churchyard, FRANCIS PARKER, POLICE THEORIES. While Judge Hilton was at Police Headquarters, the examination of the sexton being temporarily sus- pended, Commissioner Nichols said, “When Judge Hilton came in this morning ho said, with his eyes staring wildly, ‘Some one has robbed the Stewart vault.’ Supposing that he referred to the money vault at the store, I said, ‘Well, they’ve made a good haul, then.’ He rejoined, ‘Why, they took nothing but the body.’ It was some time before I compre- | hended the fact, but we then went at once to the Headquarters, where he was taken before the In- ote | apector, Tho deputy sexton wes also taken there, but church. There is but one solution to it. Some one, who knew all about the body, the coffins, the vault and the removal of the watchman, has done it for the sake of the reward.” “Do you intend to offer a reward, Judge Hilton ?’ asked the Henatp reporter. “I have not determined what to do. I shall be guided by the Commissioners.” “Ihope no reward will be offered,” said Captain he “What record has the sexton, Captain ?” “A good’ne. He has been in the church a grest many years and they all speak well of him.“ “Judge, do you suspect the sexton ?”” “I cannot express an opinion. The circumstances are strange, but the man’s antecedents are iri his “‘Hrve you informed Mrs. Stewart of the robbery ?” “Ihave not, I shall go to the house as soon asI leave here.” “Does she read the papers ?” “Yes. She is a remarkably intelligent woman. Art is her hobby. Her father was one of the richest men in New York.” j “Has she any business tact?” “Yes. She and Mr. Stewart were very much alike. They worked admirably together and lived very hap- pily.”” “Have you at any time heard of special individuals asking for Mr. Stewart's vault?” “Oh, yes. People go to the chttrohyard every day and ask to see it. Some little time ago, according to the sexton, s man who said his name was Stewart, and s relative of Mr. A. T. Stewart, visited tho churchyard and made particular inquiry as to the vault. These claimantg and their backers would do anything to get money from Mrs. Stewart. The best bit of detective work ever done was done in that claimant's case. We knew exactly their pur- poses, and they were so enveloped by our net that they didn’t know whom to trust.” “But they have no money, have they?* “Oh, yes, they have. They bring suits and entail expenses of that nature. They would do anything, no matter what, to extort money from Mrs. Stew- art.” “But they won't?” “Not a cent.” At this point In@pector Murray said, ‘These men tell a very straight story. I don’t believe we can hold them.” “They should be follow& and kept in sight,” said Judge Hilton, “Every movemeut should be known, so that if they are in communication with others we shall know it.” “Cortainly,” replied the Inspector; “I will attend to that.” CORONER FLANAGAN’S VIEWS. It was at first thought best to keep the matter quiet, but better counsels prevailed, and Judge Hilton decided to give it all the publicity possible. Coroner Flanagan was sent for. He at once said the outrage ‘was the work either of an undertaker or a physician; that no ono unacquainted with handling bodies in that ,condition would dare to touch them, and they would not know what to do with this body after getting it. Ho said that when it was deomed desirable to preserve bodies for inquests, and all the vat facili- ties of Bellevue Hospital were at his disposal, it was a difficult thing to do, and therefore no one who was unfamiliar with the horrid details would dare to at- tempt such an outrage. It was evident also from what was left in the lead casing that the body was in ® most offensive condition. No hack could carry it away. No box or barrel could conceal it from instant detection. MR. LIDBY'S IDRA. In roply to the question, “What in your Judgmont was the motive for the robbery? Mr. Libby ro- plied :—‘I am at a loss to understand, unless money was at the bottom of it. But men of ordinary mental capacity, you would think, could scawely be foolish enough to suppose that they, could extort funds by such a course.” “Then the estate of Mr. A. T. Stewart will not offer s reward for the recovery of his body ?”* “It will give $100,000 if need be for the detection and punishment of the outlaws, but not one cent to them for the return of what they have taken. Not a single cent,” continued Mr. Libby, with emphasis, “will be paid in order to compromise this case.” “Could there have been any other motive ?” luman nature at its worst, you know, is pretty bed.” ‘ “Did you ever hear of a case that would parallel this in atrocity 1” “Never. It takes the advanced civilization of the nineteenth century to produce such a specimen.” “When did the news af the robbery reach you ?** “Karly this morning. Judge Hilton immediately conferred with the police authorities, who have sent despatches and officers throughout the city and suburbs. I suppose that not # house in the neighbor. hood of St. Mark’s Church will bo unexamined, Jt seems impossible that they should get away with their booty. What can they do with it? Where can they put it? It would take six men at least, I should think, to carry such « load.” “In the northern part, behind the church, about midway between the castern and western boundatiea, the tomb is built below the ground; tho slab that covers it is six feet bencath the turf, It required six feot of digging in order to reach the slab, and I cannot understand how this could have been done and tho very heavy casket lifted out and cared ‘away without attracting the attention of the police watch, the insurance watch or the private wateh.” “Was there not « private watchman?” “Yes. Some time ago we learned that the lock ta the gate of tne churchyard had been tampered with, ‘The affair looked suspicions and we employed two men to watch the tomb, one by day ana the other by uight.” WHAT ONE OP THE STEWART LAWYERS SAYS. ‘Mr. Ira Shafer, one of the counsel for the Stewart estate against the claims of certain alleged relatives of the deceased, was shocked when he heard of the outrage, and could not imagine that it was committed for any other purpose than to extort money. “Do you suppose the disappointed relatives could have had any hand in spiriting away the body ?’ was asked Mr. Shafer. “Well, that would be all a mere conjecture,” replicd the lawyer. “It would hardly help their case much’ to be guilty of such an atrocity. No, there are men in this city who are capable of doing almost anything for money, and this looks like a hideous attempt at blackmail; but I think they'll find themselves fear. fully disappointed.” It may be here recalled that Mr. Shafer, in his re cent argument against,the lawyer who has been busy in forward claimants for the estate of the late A. T. Stewart, spoke almost prophetically when he said:—**Things have arrived at such s pitch that it‘ 4s not safe for a rich man to die in New York city.” 44 INGENIOUS THEORY. One of the cleverest official criminal experts in this; city, who has personally investigated the case, said to a Henavp reporter last night:—“Of course I have a theory, who hasn't? I think, however, that I have tho correct one, and I don’t mind if I give you the bemefit- of it. Ihave worked hard all day on this case, and I am morally convinced that Mr. Stewart's: remains were not exhumed at the time re- ported by Judge Hilton, and I am _ further- more convinced that the body is stil} buried in St. Mark's graveyard. And I will give you my reasons for these opittions. They are these:—Four weeks ago to-day the sexton of the church reported to Judge Hilton that the soil around the tomb had been tam- Pered with. ‘There was no doubt on that head. Thera were the evidences of the misplaced earth that the resurrectionists had been at work. No thorough in- vestigation was then made to ascertain if the body" had been disturbed. Mr. Hilton at least took it for; granted that it was an abortive attempt to search: for valuables in the Stewart vault, not wish- ing to believe that such an outrage could be thought of as the carrying away of the body. That night—that is, 4 month ago to-day, on the 7th of October—the deed was done. Then tha body was exhumed and placed in some other vault im the same graveyard, in order to baffle all attempts of the police to discover the body or the iden! of the ghouls. Of course this secret could not be kept without frustrating the mercenary end the body; snatchers had in view. They waited a sufficiently’ long time until they could safely returm and reopen the grave. They would have done 80 sooner, no doubt, but for the * presence of the watchman. As soon as he was called off they: went to work to develop their plans by digging uy the loose soil over the vault (the soil, as I have said, having been previously displaced), and thereby make ing it appear that the body had been stolen on Wed« nesday night. I repeat again that the remains were exhumed on October 7 and deposited in s vault in the game graveyard. It is an unfrequented place, and no one but the officials of the church could notice.the careful displacement and subsequent arrangement of the soil except their notice was called to it by some person who was suspicious that the thing had beem done. SUGGESTIVE PACTS. “This theory,” continued the official, ‘is strengthe ened by the fact that it would be next to impossible, in view of the alarm and publicity so quickly given, for the putrid remains to be kept concealed withou® the foul odor being quickly detected, no miatter where: concealment would be sought above ground, And/ supposing that the body has been interred again in order to prevent detection, what more con’ ‘ burial place than in the very graveyard) where the body originally rested. If they could digi into one vault they could dig tnto two, and it was, easier to transplant the body in this way than to run the risk of carrying it from the churchyard to a more distant one. Nobody supposes that such » humam mass of corruption could be kept for an hour above! ground without the very odor causing the birds the air and the beasts of the field to scent it out make these brutes more skilful as detectives than any which. we have at Police Headquarters, It is im- a ey ea so anxious was he to unfold and elucidate his theory, “all that these ghouls want is that a large ward may be offered for the restoration the remains. That was their object in cam rying away the body. They have calculated that ‘Mrs. Stewart expends $100,000 in a cathedral as a rest-/ ing place for Mr. Stewart's ashes she will not hesitate to part with $50,000 to gain possession of her hus« band’s stolen body. Now, this is reasonable enough and it is equally as reasonable to suppose that if resurrectionists had removed the body outside the limits of the churchyard that they could easily de- ceive Mrs. Stewart by pocketing the reward and sub-. stituting some festering corpse in the habiliments of the deceased, as any other identification is impossible; and then, after the lapse of s short time, making known the deception and claiming a second reward, and so on ad infinitum, until Mrs. Stewart's millions would be exhausted in the endeavor to satisfy the demands of hese insatiable vampires. Bud suche possiblé contingency is made imposnible, and the security of the body snatchers attended to, by the simple device of merely transplanting the remains to. another vault in St. Mark’s burial ground. Then, im; that case, when the necessary negotiations for its re~ covery shall have been completed, these people could/ satisty Mrs. Stewart of the identity of her husband’s( stolen body by simply advising her of the vault where it was transplanted to. rma that case would be satisfactory and complete. are my views, and I am convinced that they will be found to be the-correct ones.” MR, STKWART'S ORSEQUIES, ‘The outrage recalls the funeral of Mr. A. T. which took place on April 13, 1876, in this clty. HeRatp’s account of that occasion gives some pointal which are of particular interest just now. “The re« mains of Mr. Stewart,” says the report, “were plscedi in the coffin by Mr. Hamill (the sexton of St, Mark's! Church) and his assistants, the dead merchant being. attired in a simple walking dress suit much like what he was wont to wear in life, consisting of a black frocki coat, a vest cut low, with black doeskin trousers, a white evening tie, the shirt bosom bearing three plain pearl buttons on its snowy surface. The face looked! vory natural, having « slight pink tinge. The hand lay by his side, while the loft wae placed in an easy attitude across his’ breast. It was, indeed, a striking illustration of the evanes= cence of human greatness to see that body lie in state ona mound of flowers three feet high, surrounded Charles O’Conor, Rev. John Hall, George W. Childs Hamilton Fish (then Secretary of State), Brady, Bierstadt (the painter), Mayor Wickham, ernor Tilden, Cyrus W. Field, John A. Dix, William. Vanderbilt, Royal Phelps, Peter Cooper, Morgan, B.S. Jaffray and a host fellow merchants of the deceased. ot A female employés marched in the procession. Bishop; Potter and Rev. Stephen H. Tyng, Jr., conducted the, services according to the ritual of the Episcopal Church. As the procession moved down Fifth avenue many of the houses and clubs could be seen display- every pursuit of life, and the crowd outside, which was estimated at fifteen thousand, had to be held in check by one hundred police officers under the com- mand of Inspector Dilks. ‘When the funcral procession leff the church the scone outside was singularly imposing. The square the church was covered with seen of and all along Second avenue and the adjoining every vantage piece of ground wae occupied. The windows and balconies of all the. houses around | erowded, and the housetope tn cous enetangeend