Murder in O' Eallon, Ill.
--
The Nephew of the Deceased charged with the commission of the Crime.
--From the St. Louis
Republican, of the 27th ult., we copy the following particulars of a murder recently perpetrated in
Illinois:
‘
One of the most shocking murders ever committed in the
West has just been brought to light in
St. Clair county, ill., opposite this city.
About one month ago.
Capt. James Ambrose, residing one mile east of
O'Fallon station, on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, in
St. Clair county, Ill., suddenly disappeared.
He was an old and wealthy citizen, highly respected, and well known in this city.
His sudden disappearance excited considerable surprise, and his continued absence and the attending circumstances finally led his neighbors to suspect that he had been foully murdered.
A search was instituted, and yesterday morning, 25th inst., the body was found, and the suspicions of the neighbors fully realized.
The facts in the case are substantially as follows:
Captain Ambrose possessed a large property, and having no family, had taken a nephew to live with him, by the name of
Curry.
Some time since this Curry and the captain not agreeing,
Curry was ordered from the place, and rented a farm about one mile north of the old gentleman's place.
When the captain disappeared about a month ago,
Curry gave out that he had gone to
Cincinnati on business.
A few days after his departure
Curry also left, as he stated, for
Louisville, Kentucky.
He was absent some days, and when he returned he represented that he had met his uncle in
Louisville, dined with him, and settled all their past difficulties, and that his uncle had sent him back to attend to his affairs in
Illinois, and would not return until some time next spring.
The citizens in the vicinity disbelieved his story, as
Curry was detected making different statements as to the whereabouts of his uncle.
The suspicion became general that the captain had been ordered, and so, a few days since, the citizens resolved to take the matter into their own hands, and instate search for the captain's body.
Their search continued until Christmas morning, when the body of the captain was found buried near a charcoal pit in the neighborhood of Curry's house, about two feet under ground, where a fire had been burning for several days.
The body presented a shocking spectacle.--It appeared that the deceased had been shot in the abdomen, and that subsequently his skull had been completely crushed in pieces.
Curry was arrested, and also two women, suspected as accomplices, and the examination of the parties was progressing before a justice at a late hour Wednesday night.
Curry acknowledges that he killed his uncle, but declares he killed him in self-defence.
Capt. Ambrose was a most excellent citizen beloved by his neighbors and all who knew him. He possessed property amounting to more than one hundred thousand dollars.
’
