THE MILLER INQUEST

 

Murder suspect John Truck.

Cortland Evening Standard, Friday, March 31, 1899.

THE MILLER INQUEST.

CORONER'S JURY STILL TAKING EVIDENCE IN THE CASE.

Winslow Hall at Virgil Filled With an Eager Crowd—Description of the Fire and the Finding of Miller's Body—Positive Identification of Articles of His Clothing by His Mother—His Initials Pointed Out in the Case of the Watch Found on John Truck—Other Strong Corroborative Evidence.

   The evidence taken before the coroner's jury Thursday was in parts almost sensational in the way it pointed to the connection of John Truck with the victim of the horrible tragedy on that lonely Virgil road on the night of March 14. The proof was almost conclusive that it was the body of Frank Miller and of no one else that was found in the ruins of his house, and also that foul play must have been used to bring about his death. It was shown that his chores had not been done at the barn that night. The bits of clothing found on the burned body were identified. A single button on the fragment of an undershirt was identified by Mrs. Miller, his mother, as one of three of its kind that she had had in her button box "since the children were young;" the proof of the identity of the clothing found on Truck as being Miller's was brought out; and last when the silver watch found upon Truck was produced and shown to Edward Bloomer, the neighbor and former assistant of Miller in his farm work, he promptly opened the case and along the interior of one rim pointed to the initials "F. W. M." scratched on the silver. Bloomer had often seen the initials when Miller had the watch in days gone by and the positive proof to him of the identity of the watch was the finding of them there in this watch.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

   After the noon recess Mr. Lowe was recalled to the stand and identified the fragments of clothing submitted by the district attorney which had been in the hands of the sheriff since the morning of March 15 as that which he had seen on the burned body taken out of the fire. As this was shown, the mother and sister of the deceased who were sitting close by were very visibly affected.

JAMES IRVING HOMER.

  The next witness was James Irving Homer. Mr. Homer corroborated Mr. Lowe's testimony as to being roused by the latter on the night of the fire and as to noting the time by his clock at 11:05 P. M., and as to their hurried run down to Miller's house. As they arrived Darius Allen was just coming up from the other direction. Allen said, "We don't know whether or not Miller is in that house." The door of the hatchway was open and was lying flat on the cellar floor, as though tipped over. The cellar was lighted up to some extent by the fire that was just breaking through the floor, but there was not much smoke in it yet. I could see potatoes in crates, probably thirty or forty bushels. Then we went up back of the house where we could see into the house through the woodshed where the walls had been burned away. We saw that peculiar looking object lying on the floor. I said, "If Miller is in the house, that is his body." Mr. Patten said, "It must be a bundle of his clothes at the foot of his bed." The roof had fallen in and the upper floor was down. We could not see any arms to this body yet. When the lower floor gave way and the body went down with it, it fell head first and struck on the head with the feet leaning up against the wall. Finally Allen and I took a barleyfork to try to get it out.

   (There was quite a laugh raised just here among the practical farmers at District Attorney Duffey's efforts to find out just what kind of a weapon a barleyfork was and whether it was larger than a hayfork. He frankly acknowledged that he didn't know what it was, and when the witness measured off the length of the tines as something like two feet and its width as from 18 to 20 inches the county official declared that he was quite satisfied that it was larger than any hayfork that he was acquainted with.)

   The witness continued. Allen stepped in first on the boards thrown down over the live coals and put the fork under the body between the limbs and the wall, but the body slipped off. Allen then said, "I'm all fire. I've got to get out of here." I was standing next the wall where it wasn't so hot and said, "Let me take the fork." I put the fork under the hips and the body slipped off. Then I tried it lower down, under the ashes and the body, and it held. Allen then helped me pull it out. We did not at any time permit the tines to enter the body. We left the body in the south side of the hatchway out of the region of fire. We found the piece of the coat under him after we got him out. Will Bloomer and I afterward carried him to the barn on two bransacks and laid him on the straw. I saw the bib to his overalls and noticed the strap and buckle upon it. I saw the maul on the north foundation wall of the hatchway. When we were trying to preserve the body I threw the water and the others brought it to me—a dozen pails or more.

   I knew John Truck three or four years ago when he worked a farm over our way. I saw him the day of the fire as Mr. Lowe has described. I didn't hear Truck mention Miller's name. When Truck left us in the woods he said he guessed he would go over to Edward Blose's to buy a horse. He left us at about 3 o'clock.

WILLIAM BLOOMER.

   William Bloomer testified that he lived a half mile nearer East Virgil than Miller. He had been on the night of March 14 to East Virgil to church with his father, mother, brother and brother's wife. He thinks Mr. Patten was ahead of them on the way home. He got to bed at about 10:40, and almost immediately his father called him with the remark that there was a fire. He dressed at once, took the lantern and started for the fire. His mother afterward told him that it was 11 o'clock when he left the house. As the witness approached the Miller house he looked into the hatchway. He saw fire at the back side of the cellar dropping down from above. He didn't see the hatchway door at all. He was pushing some burning timbers off the hatchway wall when he discovered the maul lying on the wall. The handle was gone. He saw the object on the floor as the others bad described it. It looked without form as though something was thrown over it. It might have been a coat or clothes, or it might have been something fallen from the ceiling above. At first it didn't seem as long as a human body. The more it burned the more it looked like a body. When convinced that it was a body, concluded that it was lying on face as a round white spot looking like the back of a head appeared. Then they could see the shoulders, and finally the whole body. Witness helped carry water to throw on the body. Saw the body brought out. Noticed the fragment of shirt, undershirt and overalls bib on him and started to pull them off till some one said, ''better not touch anything till the coroner comes," then he stopped.

   Witness helped carry the body to the barn. There he noticed that the horses' did not stand in their usual places. A colt which usually stood in a double stall with the bay mare was taken out and hitched in the stall usually occupied by the gray mare and the gray was gone. Miller's wagon and harness were also gone. Allen told him that when he got there the barn door was not shut. The horses bad nothing in their mangers and had not been bedded down. Stables had not been cleaned that night either in horsebarn or cowbarn. Went to cow stable. Allen picked up a rope that had been used to tie one of the calves and called attention to the fact that it had been cut. This calf was loose, also another one. The second one had had a strap buckled about its neck but this was unbuckled. His cows had the appearance of not having been milked. There was no hay in the cows' mangers.

  Witness said, I did not see Truck on Tuesday. I saw him on Monday between 1 and 2 o'clock. I was driving up toward Patten's. Truck was coming down. I met him at the bend of the road below the schoolhouse. He didn't look up. I knew him well before. I kept my eye on him all the way, trying to speak to him, but he never gave me a chance. I looked back at him after I had passed, but he never looked back toward me.

MRS. ELIZABETH A. MILLER.

   The next witness was Mrs. Elizabeth A. Miller, the mother of the deceased Frank W. Miller. Mrs. Miller told of her residence near her son's, and said that the last time she saw him alive was at about 6 o'clock on Tuesday night, March 14. She told of Frank's coming down and stopping on his way to mill at about 1 o'clock, of her urging him to stop for supper on his return, of his coming at a little after 4 o'clock. He drove the bay mare both going and coming. When he returned he cut some wood for her while she was preparing supper. They sat down together at about 5 o'clock and visited as they ate.

   Mrs. Miller gave with care the menu of her supper that night, having been asked about it before while it was fresh in her mind and it having been impressed upon her then that she should remember what they had. They had wheat bread and butter, freshly boiled potatoes, meat, sugar cookies, tapioca pudding, canned cucumber pickles and tea. The meat was fresh pork that had been cut up in small pieces and browned, flour and water had been stirred in making a gravy. The STANDARD has it upon the best of authority that in the examination of the contents of the stomach the different articles were very distinct, and this in fact led to the immediate questioning of Mrs. Miller as to what Frank had eaten that night. This will prove one very sure means of identification of the body.

   Mrs. Miller said that while they were eating Frank told of Truck's long call upon him the night before, and he inquired of his mother if she had seen him. She replied in the negative. "Didn't you see that man go by yesterday with a gun," he asked. "Yes, but I didn't know who he was. What did he want?" "He said he had been buying a place in Homer and now was looking about for a horse." I said, "he isn't worth a dollar, he couldn't buy anything." Frank said he showed him a check, but he didn't say for how much it was. Frank didn't tell me that Truck stayed all night with him, but he must have stayed a long time for Frank told me that Truck told him more about law that night then he ever knew before.

   It was about 6 o'clock when Frank started home to do his chores. He was always very punctual about his chores. I used to wash and cook for him and he was often at my house for meals. He seldom missed a day coming to see me and was often there twice a day. He used to spend most of his evenings with me.

   Mr. Allen roused me the night of the fire when he went up with Mr. Patten. I knew his voice. I went to the window. "Where is Frank?" he asked. I said, "He must be at home. He went from here at 6 o'clock." Mr. Allen replied, "We can't find him and his house is all burned up." I dressed at once and went right up there. I didn't know that night that they were watching the body in the house.

   Next morning I went up again when I knew what they had found. Mr. and Mrs. Allen, Mr. Patten and Mrs. Darling were there then. I went with them into the barn to look at the body. l said, "That isn't Frank, I know it isn't." Mr. Allen said, "I know it is Frank by the cut on his foot." Mrs. Miller explained that some ten years ago Frank had cut one foot very badly with an ax and it had left a bad scar and he had been lame ever since.

   After I got a little more composed, continued Mrs. Miller, I went into the barn again. I then saw the striped bib of his overalls and recognized them as the pair he had worn at my house that afternoon. I said, "Those are Frank's overalls. They are the same cut, style and material as those he wore at my house that afternoon." He had on a sort of gray wrapper shirt laced up in front. The piece of the overall bib and the shirt were presented to Mrs. Miller for identification and she identified them. A fragment of an undershirt was presented to her and she said it looked like one of his. Suddenly her eye lighted on a button on the undershirt and she said, "I know that button. It is one I sewed on for Frank a little while ago. He brought the undershirt down to me and said he wanted a couple of buttons on it. I turned my button box out on the table and he picked out two just alike. I had three of those buttons, had had them since the children were young. There were not enough of them to use for any particular purpose, so they remained in the box. I put two on this shirt and I have the other at home. I know those brown buttons well."

   Mrs. Miller said Frank had on a dark coat Tuesday afternoon, it looked kind of reddish, and a gray ulster.

   She also said that he had in his possession a black suit such as she had identified at the court house once before, and another pair of black trousers.

   Mrs. Miller remembered Frank's watch and believed that the watch shown her by the district attorney as taken from Truck was Frank's. She remembered seeing him have the watch Tuesday at her house, and she knew besides that he always carried it with him and never left it at home.

   Frank had one tooth out that she knew of. It was a left front tooth on the upper jaw. It was broken off. He said to her once that he ought to go and have the roots extracted.

EDWARD BLOOMER.

   The last witness of the afternoon was Edward Bloomer. He arrived at the fire with his brother as previously noted. He saw and watched the body fall through into the cellar, and his story of that was very like that already testified to by several.

   Witness had often worked for Miller and knew about his working clothes. Had sawed wood with him the Wednesday before the fire. He then had on a grey flannel shirt with laces like the one found on the body. He had on a pair of woolen trousers then under his overalls. When shown the fragment of a coat found with the body he said, "I think that is the coat Frank wore that day. I think I have seen him wear it many times and I think I have worn it myself while working for him."

   Witness told of the efforts of the party around the burning building to find out whether the object they saw was a body by poking at it with a binding pole from 15 to 20 feet long, but they could not reach it the fire was so hot. By the time they could get within reach they were sure it was a body from its looks.

   Witness verified the statements of his brother about the chores not being done that night at the barn and added that he watered the cows and the horses the first time after that night and they were unusually thirsty and drank a great amount. Frank permitted one calf to suck from the cow. That calf had evidently attended to its own wants as it was loose as stated. The other one had been fed from a pail and this one acted very hungry, bleated and showed its hunger by act and by its gaunt appearance. Witness said Mr. Allen milked the cow next morning. After he had fed the dogs and the three puppies and the cats he had a 12 quart pail full of milk. Witness had cared for the stock since Frank's death and he had never gotten so much since from any single mess.

   The district attorney asked the witness if he was acquainted with Miller's watch and he said he thought he could recognize it. The watch and chain taken from Truck was handed to him. Without any hesitation he opened the watch, took out the works, turned the case around until he reached a certain point, took one glance at it and handed it back with the remark, "That is Frank Miller's watch."

   "How do you know?" was the question.

   "Do you see that? That settles it," was his reply.

   The district attorney, the coroner and the jury bent eagerly over as he pointed to the initials "F. W. M." distinctly scratched in the silver case.

   "Did you know those were there," asked the district attorney.

   "I knew they were in Frank's watch," said he, "I have often seen them and I have carried the watch myself sometimes." The courtroom was very still as this very conclusive and convincing evidence was given.

   It was now 5 o'clock and an adjournment was taken till Friday morning at 10 o'clock.

FRIDAY MORNING.

   The inquest was resumed at 10 o'clock this morning and William Seamans was the first witness called. Mr. Seamans lives three-quarters of a mile from the Miller place. His is the first house west of Darius Allen's on the State road. He was returning from Virgil on the night of March 14 and met a man driving a gray horse with buckboard wagon. He noticed two bags in the back part of the wagon. He met this rig when about fourteen rods west of his house. Mrs. Seamans and George Bouton heard the team go by driving rapidly. Mr. Bouton stepped out on the piazza, saw the team go by and noticed it was 10:30 by the clock. Seamans put out his horse and went into the house, it was then 10:50. He did not recognize the identity of the gray horse but simply noticed that the color was gray. One of the wheels of the buckboard squeaked as it passed as though it was dry and needed oiling.

EDWARD BLOSE.

   Edward Blose was the next witness. He lives on Snyder bill about a mile from Miller's. Saw John Truck on March 14 at his barn. Truck came there between 5 and 6 o'clock. It was getting dusk in the barn when he left. He said he wanted to buy a gray horse.  Blose asked him how much money he wanted to put into a horse and he replied that he had none at all. Blose decided that he did not want to sell him a horse and then Truck asked what Miller's gray horse was worth and he told Truck that he did not know. Truck then said that he had spent the previous night with Miller. When he left Blose he said he was going back to Darius Allen's to stay all night as he had promised Allen that he would do so. Allen had told him that he (Blose) had a gray horse to sell. Blose did not do his chores very rapidly while Truck was with him. He was afraid of Truck. Truck had his rifle with him all the time resting on his left arm, held up in front of him as though ready to shoot. Truck kept behind Blose all the time. He could not get Truck to stand in front and keep him there. Asked Truck if Miller had priced the gray horse to him and he replied that he had, but seemed reluctant to tell the price. Finally said Miller had asked him $75, but did not say whether it was for the horse alone or for the whole rig. Truck said he would stop at Con Turner's on his way back and see if he had a horse to sell.

ERNEST LANDPHER.

   Mr. Landpher lives one-half mile from Miller's across the valley. He described seeing a man with long gray ulster and scotch cap drawn down over his eyes coming across from the direction of Edward Blose's at about 6:10 P. M., March 14. The man had a light rifle on his arm. Landpher was going to the barn to milk. After he went into the barn he looked out of a window and saw the man pass, was then within about two rods of him. Did not recognize the man as Truck though he knew Truck well. After passing the barn the man turned to the left across lots in the direction of Miller house, walking very fast.

DARIUS ALLEN.

   The next witness was Darius Allen. He lives on the State road at the corner of the road leading to Snyder hill. Was at home on March 14. It was about 11 o'clock P. M. when Patten came for him. He had gone to bed but was not asleep. He hurried with Patten to Miller's house. When they arrived he looked in the south kitchen window. The partition between the two rooms had burned down so that he could see into the north room. He did not see any one in either room. He went to the barn and found the door unlocked and part way open. He knew Miller kept the door locked when he was away. The horse and wagon were gone. He returned to the house and saw Homer and Lowe who had just arrived. They soon discovered the body on the floor. A blue flame proceeded from it, but it did not blaze up. Mr. Allen told about getting the body out in practically the same manner as already described. He identified the body as that of Frank Miller by a peculiar bunch on one foot, caused by severe cut which Miller had received from an axe several years ago.

   Allen looked after the cows on the morning of March 15 and was of the opinion they had not been milked the previous night. He knew John Truck but did not see him on Wednesday, March 8.

TRUCK TELLS ALLEN A DIFFERENT STORY.

   Truck came to his house about 8 P. M. on Monday, March 13. Truck told him that his wife had been wanting for some time to come over to Mrs. Lee's who lives on the hill near Blodgett Mills. That morning he told her he would come with her. They had come together and he had left Mrs. Truck at Mrs. Lee's. Truck said that Patsy Lee had sent word for him to come and get some chickens that he had bought of him as he (Lee) was about to move away. He wanted to buy a cheap work horse and asked witness what kind of a horse Frank Miller had. Truck stayed with him to supper and did not leave until nearly dark.

   Allen went to the barn to do his chores; went up to the cow barn first on the cross road. Truck said he would go up over the hill toward Miller's, but instead started toward the state road. In a moment he came back from the horse barn with a rifle. Allen said, "You have got a rifle, have you?" Truck replied that he had, showed it to him, and then went on up the hill toward Miller's.

   At about 4 P. M. Tuesday Allen was coming down a private road that led from Miller's barnyard into the road in front of Miller's house; he saw Truck about ten or twelve rods ahead of him in the main road going down toward the school house. Allen had a load of hay, and George Miller was with him. George Miller is no relation to Frank Miller. They drove down the hill toward Truck. Truck turned up the hill toward Patten's and he turned to the right toward home. When he got to the schoolhouse he knows that Truck saw him because he turned and looked at him. Miller was not at home at that time. Allen saw him go by between 12 and 1 o'clock toward East Virgil; he had the bay horse and yellow wagon.

   Miller stopped and talked with him when he came back. Miller said, "Now, Dink, if you want to know some law, come up and I will tell it to you."

   "Where did you know so much law?" Allen asked.

   "Truck was at my house last night and gave it to me until 12 o'clock."

   Allen noticed particularly that Miller had the bay horse at that time because George Miller said to Frank that he had heard that Dr. Emery wanted to buy a horse and said, "Why don't you sell him that one?" Miller replied that he did not want to let that go. It was 4:20 when he came out of the house and had that talk with Frank. Truck told Allen that he had bought a small place up at Homer—twelve acres, and was going to move there that week.

   Soon after Allen reached the fire, he went over to the cellar door; saw door was down flat. There was no fire in that vicinity. His son Edwin told him that he had seen the post maul a number of times kept in the cow barn. Frank had told him a few days before that he had forty bushels of potatoes in the cellar picked up in crates to sell, and from ten to fifteen bushels more of salable potatoes that were not picked up.

   Miller always locked his doors when he went away; fastened the back door from the inside and came out of the front door and locked it. Allen had been with him a number of times when he had done that.

   This concluded the testimony for the morning and the inquest was adjourned until 1:30 P. M. It was expected that all the remaining witnesses would be sworn this afternoon including Dr. Emery who would give his testimony as to the results of the autopsy.