Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 October 1875 — Horrible Butchery of a Young Girl in New Hampshire. [ARTICLE]

Horrible Butchery of a Young Girl in New Hampshire.

Concord, N. 11.,. Oct. 5. The terrible outrage at Pembroke, reported last evening, lias aroused intense excitement all over the State, and hundreds are thronging the trains in their curiosity to visit the scene. The discoveries of to-day have, however, been few. Miss Josie Longmaid, eighteen years old, daughter of James T. Longmaid, who resides a mile and a half trom the Pembroke Academy, left home for the academy at eight o’clock yesterday morning. The road is a lonely one, and in that distancethere are but six houses. She was seen to pass the house of Mr. Amos Hoyt, a fourth of a mile from her home, but after that she was not seen alive, nor did she reach the academy. She was not missed till evening, for her younger brother supposed that she had remained at home. Her lather at once aroused the neighbors, and a systematic search was begun on both sides of the road, Shortly after eight o’clock Mr. Cope, one of the party, came upon her headless body in a dense undergrowth of birch, about three rods trom the road, a mile from home. The father was the third or fourth man to see it, and, as his eyes fell upon the sickening sight, he exclaimed: “ Oh my God!” and threw himself beside the bloody corpse, alternately kneeling beside it and embracing it. The ground and leaves for quite a space were completely saturated with blood, as was the butt of the tree. The clothing of the

girl was torn into shreds, and her underclothing torn and saturated with blood. Her dress and chemise were stripped to her breast, and three bones of the right hand were broken, as if the hand had been struck when vainly attempting to ward off a blow. The head was cut off cleanly as if cut by a large, sharp knife. The spinal column was severed between the first and second vertebras. It was the unanimous opinion of the physicians that decapitation was performed or begun before the girl was dead, because of the evidence of her having bled freely. The body was otherwise horribly mutilated. Two rings, one of plain gold and one rubber, and a gold-enameled breastpin and ear-rings were not to be found on the body. The body was taken home, placed in the same position as when found, the right let? doubled under the left, the right arm.laid across the breast, and left one under the back. At dawn search was begun by a large party for the missing head, books ana water-proof cloak. About eight o’clock Horace Ayer found the head partly rolled up in the water-proof, about seventy-five rods northwest of where the body was found, in the same piece of woods. It was partially uncovered, resting on tile water-proof, which was carefully thrown over it, but not quite concealing it. There was a wound on each side,- some inches long, and a cut on the top. Oh the right cheek there was a well-defined imprint of a hoot-lieel, medium size. There was also a cut on her cheek, just IVont of the left ear, that was probably made by some sharp instrument. A tew minutes later the books wore found, and near by a heavy oak stick considerably stained with blood. At about ten o’clock Deputy-Sheriff Hildreth took one William Drew, of Pembroke, into custody on suspicion. Drew is a young man, twenty-two years of age, of dissolute habits, and lives about a half mile back of the woods where the murder was committed. He is married to a woman fully as dissolute. It was thought advisable to lock him up, Though there is as yet no direct proof pointing to him as the assassin, Officer Hildreth was obliged to draw his pistol on the crowd when he locked Drew up at Suncook. A negro named Charles Woods has also been arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the crime.