Crime In A Church

San Francisco, April 15.- The Emanuel Baptist church at Bartlett streot, between Twenty-second and Twenty-third in this city, bas been the scène of two of the most atrocious murders ever committed in the state. Saturday the mutilated and murdered body of Minnie Williams was founü in the library of the ediflce. Yesterday ihenude body of Blanche Lamont was found In the tower of the same church. The same hand, the authorities believe, slew both girls and W. H. T. Durant, the young man suspected of both crimes, is now in custody. Blanche Lamont and Minnie Williams were members of tho Enianuel church and members of the Sunday school class. The former was a student at the Normal school on Powell street in this city; the latter was a companion in a family in Alameda, across the bay from the city. They were each 21 yeare old, brunettes, aud pretty and modest girls. The Wolf in Mieep' Clothing. Both had been the reeipients of attentions from a young medical student nained W. H. T. Durant, who is also the librarían of the church and the secretary of the Young People's Society of the ohurch. On April 3 Miss Lamont disappeared. Diligent search failed to reveal any trace of her whereabouts, and her aunt, Mrs. Noble, with whom she had been living, was totally unable to throw any light on the affair. Miss Lamont carne írotn Dillon, Mont., soveral months ago, having been in San Francisco for het health and at the same time to attend the normal school to perfect herself as a teacher. The last person seen in her company was W. H. T. Durant, who, it seems, had been on friendly terms with the missing girl. On Saturday about 11 p. m. tho mutilated' body of Minnie Williams was found in tho library of tho church. Tho girl had been assaulted and her remains wero cut and hacked, the girl having evidently died from loss of blood. Ferocity of Her Assailant Her assailant had evidently possessed all the terocity of a Hipper. On exaniination it was found that she had been gagged, the assailant tearing part of her underclothing and thrusting it down her throat with a sharp stick, badly lacerating the tongue. Two witnesses state that they saw a young man and a young woman, the former answering the description of Duranc and the latter that of Minnie Williams, enter the church. Following this clue the pólice at once put the residence of Durant under surveillance. Miss Williams lived with friends in Alameda, who gave her a homo until she could siïcure a position. She had been a rotular atternlaut of the Emanuel church, having formerly lived in that noighborhood, but after the separation of her father and mother had moved to Alameda. Laat Time She Was Seeu Altve. Friday morning the Morgan family, with whom she had lived, packed their household goods intending to leave for Tacoma, and Miss Williams had removed ner possessioDs to the house of Mrs. Voy, near the church. Friday evening she was to havo attended a meeting of tho Young People's society of the Emanuel church at Dr. Vogel's house. At 7:16 o'clock she lelt Mrs. Voy's house to attend the meeting, taking a latchkey with her. She never appeared there. About this time Durant loft his home on Fairoaks street, in the same vicinity, bound for the same meeting. At 8 o'clock Durant met Philip Perkins and asked him some questions about a trip to Mount Diablo which the signal corps, of which he was a member, was to make the nest day. At y:30 he appeared at Dr. Vogel's residence where the meeting was in progress, and none tras more merry during the remainder oí the evening At 11 o'clock he left with a party of young people and went home. First Clue to the Murderer. The next morning Durant arose early and went with hls comrades of the Signal corps tor Mount Diablo, iifty mils away. The two murders are so closely connected that it is now necessary to go back to the Lamont case Yesterday Mrs. Noble, the auut of Mis Lamont, received through the mails a paper containing the four rings worn by her niece the day she disappeared. On the paper were written the name and address of Tlieodore Durant. This, together with the fact that Miss Williams, an intímate friend of Miss Lamont, had been heard to say she knuw Blanche had been murdered but refused to teil what, she knew, had led the police to suspect that the samo one who had killed Miys Williams had slain Miss Lamont. and learning that Miss Williams knew of his crime attemptetl further concealment by commictingasccond murder.