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Show I , 5ze3 A Fatal Family of Titled Russians 5sS? m Ii . ' ST. PETERSBURG, Aug. 20. Hus- sinn society awaits tho issuo of two j I setisational murder cases with remark-: remark-: able interest. Every newspaper reader I will remember, flic recent trial in Ven-' Ven-' ice of tho beautiful Countess Tarn-owska. Tarn-owska. Sho seemed to bo a fatal woman, and I find on investigation that she comes of a faral family, for the accused men in theso coming oases in .Russia are her cousins. They are in prison awaiting the hearing of charges against them of murdering their respective respec-tive brothers-in-law. One ,is Count Bohdnn Roniker and tho other Count O'Brien do Lacy. Strange to sa-, both crimes were oommittod at a.bout the same time, both wore for tho sake of an inheritance, and both the accused ; are handsome men of fashion. One J murder took place in "Warsaw and the I other in St. Petersburg. The details of ' each crime wero, however, uttcrl different. dif-ferent. Count I3ohdan Roniker married, some four years ago,, a MndcriioisoUc Chrzanowskn his first cousin. At the time cvorybod' said he had lrypnotized hor. Till tho present, moment sho is , madly in lovo with him, and declares that if he is sentenced she will leavo her throe children and follow him to tho Siberian mines, llor parents wero against tho match from tho first, and never received Count . Roniker, from tho da' of liia marriago, into their house I Ho was considered too flighty and 4 extravagant; too fascinating, also, to ! make a good husband. But his wife ; j hud two brothers. Tho 3'oungor of 1 these, bosides his mother's fortune, was to inherit over $3,000,000 from an undo. Those who knew Count. Roniker best say that it became, with him, a fixed idea that his wife should inherit in-herit tlieso millions. According to local law, ho would then have control of them. , This brother-in-law, whoso name was f Stas, saw littlo of his sister and her husband. Ho attonded, till the day of . his death, a school in tho town, going J backwards and forwards from homo evory day. Seventeen years of age, I clever, strong and thoroughly steady, i he had never given his parents tho least I anxiety. Ono morning ho won out to school as usual, and never ro turned His parents pa-rents sent word to tho police, after one anxious night spent in waiting for him, and a thorough search was made in the town. His school fellows, when questioned, ques-tioned, said that as they were walking home a tall, fair man accosted them, and, after a few minutes privato conversation, con-versation, walked away with Stas, who called over his shoulder that they would meet again at school next day. The boys afterward identified the count as the man who accosted him. After two days' search tho police received re-ceived notice from tho landlord of some disreputable furnished rooms that a murder had been committed there On going to tho rooms they found tho body of Stas, terribly mutilated, on the floor. Seventeen wounds had.bccn made in his head with some blunt instrument. The curtains and the carpets that covered cov-ered tho 'floor bore blood stains, as if there had boon a terrible struggle. Tho owner of the rooms, who made all sorts of contradictory statements, and had that very morning put $3000 into a bank, without being ublo to account for it. was arrested, no said ho knew nothing of tho murder till that day. But cxpcrtB declared that the body, which was discovered on Saturday, had been murdered on Thursday. Thurs-day. By this time Roniker, who was on his country estate, heard of tho murder from his mother-in-law. Ho nnd his wife wont to town for the funeral. His behavior was perfectly per-fectly calm, but bo often had ho told all his friends that lie would inherit his brother-in-law's fortune, and so bad was his roputation, that almost everybody ho know, his wife's f ami to', included, whispered that ho had done tho murdor. This statement spread from "society" down to the masses. A crowd waited near tho cemetery to mob him, so greatly was public opinion stirred by the tragedy. Only by leaving leav-ing tho f unoral procession and escaping by side streets did ho reach his hotel in safety. His friends advised, him to go to the polico and explain his movements from the Thursday to the Saturday, as opinion opin-ion grew more and more against him and ho could not show himself in the streets without being pointed at and hissed. So ho went to tho public prosecutor to declare ho was on his estate, hundreds of miles invav, .when tho murder was committed. But tho public prosecutor arrested him on the Bpot. Next day all Russia knew his finger marks exactly coincided with the blood-stained marks on tho globq of tho lamp in the room -where the murder had taken place. Tho crime had been committed in broad daylight. Tho lamp was lighted afterward, as the blood ou tho fingor marks proved. Shopkeepers identified tho count as tho man who had bought tho heavy cur-tains cur-tains and carpets with which tho room was hung, a couple of months beforo, The ownor of the rooms said tho count had lived there two months before, and had strictly forbidden anybody to ontor them. Tho front entrance was boardod up, and tho count, ho said, had tho key of tho kitchen entrance, which led straight downstairs and out into the street. Tho count's arrest croatcd a tremendous tremend-ous sensation. Tho murdered boy's fa ther had offered a hugo reward for tho diseovory of the murderer. No sooner was Roniker under lock and key than many people took his side. His own family a rich nnd powerful one, connected closely with tho most aristocratic aris-tocratic houses in Europe swear they will provo his innocence. His wifo is on his 'side, but tho rest of hor family aro against lvim. His tiral docs not come on till October, and, in tho meanwhile, mean-while, he is kept locked up in a cell in the Warsaw criminal prison. Ho constantly nsscrts ho is innocent and Bays he can provo ho was in a country town, named Lublin, when tho crime took place. First, bo it noted, he said, he was on his own estate, but tho police proved this statement to be untrue. The polico have forbidden the admittance of any friends or relations. rela-tions. Ho is kept on prison faro and takes a littlo exercise in the yard, under un-der the care of two soldiers with drawn swords. Tho murdered boy's father, rich as ho is, declares he will part with hi1? last cent, if need be, in order to bring the culprit to .iustiec. for the boy's steady habits and upright character charac-ter point to tho fact that only somebody some-body he know well could have lured him to such a dubious place as tho scene of tho tragedy. Tho other member of tho fatal Tarn-owska Tarn-owska family, Count O'Brien do Lacy, is a man of Irish descent, whoso family fam-ily Bottled in Russia in tho early part of tho eighteenth century. A few years ago he married tho dauglitor of General Buturlin, a very well known Russian soldior and courtier. Besides his daughter, daugh-ter, Buturlin had ono son, to whom bo planned to leavo tho greater part of his very largo fortune. O'Brien do Lucy, who was a very fascinating society man, had made several financial ventures ven-tures which turned out very badly. As ho and his wifo livod in a very extravagant way tho young couplo, in spito of a handsomo allowanco from Genera Buturin, wero nwuys pressed for money. About tho timo when Stas Chrzanowska was murdered in Warsaw, War-saw, young Buturlin, tho millionaire's son, died in St. Petersburg. Tho doctor doc-tor who attonded him, named Palchen-ko, Palchen-ko, has a very shady roputation. A post-mortem examination was made and showed that tho youth had been poisoned pois-oned by injections of cholera microbes. Patchenko, when arrested, doniod knowing know-ing anything about this. But lie broke down under cross-examination, confessed con-fessed his guilt and said that O'Brien de Lacy had promised hjm half tho Buturlin fortuno if ho got the heir to it out of tho way. General Buturhn oven thon refused to believo his son-in-law's guilt. But Patchenko 's desk and papers contained notes and telegrams which prove his statements true. O'Brien do Lacy has been arrested and, together with the doctor, awaits Iris trial in a St. Petersburg prison. For those who believo in fntality and o , unlucky significance of , the number , m thirteen one fact in O'Brien do Lacy 'a j,. career is notable. In .139, ho organ- f ft izod the ' c Anglrt-Russian Commercial . fe nnd Trading company.'' There were i m. thirteen directors and all of thorn ex- I 9 cept de Lacy have met with violent . Hti deaths, although they hailed irom many I WR parts of the world. Tho last fatality ' Bv occurred a year ago, whcn.BykoiT , ttio s f MF twelfth victim, was shot in the Can- . R casus. O'Brien do Lacy, when ho heard t HS tho news, said: "It will bo my turn HB next. But I will try to fight against H this terrible fatality, though 1 believo J Kg it will be too strong for mo." gg His behavior in prison is perfectly u VTZ quiet and ho firmly denies .having tar r. Eg ken any part in his brothor-in-law's f Eg murder,' but the public prosecutor has ma hinted that proofs exist that he and tho BJ doctor plnnncd uot only young iiutiir B lin's murdor, but that of Ins father B aud sister as well. . B |