Murder in Skinner’s Eddy
July 1896
HACKED TO DEATH.
Benj. Carter Murdered in Cold Blood at Skinner’s Eddy.
THE MURDERER ARRESTED
“JUMBO,” A FRENCHMAN, DID THE AWFUL DEED WITH A POCKET KNIFE—THE BODY FRIGHTFULLY GASHED—SUMMARY JUSTICE IN WYOMING COUNTY.
A great deal of excitement was occasioned in the quiet little village of Skinner’s Eddy, in Wyoming county, late on Friday night. There was little sleep in that burg the balance of the night as every man, woman and child in the town was wide awake due to an awful tragedy that had been committed there. The enormity of the crime was the highest in the criminal calendar, being murder most foul. In fact a cold-blooded affair and the perpetrator showed himself to be a criminal of the most vicious and depraved nature, as the circumstances indicate. Heretofore Skinner’s Eddy has been a quiet law-abiding village, but its fair name has been dragged into the dust tramped upon and besmirched with crime. The citizens feel very bad over the unfortunate affair and would do most anything to clear the town of the reputation it has gained at a single bound.
The “News Dealer” was the first paper to announce the awful tragedy on Saturday morning and in less than two hours one of the Lehigh Valley’s speedy passenger trains had landed a “News Dealer” representative on the scene of the crime. The reporter was agreeably surprised to see how summarily crime and criminals are dealt with in Braintrim township, Wyoming county. The criminal was arrested six hours after the crime, a coroner’s jury held an inquest on the victim and rendered a verdict and the prisoner was landed in a cell in the jail at Tunkhannock ten hours after the offense had been committed.
When the reporter reached Skinner’s Eddy the town was full of people in holiday attire having turned out to celebrate the national holiday [Independence Day]. The people stood in groups and knots about the streets and in the business places discussing the crime and on every hand was heard the remark that the prisoner deserved lynching. Not even was Skinner’s Eddy excited, but Laceyville, nearby, Meshoppen, Mehoopany and other towns along the Valley road. The place where the tragedy was enacted, at the Table Rock Hotel, was shrouded in gloom and the place was closed out of respect to the murdered man, Benjamin Carter, whose hacked and disfigured body was still lying in the house, awaiting the arrival of the undertaker to remove it to the late home of the deceased. The small crowd of people that had gathered there talked with each other in whispers.
The victim is Benjamin Carter, an unmarried man, aged about 22, who resides in South Auburn, Susquehanna county, several miles from the Eddy. He was never known as a quarrelsome man and was well liked. The murderer is Ferdinando Chambpluli, a Frenchman, who is better known as “Jumbo.” He is married and is the father of three children. His present wife is his second one. He is about 40 years of age. He has been running a stone quarry along Tuscarora Creek, five miles from the Eddy, for the past few years. He has several brothers in the same business in the vicinity. He was not a quarrelsome fellow unless under the influence of drink, when he would show a nature of the vicious and revengeful sort.
THE TROUBLE
On Friday night a crowd had gathered in the town from the neighborhood around to celebrate the dawning of the glorious Fourth of July. In the crowd at the Table Rock House were Carter and “Jumbo.” There was no disturbance of any kind until about 10 p. m. Both of the men had several drinks, but were in no way intoxicated. “Jumbo” seemed to be itching for trouble, however, and he began to pick at Carter and twitted him about being in jail at Scranton recently. Carter became angry, but he stood the abuse for a time. Finally patience ceased to be a virtue and he struck “Jumbo” a stinging blow in the face, staggering him and almost knocking him off his feet. The Frenchman immediately grew white with rage and his revengeful nature asserted itself, as he said: “Me no fighta you now, but you lookee out.” He made a drive at Carter, but ex-Sheriff Charles Knapp stepped between the men, took the Frenchman by the arm, led him out of the hotel and told him to go home.
THE KILLING
Mr. Knapp returned to the bar-room where all hands were standing and sitting about discussing the matter. Everyone thought that the Frenchman had gone home. In a few moments he reappeared, however. Carter was sitting in the barroom, alongside of the door leading from the reading room. The Frenchman walked right up to Carter and, without any words, began throwing his arms through the air around about Carter’s head like a sparrer feeling for an opening. No one noticed what the Frenchman had in his one hand, wherein he held a knife. The first blow he drove the knife into Carter’s head and slashed it down over the right temple, cutting an awful gash. In the next second he plunged the knife into Carter’s right breast. Just then Carter turned around in the chair and his right arm received the knife on the back thrust. The arm was nearly cut in twain. The knife cut through the muscles, tendons and flesh, clear to the bone, between the elbow and shoulder. Carter then arose and made a rush for the outside door in his effort to get away to escape further punishment. He walked as far as the gate to P. J. Swan’s yard. Blood was running from all of the wounds and it saturated his clothes and even dropped from him and bespattered the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind him. The Frenchman caught up to Carter at this point and, not satisfied with his already fiendish work, plunged the knife for the fourth timie into Carter’s back. Carter then retraced his steps to the hotel. He staggered into the reading room, grasped the counter for support and gasped, “I’m stabbed.” Blood ran from the wounds in steams and formed pools on the floor. He began to grow weak and as he was toppling to the floor kind hands rushed to his assisance. They carried him to a lounge, where he expired in less than an hour after the deed had been committed.
The crown in the bar-room when the fracas occurred were paralyzed with fear. The stabbing was done so quickly and the men had left the house, before they realized what had really happened and they all clain that they could not have prevented it, as the Frenchman did it so quickly and kept the knife completely concealed in his hand, the crowd not even seeing the weapon, and all thought that he was merely using his fists. When, however, Carter was in his death throes the crowd quickly went into action and began the search for the Frenchman, who had made good his escape in the darkness.
INQUEST AND ARREST.
When Carter breathed his last the news was spread about and soon the entire village was aroused and everybody turned out of bed and aided wherever they could. The citizens were not long in making up their minds as to what to do. W. A. Hawley, the justice of the peace, assistant coroner, at once subpoenaed a jury as follows to hold an inquest, although it was already midnight: Judd Squires, foreman. Leonard Rought, Martin Singer, William Mosier, James Cook and F. D. Yielding. The jury viewed the body and at once set to work to take testimony. There were numerous witnesses and at about 2 a. m. a verdict was rendered that Benjamin Carter came to his death from stab wounds inflicted with a knife in the hands of “Jumbo,” the Frenchman. A warrant was at once sworn out before Squire Hawley and A. W. Williams, the wide-awake and stalwart constable of Braintrim Township, was sent in search of the fleeing murderer. The officer searched the Frenchman’s house, but found him not. The wife gave a clue, however, that led to his whereabouts. She stated that when her husband came home, a short time before, he was greatly excited and did not remain in the house very long, saying he was going out to his sixteen-year-old daughter, who lived three miles beyond. As he was leaving he remarked to his wife that probably some one would soon be after him and he wanted to get out of the country, so he would go out and bid his daughter good-bye before leaving. The wife nearly fainted when she learned what he had done. The officer lost no time, however, and pushed ahead on the trail, as he did not want to give the criminal too much start to get to the woods. It was past three o’clock in the morning, but Constable Williams pluckily rushed along and at 4:20 a. m. he succeeded in capturing his man. The Frenchman offered no resistance and willingly surrendered, saying he “knew what he was arrested for.” The officer and his prisoner made all possible haste to get to Skinner’s Eddy. Daylight was already here and he wanted to get the prisoner before Squire Hayley [sic] before anyone would attempt to lynch him. Arriving at the Eddy the entire village was up in waiting and the constable was complimented on all sides for his excellent night’s work. The prisoner was given a preliminary hearing, after which Squire Hawley committed him to jail without bail to await trial at court for murder. The constable took his prisoner on the south bound Lehigh Valley train and shortly after 8 a. m. Saturday had delivered him over to Sheriff Frank Knapp’s care at the county jail at Tunkhannock.
On the way to jail the prisoner confessed he had committed the deed. He expressed the greatest of sorrow when he learned that Carter was dead and completely broke down, crying bitterly nearly the entire time he was in the train. The knife, still blood stained, was found in the possession of the prisoner’s wife, to whom it had been handed by her husband on his rearching home. It was an ordinary jack knife. A big crown of people followed the prisoner to the jail at Tunkhannock. The entire county is excited as it never has been before.
Carter’s body was removed to his home Saturday forenoon. Dr. D. W. Sturdevant will hold a post mortem on the remains on Sunday. The officers of Braintrim township are certainly be commended for their prompt action in capturing the murderer.
~Sunday News (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), July 5, 1896, p1
Transcribed from Newspapers.com
Repository: Sunday News, 1882–1904 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2025. Last updated: June 11, 2018
