Three Doctors Arrested and One Man Killed in Grave Robbing Incident
Springfield (MASS) Republican, February 26, 1890, p. 6.
THEY TRY TO DESECRATE GRAVES AT NEW ALBANY, IND., AND ONE IS SHOT
Two Louisville, Ky., physicians and their assistants were surprised in the
act of desecrating graves at New Albany, Ind., Monday night. For some time
the medical colleges at Louisville, across the river, have been unable to
procure sufficient material for dissection, consequently a raid on a New
Albany cemetery was planned. It would probably have been entirely
successful if one of the ghouls had not made a reconnoiter in the day time.
This aroused suspicion and a trap was laid for their capture. A guard was
stationed in the cemetery and just as the men had struck a spade into the
first grave, officers sprang upon them. They started to run when a volley
terminated the career of one and brought the other one to a standstill. The
man who was killed was a negro, an assistant of the party. Three other men
were arrested. They were Drs. J. T. Blackburn and E. W. Grant, leading
physicians of Louisville, and a negro. The affair has caused a great
sensation on both sides of the river.