The Shack Murder Mystery
An elderly woman is found dead in her South Seattle home, setting off a local investigation as neighbors—and suspects—scramble to prove their innocence.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The question of who killed Charlotte Fetting is giving the police food for thought. The shack in which the deed was committed is so unpretentious, and the surroundings are so unattractive that those looking for 'cribs to crack' would never have given it a thought. Only some person well acquainted with the occupants and their finances would have come to the little building with chloroform and rags. Information has been collected as to the three primary suspects on the night of the murder which pretty clearly establishes an alibi for them, and it looks as though the police would have to look further afield. The three suspects, Charles J. Ott, his son Charles, and Stephen A. Waidron, are still held in the city jail. Their families are confident that their incarceration will be of short duration and believe the police will find the real murderer. Meanwhile, detectives are working to trace the ownership of the handkerchiefs and the chloroform bottle found at the scene, which are believed to be the keys to the mystery.
“Well, this is what one gets for helping other people. The Fettings, they did not have a dollar to their names and we let them build their shack on our land free rent.”
This 1893 crime narrative highlights the fragility of life in the shantytowns of early South Seattle. Today, the area near the old industrial hubs of South Seattle remains a space of constant transition, where the echoes of the city’s rough-and-tumble founding still meet the pressures of modern redevelopment.
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