The New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

PHILADELPHIA, August 16.

Thursday morning the corpse of a young woman was found in one of the docks near Kensington; an inquest sat upon the body, their verdict is, wilful murder by persons unknown: We cannot refrain from communicating such intelligence as has come within the range of our enquiry. Her name is Elizabeth Reeves, about 17 years of age; handsome; apprentice to a mantua-maker, and courted by a young tradesman of the vicinity, to whom it was reported she was shortly to be espoused. In the afternoon of Wednesday, after her day's work was at an end, she had requested leave of her mistress to take a walk to market, to purchase some fruit, for which purpose, she had obtained liberty, and a small sum of money, from her mistress; who saw no more of her until yesterday; when, as it has been traced, a boy, being on the fatal wharf at a very early hour, observed a man heaving stones on something, which the boy soon discovered to be the dead body of a man or woman he could not tell which; that the instant the man saw the boy, he leaped into a batteau, and pushed off a few yards to a shallop, that lay convenient, to which he made fast the batteau, and then boarding the shallop the latter put off with the tide down the river which was favorable to the design at this moment.

The body of a female, with gold ear-rings, and some other marks of respectability, soon attracted the notice of the citizens; and the noise reaching the ears of her mistress and an uncle, (for the unfortunate girl was an orphan) her person was soon ascertained. A comb which she wore in her hair was found at some paces distant, lying in contact with a man's black cravat, which has been supposed to belong to—! humanity forbids our proceeding in this horrid recital; except to mention, that some officers belonging to the custom-house sent off a boat, as did several others, after the shallop before mentioned.

Professional persons of both sexes were brought to examine the body, and it was the opinion of the women that the unhappy girl had been ravished, and then murdered! from the marks of violence on her face and other parts Surely the earth and sea combined could not hide a villain of so deep a dye as he who has committed a crime like this—let him take refuge in the hollows of the mountains, or in the bottom of the deep abyss—he must and will be vomited up again to appease the justice of the virtuous living.

[The Governor of Pennsylvania, by Proclamation, has offered a Reward of three hundred dollars, for detecting the infamous murderer.]