OBITURY – Miss Olive M. Rayl
East Liverpool Tribune
Miss Rayl’s body will be brought home
Mystery still surrounds the death of the Wellsville girl.
The Funeral this afternoon.
The finding of the lifeless and horribly mutilated body of Miss Olive M. Rayl of Wellsville, on the tracks of the Lake Shore railroad at Cleveland, near Gordon Park, yesterday (September 22, 1903) morning, caused a most profound shock in her home city, where reside her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John C. Rayl, in an elegant home on Front Street, near Eighth.
The sad and terrible tidings almost prostrated the aged mother, but she steeled herself for the trying ordeal and left on an early train yesterday morning for the scene of death.
Miss Rayl left home a few weeks ago to take a position as probationary nurse in the Lakeside hospital where her brother, Dr. W. L. Rayl, is attached to the staff of physicians.
Monday morning Miss Rayl left the Lakeside institution for the purpose of going to the Charity hospital to apply for a position as nurse, and that was the last seen of her until her dead body was found yesterday morning.
The entire detective force of Cleveland is rigidly investigating the mystery of her death-the supposition being that she was murdered and her body placed on the railroad track in order that a passing rain might obliterate the evidences of the unhallowed crime.
Footprints of a man and woman and tracks of a rubber tired buggy were discovered near where the body was found. Black and blue marks were found on the throat of the dead girl. Her body had been cut square in two across the chest and in addition the right arm and leg were terribly mangled.
Later a detective carefully searched the grass and woods surrounding the spot near where the body was found and discovered a man’s plain handkerchief covered with blood. It bore the initials “J. D.’
At the morgue an examination of the body showed a cut on the head, apparently not inflicted by the train which mutilated the body.
Miss Rayl was highly esteemed by a large circle of friends in Wellsville and elsewhere. She was a general favorite and her cruel fate has cast a deep gloom of sorrow over all who knew her. Her father is an extensive oil operator and her sister recently married Ross Starrett, a well known young man of Wellsville.
The remains arrived at Wellsville this morning in the care of her mother and brother and at 1 o’clock this afternoon the funeral will be held a the home, the Rev. L. F. Laverty, pastor of the First Presbyterian church officiating.
Every effort will be put forth to run her murderer to earth and wreak upon him the swift punishment his monstrous crime demands.