, 1873-05-18
A;uorrible /! Double j, Murder I, COMMITTED
by a Negro.
A Painful and sickening Record Of Grim
----------~ lnal- Debauchery. ry.-----.-
Brief Biography Of: q Distinguish;
: -. ed Suicide !: rs ;;

zo0,ooo sala1ed men, young merchants, and arti
Sans in>New York find it expensive and unBatis
! factory to rear families in tenement aud board
1ng-hoqses, and need healthy and economical
honpes in the suburbs. 80 = - -
Dr.. Decortez, who destroyed himself in Brook
: lyn, was unmarried, native OF Barcslona, Spain
and ia bis 34th year. He. g1sdnated at the Uni
VeEaity OF Bahia, Brazil, and also at Oxford, Eng
land. A. friend OF Dacortez recently committed
suicide in Hartford, and this. coupled with pecu.
niszv embarrassment; produced excessive de,
] spondency. Decortez WAS 3 man Of very high
intellectual attainments, an excellent Gnguist, a
profound observer. and . graceful writer, bu1
was unable to earn livelihood He waA Of an
ancient line OF Spanish aristoc1acy. -
At 7 o'clock this morning the barkeeper Of q
low negro dance-house At So Sullivan street,
rushed up to policeman in an excited manner,
and asked him to come inside. In q privy in the
inches deep, in the centre Of which WAS lying a
razor. Blood was spattared on the walls, and
marks Of bloody fingers were on tho door-posts.
The officer tracked drops Of blood from the pool
+ to a hallway, corner Of Broome and Sullivan
streets: Satisfied that great crime had been
committed, be hurried to the Police Station and
! reported to Capt. Mccullough, and q platoon
Of men in civilian dress at once
began = thorough search OF the neighborhood
Meantime an immense crowd Of excited. blacks
and whites gathered around, and dicussed the
mystery. AZ 1910 o'clock negro rushed into
the police station and said that Mary Jano Sui
Ivan, OF 81 Thompson street, had been killed
BY her paramour, who had fled Proceeding
thither, the officers clambered up two pairs OF
] stai1s, and found young white woman lying on
| q bed, dead, and covered with bruises. They as
| certainel that she had been living with 3 colored
J calciminer, named Jim, aliaa Joe Jackson, and
and several other articles xeEe o $50
miselng. The row OF houses Of which No. 81 is
one il known as "Nigger Alley" and is peop1ed
by negroes and their white mistressea- Besides
also rnistresses Of Jackson, were in the room,
and we're arrested as Witnesses. The wounds on
the corpse were evidently inflicted by; sqme
heavy blunt instrument like an a1-hand1e,
been done with q razor, and there was no
connection between the body and the pool Of
blood il the privy Of 60 Sullivan street. Tho
police formed q theory that Jackson had caught
her in the act Of unfaitlfulness with ahothe.
colo1ed man in the latter place, had killed him
with razor, hidden his body, drove her home,
murdered her, and fed. Ali The facts since as
certained Seem to bear out this horrible theory.
When the Coroner and his assistants
6nns such ut !hs oHd dSas9 ss sz
it was with the utmost difficulty they elbow
cd their way to the door. The interior OF the
miserable shanty was so, densely packed that a
strong force OF police was found necessary to
It was that Of young woman OF "a, with besuti-
full features, slin, but elegant figure, rather
below medium size. She h2d long, dark silken
hair, dark complexion, and dark eyes. She lay
bed, and was covered only with . chemise and
coarse brown horse-blanket- 4: deep cut was
found over the hight temple. The nose was
swollen as il BY blow. Both eyes and tho right
chenaise we're stained With blood. Near tie
right elbow WAS an abrasion surrounded by
disco1orahon as il in warding Of: i blow
from 3 club: This arm lay across the: body,
IS aao T IN osn ths @ aet 4 'f sgpp1ieatoa 9ea
mercy, an aot which the open mouth strongly. |
suggested The skull WAS not fractured, but |
death was found to hare resulted from compres-
sion OF. the brain BY 3 large clot Of coagutated |
blood from one Of the a1tarnal arteries, which:
had been ruptured by blow on the temple.
From the large quantity Of coagulated blood
around the heart and the 'rigidity Of the body, /
it WAS concluded that she had lived two or three
had died about 4 o'clock. The jury
was impaneled, and formal inquest is to be
held on Monday. The Coroner then took the
informal deposition of the witnesses captured
Alfred Wilkes, co1ored, testified that he WAS
in the iquor-store at Broome and Sullivan
streets; at midnight last night. Deceased en-
tered, and, after partaking Of . glass ct ale,
ln. On seeing her he shouted. "You ID
b-~h, what are you doing here Deceased
answered :: Nothing Jackson then gsia,. "Get
out Of here" and struck her across the back with
! club, which Witness identified as the one found
1n the floor Of the room in which the corpse lay.
Jackson drove her out and followed, and witness
heard them talking in loud and angry tones
outside. Jackson was >perfectly sober: at the
iIne- |
= Nellie Crumme., waaherwoman of Jackson's
1arem, testified that the murdered woman took
he missing pictures and clock to her house for +
!ate keeping several days ago She said Miss
3nl1ivan wandered into Jackaon's aroom while
,ed that she had lived with him since. Miss
3ullivan had wealthy relatives in Philadalphia, |
ome of whom visited her few days ago and
wanted her to go home With them, but she re-
used. =. J
Jackson's two other u,ist1esaes denied. any i,
Of the tragedy. One OF them, Lottie
Arnastrong: described the Gght-handled razor
yith gilt letters On it owned by Jackson. The
1oEoner- showed her the razor found in the pool
# blood It Is Ight-handled, and has on til
!eayly-gnilt old English letters :. !" The Old
English Razor" She was startled, but -strove ,
Q throw doubts upon its. identity: The keeper
i the dance-house and his ba1keeper could :
ast night although they acknowledged that he :
Gas nightly visitor. The Coroner eubsequent- J
visited the privy at 60 sullivane street. Dr..
'ushman estimated the quantity Of blood in the :
Col 10 sQft9 p&uka, aaQ gave IT, 88 0lS opinion j
bat it poured out suddenly from some main
rtery. He carried OF q rial full for. analysis.
II the witnesses, except the washerwoman,
ere locked mp in the House OF Detention.
Late tonight q Philadelphian, on: hearing the
testimony, visited the room in
hich the body lay, and identified it. a. that Of {,
[ias Cad Gibson, daughter Of wealety tin raer-
hant Of that place: Previous to hor Gttaining
er sixteenth year, she was a lovely and accom-
lished young Indy, greatly beloved and respect
d. About that time ehe fell q victim to I
1e wi1es Of = scoundre1, and SO degraded !
id ahe become in an astonishingly abort time
ersname became the by-word in military camps
.ationed M around the City Of Brotherly Love 1t |
said that in one year abe mada 100000 by
z.stituting herself to soldiers, whom she go
realty demo1alized. that the authorities waro
'mpe11ed to take her in hand- A policeman G
as sent to arrest her. He caught her one Sum !
y evening, and was escorting her to the police
alton, when they suddenly met her father moth I
and sister returning from church. Cad began to
'ream, and, the old gentleman recognizing her
frA f7pYH hnt. l