Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-06-21
MURDERS THAT DO NOT OUT.
The Celebrated Cases OF New York

MURDERS THAT DO NOT OUT.
The Celebrated Cas- Gases Of New York
MURDERS WHICH SOCIETY CARES NOTHING
ABOUT-0THBR MURDBR5-CRIMES WHICH HAVE
STARTLED NEW YORK, BUT OF WHICH THE
PERPETRATORS HAVE NEVER BEEN DIscoV-
Erred.
The sacredness with which our civilization
has Invested human life finds expression In the
common assertion that murder will OUT" and
possibly In the large majority OF cases tue per-
petratOrs of murder are discovered and pun
ished. Yet 1t Is certain that in respect to
considerable minority Of the total number of
murders committed the guilty escape detection.
Bodies are daily and weekly discovered In the
rivers. They may represent deaths by accident,
by suicide, or by murder: but there Is no way OF
ascertaining with accuracy how many are at
tributable TO either cause. In some cases the
waters may cast up the body when it Is yet in
there be upon 1t; but If 1t has passed certain
stage OF decomposition this Is not possible
Thus 1t depends upon the mere accident Of the
action OF the tides whether it can be known that
ascertained 1t may Wen happen that the
knowledge gives not the slightest clue
to the :, perpetrators OF the crime. The
truth is, that not the murder Itself
but the social position of the victim
largely determines the chances of discovery. II
couple OF drunken lad degraded men, the off,
ScourlngS OF society, quarrel In their drunken
ness, and one pushes the other into the river;
or II man OF the same class be found dead,
WITH his skull fractured. in some WTetcaed Gel
lar, the chances are that the person at whose
hands the deceased came to his death Will not
De discovered. Here Is murder. out society
cares little about IL because the murdered was
at best useless to it, and possibly preyed upon
It.. Society Is rather the better for his taking
of, and those who are responsible for 1t are 100
brutaliZed to feel much conjunction about the
matter. III they are discovered 1t Is mainly by
chance circumstances rather than by the vigor-
GUS action Of society through its constituted au-
thorftieS. But let the murdered person be OF
good standing in society, or let their be circum-
stances about the affair concentrating the pub
lie attention upon the crime, then 1t is that the
community Is startled with the consciousness
that murder has been committed, and all its
resources for the detection and punishment of
crime, are exhausted TO bring the guilty to JUS
tee. Ii these are baf1ied, which is but rarely,
the case passes into Police history as another
undiscovered murder" often quoted and long
remembered, while 1t Is morally certain that
not month, and perhaps not a week, passes In
this city but some wretehed creature meets
death at the hands of persons who remain an
known and almost unsought.
Inc murder or Helen .eWett, In this city,
which occurred In 1886, was one Of the cases
where no conviction followed The unhappy
creature who was the victim of this brutal
crime was wellknOwn In New York mot then
the large city it has since become) as one of the
most beaut1ful or that class whose feet take
hold ON death and whose steps lead down to
he'll. Born In Augusta, Me-, OF poor parents
but, through the Kindness Of a benevolent gem
tleman, given superior education, she early
fell from the ways Of virtue, and after a varied
experience In Boston and some other New En~-
land towns, made her way to this city. She en-
Thomas street, and speedily became known for
her beauty and accomplishments to all the fast
society OF the city. Early On the morning of
the 10Th OF April, 1886, the inmates Of the house
were startled by smoke issuing from her room:
the watchmen (our Metropolitan police had not
then been organized) were hastily called In, the
tiDguiShed, and the body of the unfortunate
girl was discovered, a deep cash on the side OF
the mead showing the cause Of her death. The
murder Mortified the whole city. young man
named Richard P. Robinson was arresred
Tor the crime. He was a frequenter of
Mrs TOwnsendS house, and of others OF similar
character, where he was known by the name OF
Frank Rivers: The trial lasted several days, and
the public feeling ran high, even to the extent
or causing riotouS demonstrations in front of
the City Hall, where lie was tried. Opinion was
divided as to his guilt or innocence. He was
proved TO have at one time been strongly at
tached 10 the murdered girl, who was passion
ately In love with him; but he had tired OF her,
ana was, it was said, paying bis addresses to
relative OF bis employer, with view to mar
rage. A rumor Of this reaching the GIRL she
nao, lt was said, written letter threatening to
for the crime. This, however, did not appear
on the trial; the evidence depended upon to con-
Wet the man was entirely circumStant1al, and
the trial resulted In an acquittal. The pros
ecutfon had to rely upon the evidence Of in.
mates or the house, and mainly upon that OF
Mrs. TOWNSEND. who kept it. She testified that
sne nad admitted Frank Rivers on the night
preceding the murder, and that he and Helen
Jewett had gene up stairs together to her room.
Dut lt appeared that the man admitted was
muff1ed In cloak, and that she did not see his
lace ulStlnctly. Other inmates Of the house
testified with more or less certainty that it was
the accused man who walked I'D stairs with the
murdered GIRL but they only inferred 1t was he
ham, three persons 6 e The other fhs
at the time Mrs. Townsend said she admit
teo robinson to the house, he was In a
stoIe Win 5hem at least a mile from the place
OF the murder. AS between these witnesses.
there would not have been reasonable DOUBT
which to believe; but there were circumstances
when told heavily against Robinson. The girl
mad peen killed by heavy blow with hatchet.
causing instantaneous death; and Ratchet was
found In the yard at the back of the house.
Wit !arge cloak lying near it, where both had
Gaping over the fence. This hatchet was posi-
lively ldent1fied as one taken from the store
where Robinson was employed; the cloak was
on the very night OF the murder; and a minia-
ture OF the victim, proved to have been In her
possession the day before the murder, was found
DAY after. The bad character of the witnesses
Tor the prosecution, and many serious dIscren
aneles In their statements; the good character
the accused Che was only 1877 and his reputation
Tor amiabilify and good nature, weighed power
Iuiiy enough In his favor TO save him from the
gailows: The charge OF the Judge was entirely
on his side; the jury after only ten m!nutes' con-
sultation rendered verdict of not guilty, and
10 TINS DAY II remains mystery who murdered
the unfortunate Helen Jewett. Robenson az
forwards settled In Texas.
Eight years after this murder another o.
CURED In this city, which was known as the
" pretty cigar gin tragedy" and furnished Ed
gar Poe with the materials for his story of the
mystery OF Marie Roget" Mary Cecelia
rogers was employed In Anderson's cigar store.
on Broadway, near the old New YORK hOspital
She was remarkable fer her beauty. and her
pretty face proved powerful attraction IN the
young men OF the period. On Sunday morn
Ing June 22, 1872 she left her mothers house in
Nassau street. for the purpose OF spending the
day at the house OF relative She was to
return Ia the evening, but did not. This, how
ever, excited no suspicion, because the night
was stormy and wet, and it was supposed She
would .rematn at her relatives all night. It
was when she failed TO appear next day that
ner friends became alarmed, and tmmedtateIy
lusututed inquiries. Thea 1t was discovered
that she had not been at her friends house All
trace OF the poor girl was lost from the time she
LEFT her mothers house that Sunday morning
But three weeks after the tide threw up rha
dead body On the bank OF the river at Weehaw
Ken. piece OF lace wound tightly around tae
neck showed that she had been straugIed
Inat the girl had been grossly outraged was n;
plainly dIscOverable as the manner of her
death. Who did IT has never been discovered
she went out that Sunday morning. her dead
RtNs