The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-05-21
A REPORTER DETECTIVE
Secures the, Arrest of a Supposed
Murderer.
a STRANGE CASE.

New YORK, May 20. The police officers
saw two men standing with an empty truck
and team in front of $40 West 36th street to-
night, and they watched them for nearly an
hour, suspecting they were thieves or burglars.
The officers demanded their business. and not
receiving satisfactory answer the men were
arrested AT the police station the prisoners
described themselves as Gustavus ..Seide, re-
porter for the Jersey City Evening Journal,
and =; A; strang, an expressman of Ganse-
WORT Market. The reporter stated that he had
traced the murderer of Nina Muller to the
house in Thirty-sixth street, and was waiting
there for the man when the policemen inter-
tered. The criminal, he said, was Martin
KomkoWsky, bricklayer, 80 years old, who
lived with his wife and two children at $40
West Thirty-sixth street. After hearing this
Capt. Washburn discharged bothi the reporter
and expressman, and sent two detectives with
them to capture Komkowsky. The four men
returned to the house, land after waiting over an
hour saw Komkowsky approaching his dwell
ing. He was arrested and taken to the station
house, and in his rooms the officers found
three trunks filled with women's wearing ap-
parel. Mrs. Komkowsky said the trunks had
been brought there by her husband week ago,
and that she did not know to whom they be-
longed or what they contained. The trunks
were taken to the police station and opened
An envelope addressed to Mrs. Nina Muller
was found in one of them, and in the other
some jewelry was found among the clothing.
Mrs. Komkowsky followed the officers to the
station, where her husband was being uues-
toned as to what he knew of the murdered
woman. An exciting scene took plack. She
demanded why her husband had been arrested
and then turning to him she upbraided him
with having been away from home much of
late, and also with having acted in strange
manner.
Komkowsky replied that he was unfortunate,
and that woman had ruined him. To Cap
tain Washburn he said: 81 knew Nina Sch
midi; did not know that she was married to
man named Muller. She told me that she
loved me, and that 1 should go with her to
Germany. She said that she had good parents
there and they would treat me kindly. / went
with her to Gutenberg and Schutzen Park,
and met there two men who told me that she
did not love me, but that she loved another
She ran away, and I've never seen her since.
went to Christopher street, where we had
lived together, and where we had our trunks
and then removed to my home"
Mr.. Selde, the reporter, said be came to New
York this morning, and spent the entire day in
search Tor the expressman who had taken away
the trunks belonging to the mu rdered woman
from the house on Christopher street. He
found him, and he remembered taking the
trunks from Scherrer's place to horse on
Charles street. They drove to a boarding
house 149 Charles street, kept by Mrs. Clifford.
The latter said that the man who had come
there with trunks had gone away a week ago,
but he had only taken three trunks and left
one. Strang then remembered habing takeu
trunks for the same man to Thirty-sixth street
about week ago. They then took this trunk
to $40 West Thirty-sixth street, and there it
was recognized by Mrs. Komkowsky as the
property of her husband. She said he was
away from home, but was expected back this
evening. She also said that he bad been away
from home about three weeks in March, look
ing for work, as he told her, and that he had
not been home to stay until about week ago,
The three trunks which he husband had NOV
ed from Mrs. Clifford's house were in the
rooms; they were locked, and Mrs. Komkow-
sky did not know what they contained. They
were marked for shipment to Paris, France,
and bore the name "Joseph Reymann.' He
was waiting with the expressman outside of
the house expecting the return of Komkowsky
when arrested.
Komkowsky was locked up tonight He
was recognized as the man who had stayed at
the house in Christopher street in company
with the murdered woman. The prisoner will
probably be taken to Hoboken tomorrow.