Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-06-05
chokEp IN A CHAIR.
The Mystery of the Trunk Murder in Chi
cage Cleared Away-Four Italians Con-
TESS to the Killing of Philippe Caruso-
How the Deed Was Committed.

The Mystery OF the Trunk MURDER IN chi.
cago Cleared Away-Four Italians Con-
fess to the Killing of Philippe Caruso-
How the Deed Was Committed.
CHICAGO, May 13.-For ten days the
mysterious murder of Philippe Caruso has
kept the police on the alert and batfled all
efforts. Yesterday confessions were ex-
tracted from all the Italians under arrest,
and the mystery of one of the most daring
and most skillfully planned and executed
solved.
On the morning of Thursday, April so,
| Philippe Caruso entered the house at "a
Tilden avenue. He was nevel1.seen to
leave the house, but four Italians We're
| noticed about the place and a trunk was
| carried in and carried out again. The body
| of Philippe Caruso was found in the same
trunk at Pittsburgh two days later. He had
| been strangled to death. The eXpressman who
hauled the trunk to the depot, the baggage
| master who gave the check to Jurado or
| Gilardo, the man who sold the trunk, and
| the little girl who saw the men carry the
trunk into and away from "a Tilden ave-
nue., all made statements which formed q
strong chain of circumstantial evidence
around Gilardo and the four Italians locked
UP Ill llC 4JCSplulilCS otlCCO 6ltulOLA
The police determined yesterday to pro-
| cure confessions from all of the suspected
men. Strategy was resorted to. Gilardo
had already confessed, and what he said
was used to induce some of the men con,
fined in the Desplaines Street Station to
| talk. Antonio Mercurio was the first to
weaken.
Mercurio said he was not present at the
time the murder was committed, but he
knew it was to take place, and was told of
it after it had been committed. He told
what Giovanni AZzaro had told him.
Azzaro had planned the murder
several months before, and wa the
leader. Caruso was supposed to have a
great amount of money on his person.
On the morning of Thursday, April 80,
when Caruso went to "a Tilden avenue,
Augustine Gilardo, Agnazzio Sylvesti and
Giovanni Azzaro were waiting for him. it
had been arranged that the men were to
| shave one another. AS Caruso entered
| Gilardo arose and asked Caruso to shave
him. When he had finished Gil
ardo told Caruso to take a seat in
| the chair and be shaved in turn. Caruso
sat down, elevated his feet,
and threw his head back. Gilardo carefully
lathered the unsuspecting victim. Stepping
back, he picked up a rope on which a moose
had been made. %Stealthily creeping up be-
hind Caruso, he suddenly tossed the moose
over the victims head and called to Sylvesti
and Azzaro. Springing forward, the men
while Gilardo clasped his hand over
Caruso's mouth. Caruso was dead in a
moment There was a moments hurried
consultation, and AZarro suggested the
buying of a trunk. While Sylvesti and
Giraldo were getting it Mer-
curio came to the room. He saw the
body, and went downstairs Immediately,
Pretty soon Sylvesti returned, car
rying the trunk, accompanied by Gilardo.
Azzaro had tied the body up in a bunch,
and it was dumped into the trunk. Then
Gilardo and AZZaro carried the trunk down
to Madison street and Center avenue, where
haul it to the depot. Gilardo bought the
ticket for Pittsburgh and checked the trunk.
When Mercurio finished his tale Gilardo
was brought up. lie weakened when he
heard Mercurio's story repeated, and told
substantially the same thing. Azsaro was
tried but would not say a word. Then Syl-
vesti was taken in hand. He also gave in
and told substantially the same story as
Mercurio and Gilardo. He also said Azzaro
concocted the scheme and urged the others
on.
When Azzarro discovered that the others
had confessed, he weakened, and trem-
blingly told the same story. The comics
sions were all taken down in shorthand by
State's-Attorney Grinnell's stenographer,
and were duly witnessed by people who
understood both the Italian and the English
translation. Augustine Gilardo, alias
Jurado, the dude, Giovanni Azzaro, and
Innazzio Sylvesti are held on the charge OF
murder, while Antonio Mercurio and Ignaz.
zio Bove are held as accessories before and
after the fact.