Morning journal and courier., 1888-02-17
THE HEAD MISSING.

A Man Horribly Mangled-KilIed i'm the Cut Near the Fair Street Bridge The Scattered Fragments Gathered No Trare of the Head Found. A horrible accident occurred last night sometime between 6 and 8 o'clock in the rail- road cut of the Consolidated road between Fair and Wooster streets. A man was run over and killed. Hardly vestige of his re- mains was left. Pieces of the body were scattered all the way between the Fair street and Grand avenue bridges. There was not enough left to identify the man and the head was missing.
 It was shortly past o'clock when William McKeon, 8 sWitchman who occupies the little switch house by the side of the track near the Wooster street bridge, took his lantern and walked along the track to see to some of the switches. What was his horror, before | he had gone many feet in the direction of the Fair street bridge, to find lying alongside of the rail part of the trunk of man. Word was at once sent to Medical Exam iner M. c. White, but he not being at home Dr. Elliott, deputy medical examiner, was sent for. It was after g o'clock when he ar- ! rived on the spot.
 None of the railroad employees knew any thing about who the man was or had the least idea as to how he came to such an un- timely end.
 Dr. Elliott, assisted by Officer Grant and some of the railroad employees, searched all along the track to find something by which to identify the man. But they were not re- warded. Sixty-fve cents in silver was found scattered on the track. After faithful search was found that the first trace of blood was under the Fair street bridge. This led to the belief that the man was on top of 8 train and had been struck by the bridge as the train passed under. It could be seen where the body had been dragged. A little a.--L UT-.z a.. the feet, which had been severed just below the ankle. Near by were the lower parts of
 both legs and the trousers. Two old shoes lay in the gutter. Small portions of the body were scattered all the way to Grand avenue.
 Beyond Wooster street was found one of the hands. The clothing was scattered in pieces
 along che track.
 The head, however, could not be found,
 although most diligent search was made
 for it. The accident occurred on the track
 on which all outgoing trains go. It was the
 opinion of Dr. Elliott that the man had not
 under he had been hit and had fallen be-
 tween the cars. His head might have caught
 between the bumpers of the wheels and the
 body dragged along while it was haggled in-
 to pieces It was thought that the head was
 caught between the cars in some way and car
 ried on.
 Mortimer Morisrty, the switchman who
 stays in the little house just below the Fair
 street crossing, told CoURiER reporter last
 night that when the Harlem river freight
 passed by on the way to Hartford shortly be-
 fore o'clock he saw on top of one of the
 cars two men. One was sitting on the brake
 with his back to the bridge. The smoke was
 so thick from the engine that he believed
 they did not notice that they were approach
 ing bridge. At the time he thought noth-
 ing of it, supposing that the men got out of
 the way. After it was discovered that
 man had been killed he at once concluded
 that it was one of the two men he saw on the
 train. They were not brakemen, he said,
 but were tramps stealing ride. The story
 told by Mr. Moriarty would seem to bear out the opinion that the man had fallen from the
 cars.
 Lewis & Mayeock, the undertakers, ,gatber-
 ed what pieces there were left of the man.
 They were over an hour in finding the frag-
 ments. They found in portmonnaie which
 was in one of the pockets of the clothing card on which was the name of John Daley, 845 Pacific street. Brooklyn. This seems to confirm the statement that he was stealing ride and was struck by the bridge.
 An inquest will be held today.