Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1890-08-17
GOOD POLICE WORK.
THE RECOVERY OF JULIA CHISNELL'S DIA-
MONDS PRACTICALLY ASSURED.
Cora Hamln, the Girl Who Skipped Out to Pitts
burgh, the Self-OOnisssed Thisf-How She
Was Induced to "Squeal."

After four or five days of the hardest
sort of work on the part of Chief of Police
Delbrugge end Officer John Shorts, there
is at last a reasonable prospect that Julia
Chisnen will to-day recover her diamonds,
stolen from her house, No. 81 Seventeenth
street, last Wednesday.
AS will be remembered by readers of
this paper, the gems were taken from the
Chisnen residence presumably on Wednes-
day morning. and their loss was discovered
by the owner about two o'clock on that
day. The police were at once notified, and
Chief Delbrugge at once took the most en-
ergetic measures to prevent the girl sus-
pected of the theft, Cora Hamlin, from
leaving the city. The news Of the robbery
came too late, however, the thief hay
ing left town on the 1:35 p. m train.
kilograms were at once sent TO the Pitts
burg authorities to catch her before she got
of the train, if possible, and Hamlin was
arrested before she could leave the cars
| Chief Delbrugge and Officer Shorts at
once went up to Pittsburg, but a most thor
ough search of the girl and her effects fail
/ ed to reveal any traces OF the stones Thurs
| day the Chief brought the girl back to this
| city, She offering no resistance to being
! transferred to this State again, and she
was confined at the City Hall, awaiting de-
velopmentS. That day another inmate of
! the Chisnell house, Blanche Farrell, was
arrested, and confined AT headquarters, on
the suspicion that she might be concerned
| in the robbery, and then the question of
where the diamonds were came up for
| solution.
The story of the investigation, which is
expected to result this morning in the APP
pearance of the gems is quite an interest
ing one, and reflects great credit upon the
police.
Both at Pittsburg, and after she had been
| brought back to this city, Cora Hamlin
| denied. in the most explicit terms, that she
had any knowledge of the diamonds and
even went TO the extreme of tearfully re
preaching the police for their persecution
of an innocent girl. On her return to this
city she attempted TO cllnch her denials by
a solemn oath that she had neither taken
the Jewels, nor knew anything of them, but
this observation made no impression upon
! Chief Delbrugge. who at no time wavered
| in his conviction that the girl was not only
u slick thief. but an accomplished liar as
well The girl was put into the back room
in the basement of the City Hall, and
/ Officer Shorts was given charge of
her. Shorts at once began to systemat-
/ icallv worry the girl TO death about the
| diamonds, alternating his various talks
with studied neglect in the little matters OF
/ furnishing meals, and also made lavish
promises of immunity from prosecution
and money enough TO leave the city
in style, if she would confess. For a
] loutr time Cora cfurl< her story hut
. Thursday night, after d prOtracted inter
view with the officer, she said, IN reply to
a promise that he would see she was not
prosecuted if she revealed the location of
the stones that she would think over il
and tell him her conclusions in the morn
/ ing Morning came, and with ~ Shorts,
but the Girl seems to have determined 10
| bluff il out. for she said she knew nothing
of the gems Shorts told her that wouldn't
do: that now was the time TO get out Of IL
gracefully, etc. and finally she said if the
officer would 60 with her TO Pittsburgh,
she would show him where the diamonds
were. This was reported 10 Chief
! Delbrugge, whose reply was that she must
locate the stones, and remain in cOntine-
ment here until they were found. Cora
thought over this for a while. and finally,
in "A burst of confidence, she said she. had
taken the diamonds from the Chisnel
house, done them up in package, address
ed them TO herself. box 5lS, Pittsburg, Pa,
aud dropped them into the pOStOffice before
leaving town Wednesday. When she went
up 10 Pittsburg, Wednesday afternoon. II
was her purpose 10 call at the pOstOilce
and get the diamonds, but hcrarrest on the
train by the Pittsburg officers prevented
her carrying out the scheme
As soon as this was learned, a telegram
was sent 10 Pittsburg, and the reply stated
there was package In box jlS, addressed
To Cora Hamlin Officer Shorts then went
up, and after consultation, telephone
message was sent back to have Hamlin
sign telegram 10 the postmaster. ordering
the package sent back 10 Wheeling, care
of Chief of Police Delbrugge. This was
done, and Shorts came back 10 the city AT !
o'clock yesterday afternoon. The jewels
are expected to be at the postotfice this
morning.
Last evening the girl Blanche Farrell
was released from arrest, and allowed to
return to the Chisnell house The Hamlin
girl is still under arrest and no disposition
viii be made of her until the diamonds are
actually in the possession of the police.
From information acquired by the
Wheeling and Pittsburg police in working
up the case, il seems certain that the JOB 10
rob Miss Chisnell was put up in Plttsourg
I about rNe or SIX weeks ago, anu turing luc
funniest two strangers, who knew the
Hamlin girl as a slick and experienced
thief. brought her down to Wheeling and
sent her out TO the Chisnel house for the
express purpose of stealing the sparklers.
She was to remain there until she had a
chance to get her hands on the stun, and was
then to break for Pittsburg with IT, She
carried out her part of the agreement per
fectly, but her pals seem TO have dropped
out OF sight at the first scent Of danger, and
have not yet come TO the surface.
People who profess TO know something
of the Hamlin girls antecedents say she IS
a most accomplished thief, having Travelled
all over this country, and even made two
or three trips across the ocean, visiting
Paris at least once on her thieving eXpedi-
tions. acting as the wife of passengers
wanting company of that sort. Several
big robberies on ocean steamers are
charged up to her. and it is likely that If
her full criminal history was known, 1t
would make very interesting reading.
on THE COME AND GO.