New-York tribune., 1891-04-25
is IT JACK THE RIPPER ?
AN ATRoCIoUS MURDER N AN EAST-sIDH
LODGING HOUSE.
THE VICTIM WAS A WOMAN MORE THAN SIXTY
YEARS OLD, AND HER BODY WAS SHOCK
INGLY MUTILATED-AN ARREST
MADE LAST NIGHT.

crime similar in its details TO the murders
by Jack the Ripper" in the Whitechapel district
Of London, was discovered yesterday in the lodg-
ing-house called the East River Hotel, at Water
and Cotharine SITS. The body Of q wretched old
woman, shockingly mutiloted, was found in one
of the rooms on the top floor of the house. She
had been murdered by man who accompanied
her the place late Thursday night. He had
made his escape. A description of him and the
sight Of his bloody work led the police to the
conclusion that he either was the human butcher
whose very name has long been a terror to the
fallen women of Whitechapl or was an initator
of that mysterious criminal.
James Jennings is the proprietor Of the liquor
store on the ground floor of the Iodging-house
and the main entrance to the store is at the cor
ner At No. 3S7 Waterst is the side door,
marked family entrance" from which narrow
fight Of well-wo stairs leads TO the upper stories
The lodgng-rooms upstairs are said TO DE under
the control of John Thompson About II o'clock
on Thursday night coipe sought admittance at
the side door and it was opened by Mary Miniter
the assistant housekeeper. She saw faded
woman. past sixty years old, with gray hair and
slender form slightly bent, dressed in checked
skirt and blouse and having a ragged shawl over
her shoulders. Behind the old woman was man
about thirty-fve years old, slightly under the
brown cutaway coat, dark trousers and biacK
derby hat with dent in the crown He had
lang sharp nose thin face and heavy mus
tache which was light-brOwn in color to matcn
his closely cut hair His eyes had a mild or duu
expression and his glance wandered.
The old woman said they wanted 70 get
room for the night. She seemed TO pe in
cheerful mood and was under the influence OF
liouor. Marx Mniter said tho room would cost
half dollar. The drew out half-doliar
silver piece and handed it over without WORD.
What name ?" inquired Mary Mlniter. ".
Nicola" replied the man, speaking then LOT the
first time His voice was SOFT almost muslcai
and Mary Miniter thought he spoke with for
eirn accent. They standing then inside the
small hall at the bottom of the stairway and
the street door was closed. Mary Mnitcr went
t6rouph another door to the barroOm, where
register of the dodgers was kept by Edward tltz-
gerald. night clerk and bartender. Samuel
Shine the other bartender, was with Fitzgerald
behind the bar, waiting on customers. Neither
of them took the trouble to look into the hall
when Mary Mnter announced the arrival OF a
new couple and asked for the key to Room NO.
81 on the top floor She mentioned the name
to Fitzgerald who wrote in the register Z.
Kniclo and wife" to comply with the law ana
then handed the key TO Mary Miniter She also
took candle in a small iron candcstick, to light
the way upstairs, as there was no gas in the
upper story rooms.
When Mary Aliniter went back TO the couple
in the hall she found the old woman talking
| about beer Can't / have some beer% she
| asked Her companion nodded assent, and drew
| from his pocket a dime. Mary Minlter took the
| coin and was going back to the barroom after
| the beer, when the old woman changed her mind
and said she wanted mixed ale. The ale was
brought in a tin pail. which the old woman car
ried The man carried the candle and key, and
Mary Miniter let them find their way to their
| ROOM after showing them up to the last hight
of ricllety stairs.
THE SCENE OF THE CRIME.
Room No 81 might be called the best room
on the top floor of the lodging-house, because 1t
| is a corner room. and has two windows one
| overlooking Cathorine-st. and the other pre-
senting view of Water-sG Like the other rooms
it is formed by dngy partitions of painted boards,
which reach from the uncarpeted floor to the
low whitewa,hed ceiling 1t is about ten feet
long and six feet wide, and the end furthest from
the window is filled completely by an old frame
| b/stead The only ether articles Of furniture in
the room are a broken washstand and chair
A filthy mattress two blankets and pillow
were on the bed when the murderer and his victim
entered the room and locked the door. Transient
dodgers who slept in other rooms on the same
floor heard no suspicious sounds in the night.
They got up yesterday morning and went their
several ways, unaware of the crime which was
to startle the police and the public little later
A few minutes after a. m. Edward Fitzgerald
went through the house TO collect the keys OF
the rooms which had been vacated. The door of
Room No 81 was still locked. Fitzgerald
knocked shook the door and called loudly, but
a
inside the room. lie placed his shoulder against
the door ard pushed with force enough TO break
the frai lock. Then he entered and saw
sight that made his hair rise and the
color leave his face lie did not stay
long. but rushed down stairs to call Jennings.
few minutes later Jennings ran into the Oak-st
police station and told Captain OConnor that a
woman had been murdered in the clearinghouse.
Captain O'ConnOr and two roundsmen went di-
rectly to the lodgng-house and what they saw
in room No. 81 made their flesh creep, hard
ened they have been to scenes of bloodshcd
sICKENING SIGHT.
The bed in the room was disordered as if by vio-
lent struggle. On it lay the old wOmans body.
nearly naked and resting on the right side. The
right arm was bent backward under the waist in
such position to indicate that il had been held
there during q struggle which had ended in the
womans DEATH The left arm was bent
over the breast and partly tangled up in the
womans under.garment Her head and neck
were concealed by one of her garments, which had
been wound and tied tightly about them. The
lower limbs were drawn up in position indi-
eating a painful death But more horrible still
was the mutilation of the corpse. The abdomen
had been cut open and portions of the yiscera had
been removed from the body and dssected on the
] oh
mattress and had congealed there. Captain O'Con-
nor quickly understood that the mutilation of the
corpse was similar to the work Of Jack the Rip
per" in London. but he could not believe THAI
butcher was in New-lork.
In In hn.l.. tLn h.r