New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-12-12
MITRDERED WHILE AT WORK.
NO TRACE LEFT BY THE ASSASSIN.
rpxsr KUCHELuoRN, AN ENGINEER. FOUND
DEAD IN HIS wORKROOM-THE MOTIVE
FOR THE CRIME UNKNOWN.

DEAD IN HIS wORKROOM-THE MOTIVE
FOR THE CRIME UNKNOWN
Can,ain Richard O'Connor and the police OF the
v;rotccntb Precinct arc just now confronted win
what in an probability will prove hopeleSs
ouest They are trying 10 find who II was 'ha'
boat ont the brains Of hapless Ernest kucheihorh'
The man who murdered the engineer employed ny
Thomas & Wye did his work with the quicKhess
and ferocitv of tiger. Unlike the tiger now
o,.or no has left no trace behind. And il is this
,,bcb AZ the outset blocks the pursuit OF The de-
,ectives.
Tho buildino in which Kuchelhorn met his death
- numbered l22 and l2i West 1wenty-lonrth-
= and. as nearly all theatrical managers Know,
is run hv the firm of II. A. thomas and Daniel
Wvlie who control one Of the largest llthograpIlc
establishments in the city, ard supply many oil
tbe flaming melodramatic posters and blls mat
cover every dead wall. kuchelhorn middle
aged man. peaceallr. amiablc and apparently WITH
ont an enemy in the world. lived with his wife and
,ounc family in Willisave and for five years
had beem employed by the Thomas N Wyie
house His duties as engineer took him into the
building about half an hour before the fifty other
Norl,men. and he was always the last to leave it.
On every nicht of the week but Saturday the
mon stoned work at o'clock, but on Satur-
day al noon. having drawn their wages, they
began their half-holiday. kuchclhorn, how
ever always stayed at work. cleaning dustlng'
setting his furnaces in order and generally pre-
pairing for the beginning of the coming week,
and he was fortunate if he got through his
lahors by half past or 3 o'clock In point Of
time he was model Of method and regularity, and
when at his usual hour, o'clock. he did not
enter the prcttily furnished fat Wiis-ave., his
wife wondered what had detained him. Her
wondcrment changed TO anxiety, and then TO
downright pain. the hours wore on toward
midnight and found him still absent. Sunday
morning dawncd and grew old, but still he
had not appeared
Then when the forenoon was well advanced she
sent her siXteen-y year-od daughter Mary TO the
Thomas and Wylie Building in search of the hus
hand and father. No sign of life visible in
the building as Mary stood outside and at last,
after repeated knocking and stamping on the trap
doors let into the Sidewalk and leading TO the
engineers cellar the girl wnt to No l3O, next
door. and called Louis Diehl, engineer for H.
Cassedy d Co., and her fathers personal friend.
Dehl first knocked and shouted at the big main
entrance TO the Thomas d Wylie house, then he
danced and jumped the trap doors, bat no one
answered. Going to the of the Cassidy
rooms he got out on the fre-escape and walked
along it until he reached Thomas & Wyle'S SEQ
ond floor room. wher' he knew al r PleaShn er,
an artist, and dozen men were doing extra work
My Cod cried Pleashinger, when he heard
what Delhi had TO tell him, when we came In
noticed that the front door was already un-
locked, but thought nothing Of it, believing that
Kuchehorn was at work below" With death
" ccldneSs and trembling creeping over them,
with nameless indeinable horror Of something
that was TO come, the two men crept down The
stairs into the big basement that from end
10 end of the building. The first things that met
their eyes were the two boiler furnaces in the
north end Of the room, just under the sidewalk
one furnace burned out. tine other with coal and
wood laid and ready for lighting on Monday morn
ing For "a moment they looked around at each
Otner wOnderIn-l -ly.
Then a cry of fright from Pleashinecr brought
Ieliis eyes TO the ground. With his teeth chat
lcIlng a. his face dedthiy pale, FeaSniIgcr was
pointing 70 long, thin track Of blood that began
ii small clot night under the unlit furnace, and
ran IN a crooked, Irregular inc along the cement
Ioor. Slowly icartully, the men followed the
houd track, until il broke off at the workbench
placed III the centre of the room, and about fifteen
icct from the boilers The TOD and bcgS of the
bench We're covered with blood aS though some
one had leaned or been laid against it.
\ step or two more further on and the red
track began again, going on and on, without a
break, rlght away into the dark reccSScs of the
rear, until, with a smultoncous shneN. the men
came 10 stop. They had found what they were
seeking There lay kUchclhorn dead, killed with
y.
nut'cd bolt thrown two feet away from him. !
His hat by his side His overcoat covered
him. But his gold watch his chain and hi, week s
wages, over $50, were gone. Crying for help, !
Ic.hI ran out into the street, and Police !
man Rcinhardt, who responded, sent a
hurry call to he Thrtieth Street Police Sta |
ton. Captain OCornor, Drputy-C Coroncr Dentcn /
and other experienced officials are agreed that |
huchclhOrn received his death blow al some time |
between and Saturday afternoon. Ii is !
also clear that he stood in front Of the furnace |
and was about to turn away, as the assassin, |
creeping up behind, sprung on him The |
lrp doors Just above the boilers and leading |
ilt0 the street had been opened from the in |
srle. and IL was by this exit that the murderer. |
having made his entrance through the front |
door. GOT AVA
That the but"hcry was accomplishing by som"
one thoroughly familiar with the building, some |
one who kcnw kuchchOrn, and knew just when |
ne would be alone and beyond help. j. certain. |
L is also beyond doubt tha; the watch and money |
were taken with the view Of suggesting robbery |
rs motive for the crime, and thus throwing the |
police of the scent
What the police lave TO 20 now is 70 find who
teSid.S Mr. Wylic Mr. Thomas. Mr. PloashinGer
and kuchelhorn himself had posses ion of Il key |
to tie front door. and who. if any one, held en-
nltN toward him or interested in putting
lim out of the way.