New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-12-28
MURDERED For HER MONEY.
AN AGED AND ECCENTRIC SPINSTER KILLED
IN NEWARK.

HAD MOST OF HER WEALTH CONCEALED
ABOUT TIE noUsE-EVIDENcES OF
HARD STRUGGLE WITH THE ROE
DERs-YIyE DEAD CATS
II Ter ROOMS.
r,,zahotb Petty. an aged and eccentric spinster
,,.os eo,,,d MURDERED in her house 40. 70 Com
mercc-st.. Newark. yesterday. The evident mo-
two of the murder was robbery. Miss Pet'y
,ived alone in the house which she owned. having
for her COMPANIONS several cats and dogs She
hold no intercourse with her ncighbors. Ihe
house is bare Of furniture, has no carpets ana Is
Uttered with old boxes and barrels and reluse
of all kinds Miss Petty never had any cleaning
dore and seldom washed her clothing or her
body. She possessed considerable means ana II
was bor habit to conceal money in small amounts
in every nook and corner Of the house Inc
house is a large frame dwelling in a good nelgh-
borhood but close to South Canal and River
SITS. which have "A hard name. The fact that
the woman lived alcne and had money was
well known In these ncighborhoods
LAST SEEN ALIVE on FRIDAY.
Miss Petty was last seen by the neGhbors on
Friday when she went to store To buy some
oil and a loaf of bread. There was no light in
the house that night or thereafter Henry
Garrabrant who lives at No. 81 Commerce
ST. remarked on Saturday night the an
sence Of the usual light in the house, but noth-
ing was thought Of 1t or Of the long secIusion ol
Miss Petty until yesterday, when son o. MT.
Garrabrant. looking over the fence separating
the Yards Of the two houses. noticed that the
cellar door Of the Petty house was open and
looked as If 1t had been forced. The boy IN
formed his father who ralled in policeman
and. accompanied by the latter. entered the
house through the cellar They found that the
door to the stairway from the first floor had
been forced with chisel. In the hallway they
found evidences Of struggle. Boxes were
scattered about and an oil can lay on the floor
There was a pool Of blood on the floor. near a
lounge on which Miss Petty had been in the
habit Of sleeping There were also blood marks
on the walls. Proceeding 10 the S'c'hu ,3oI
the investigators came across the body OF Miss
Petty lying prone on the floor Of small rear
HOW THE ROOM LOOKED.
A shawl had been tightly rolled and placed
under the head Of the corpse In the room was
an old bedstcad without Stats or springs, ana
several barrels and boxes, filed with rubbish.
stood I'm the framework There We're five WOUNDS
on the head and face and the hair was m"t'e'
with blood. The woman had eVid'nuy sur
nrised a burglar in the hallway on tn" first floor
when he came from the cellar, was beaten win
some sharp instrument by him untl dead or IN
sensible and tn"n Cairlcd hl'NthliS ~ w
murderer and laid upon the moor. 'n
the lounge whore the woman slept was
found three silver spoons. FORK ana about WV
i'm bills some Of which had been torn ana ha!
been sewcd together The money was In old
pocketbooks. The spoons and fork we're heir
looms. c
The fact of the murder reported 10 super
intendent Of Police Brown and County Ply
sicial Elliott and tho latter took charg" oi the
premises. He examined the body. ana was oi
the opinion that the woman had been dead sew
al hc body
There was no weapon found In the house and
the police - not possess the slightest clcw to
the murderer.
THE DAUGHTER or a SEA CAPTAIN.
Miss Elizabeth Petty was slxty-fve years old
and belonged to an old family. Her father was
Captain Ebenezer Petty who owned ana s'ieh
a ship many years ago and diod at sea in 1884
HIS death made her mother mor'sc. She dl"d In
1875 The daughter had her disposition ana ~
she grew older she became eccentric shut hr,-
self up In her old home and associated pniy win
cats The property left her by her mother was
ample for her support. and some oi IL ~ IN
vested IN good-pay!ng railroad stocks. IN June.
rsa1 hor house was broken into and robbed u o!i
silvcrwarc Miss Petty was assaulted by IN"
thieves and thrown down Hight ~ stairs, iylnS
Unconscious until discovered by n"ghbors. Shr
said aftcrward tina; TWO men had robheu lrI ana
that she knew their names but shr n''rr ul,
yulrcd them The attention Of III" Health Board
was called 90 the condition of the house soon al,
torvard and inspc tors took charge oi u ana
against the Intrusion .
Tnr cleaners found gold silver and bank notes
rolod away in every corner and crcVicc, ana
many coins were scattered over the Moor. lhcif
vas money also on every stair. MISS letty
aid che had placed It there for the cats IN
Looking around yesterday the officers found the
bodies Of four cats lying on "A table ana covered
with a piece Of red cloth. In a closet was
another dead cat. Miss Petty was well educated
ard was at one time teacher In the I"c1th
ward publlc school. in Newark she tp"k
several daily newspapers and a number "i f',h
hooks were in the hOusc. Inquiry AT inc banks
Yesterday showed that she owned stock IN srV-
oral hanks and had money on deposit Her
relatives are two cousins. living In Newark.
RESULT OF THE AUTOPSY
An autopsy WIS held on the body last night
and revealed the fact that Miss Petty had been
cho,cd to death. Tho wounds on her head were
no, sufficient to cause death. \ hand had
oragpcd the womans throat and crushed the
hone I'm the neck. The imprint Of fingers was
main on the skin OF the neck. Two ribs were |
hrokcn II was the opinion If physicians that
,be murder occurred on Monday morning. MISS
petty carried a large amount OF money IN her
Stacking This is missing. surrogate I'iSch- !
berry said last night that Miss Petty possessed
an estate worth $4,000. The only known helrs |
are two female cousins in Newark The nus
band Of one William Barnet, has been placed