The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-11-18
Fallen Women Who Live in the Row
20 Death Terror Stricken.
METHODS OF THE MURDERER
CORDS OR TOWELS AROUND THE
NECKs OF ALL HIS VICTIMS.
Discovery Of a Reporter with n Nose
for Detective Work-SbniIar
Crimes I'm Other Cities.

at No. 1911 Market street. Marie ConaSsoits
French woman at No. lszS. and skiku
Oyama, the japanese, at No. 1855. is still
unknown. although the police have arrested
Frank Rock, a French Canadian, who lives
in a small house in the alley in the rear
of Market-street row where the three muir
ders were committed, on suspicion OF being
the stranger. Rock has associated largely
with the French Macquerauz. who infest
Market street. 1t is not known what evil
dence the detectives have against Rock be-
yond the fact that ne answered closely the
description Of man seen running through
the alley about the time Kiku Oyama was
found strangled 10 death. Rock has been
employed as a roustabout in Market-street
saloons. He is married.
Meanwhile the several hundred women
living in the one-story houses thai line the
ten blocks Of Market street, now known az
strangers Row. are abandoned TO an
agony of terror. Every woman fears that
she will be the next victim OF the mystic
rious stranger, so sure-fngered. so shad-
owy and elusive. They huddle together in
the street by day. looking from face to face
TO see whether guilt does not lie In the
features OF one OF their number. They lock
themselves I'm their houses at night ana viii
not permit the men to wi ON they cling to
leave thoir sight. Yet even there terror
pursues them For they fear that the
stranger may be one OF these same men,
And not only these wretched creatures. but
also the whole city is waiting in sort OF
horror OF suspense for the news OF a fourth
victim to the shrewd and stealthy strang-
ler All day long crowds are pouring
through this street, hitherto Stunned. And
at night the street is still filled, then with
policemen both in uniform and In plain
| clothes For the chief OF police, smarting
under the reproaches that have been heaped
upon HIM because Of the three unsolyed
crimes, has set his mind that the stranger,
| who has shown himself daring enough TO
Kill in the face OF any peril, snail be cauent
in his fourth crime II ne attempts Il. And
they look for clues. The last man whom
they arrested on suspicion has been let go,
and the mystery stands just where II di0
at its first uncovering-
THE sTRANGLER'S VICTIMS.
| For years before the night OF Sept. 2s
| this part of Market street has been, day
| and night. the scene OF such open dissipa-
| ton as is known in no other street in the
world. except. possibly. that narrow little
way in Amsterdam which is Infamous
| throughout the world. On that night came
| the first visit of the stranger. in No. 1911
Market street lived a certain Lena Taper.
| one OF the French colony. who came from
| the other side few years ago with one
Il
| Sept q DE Mady found her in the bed
room off the parlor. lying upon the bed, her
| face and her bare shoulders covered by
/ bruises, her tongue protruding. and an old
| chemise twisted into rope and wound
| tightly about her throat and tied Under
| in the flesh. She had not been dead long.
/ The police were called I'm and De Mady was
arrested. After few days he was let go.
| Early in the morning Of Oct IS came
| the second visit OF the stranger. The
marked house was No. 1925 Market street.
1 Contassoit with her friend, Tony Sanders.
4 Tony fell asleep upstairs over a newspaper
and. waking and going down to look up
| the bed in the bedroom of the parior. The
| folding doors between the two rooms were
| closed, and the portieres were drawn also.
| Marie lay upon her back with a pillow over
| her blackened face. About her neck was a
| small stout cUrd. so tightly drawn that IL
was almost buried in the flesh. At her
| windpipe on either side were finger marks,
| plainly made by rude muscle. De Mady
| and Sanders and Charles Challoup were ar
| rested and, after a week or 80, were let
go, as there was absolutely no evidence
Early in the morning of Nov 1s, only two
| days ago. the stranger made his third can.
home Of Kiku Oyama, a japanese giri, who
came 10 Denver from japan by way or the
Chicago fair. She lived with Ina oyama.
| whose name she bore by courtesy and not by
right. He found her in the bedroom OF the
parlor lying upon her back. small but
| deep bruise in her forehead, and a Turkish
towel twisted tightly into a sort OF rope.
and then, drawn with cruel force about her
neck and knotted. In the flesh under the
towel were the deep marks OF fingers.
THE CRIMES MUCH ALIKE
That is the record OF the stranger UP 10
the present time. And the one absorbing
question here is the mystery OF his doings-
Who is he? Is IL man or a woman? II
robbery his motive, or revenge, or is he
maniac suffering from a sort OF moral mad
ness? II viii be noticed that there ars
many points OF resemblance. OF identity, in
fact, in the three crimes. aside from the
broad fact that all the women are OF the
same class In every case the place of
murder has been the back room. just OF
the psrIOr at whose sS,n open windows 1;ns ,hsss
into the street. In every case the time
was in the hour between ! and a. m.
which the street rang was dying away. In
every case the method was nrst partial
stranssaton Win I'm 'ne Thsers e sna % sner r,rs t1s
found at nand-the Cd chemise the cord.
the twisted towel.
All three strangulations were In the same
block and on the same side Of the street
No 1911, No. 1875, No. I51-and the
ginning within few doors of Nineteenth
street and going a few doors eastward for
his second murder and a few doors still
further east for his third. The dissolute
quarter or Market street begins at Nine
teenth street and extends eastward about
L II stranger
intended going straight down that side OF
Market street. skipping few houses each
time to give the uncertain element full
play
Another curious fact Is that In every case
the lover OF the sfrangled woman was In
the horse. and was the first TO discover the
crime. But this fact loses great deal OF
its value when II Is remembered that these
4 wrctches hang about the house the most
OF the time. and, especially at that time OF
night, are almost always TO be found In the
upper or living rooms into which chance
callers are not invited In all three cases
the room was disarTaEged, furniture pushed
about. drawers opened and their contents
strewn about In two cases the belief IL
that small sums or money were taken. But
the theory that the sole motive was rob-
berry Is vtiated by the peculiar circum-
stances OF the crimes: Robbery may have
been one motive, but IL Is impossible TO es-
cape from the opinion that a thirst for
blood vas the primal motive.
The first theory or the police was that
jealous woman had done the murders But
this does net seem 10 hold with the evil
dences OF a violent struggle. unaccompaniedl
by any outcry For one scream and the
stranger would have had the whole fren-
zied colony about him. In every case ne
made his first grip upon the windpipe OF
the woman so sure and so strong that her
| thrashngs about were as futile as the f3ut-
terings and kickings OF 3 chicken whose
neck Is being wrung.
Vhs second theory arose cut OF the pelioo