New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-04-22
FOUND IN A POOL OF BLOOD.
BRUTAL MURDER OF A WOMAN IN THO&P-
SON-ST.
CAMILLA RUGGIERo on HER WAY TO EARLY
MASS COMES UPON THE BODY IN THE HALL
THE VICTIM WAS IDENTIFIED AS ALICE
WELSH AND DIED LATER AT BELLE
vUE-sEARCTIING FOR THE
MURDERER.


vUE-sEARCHING FOR THE
MURDERER
A murder recalling in some respects the muir
der Of "Old Shakespeare" in the East River
Hotel few years ago. was committed in Thomp-
son-st or its vicinity some time during the early
hours of yesterday. The victim. woman known
as Alice Welsh. a freQuenter OF the regions
around Thompson and Sullivan SITS, was found
in pool Of blood in the hallway Of No. l4S
Thompson-st. shortly before O'Clock
Mrs Camilla Ruggiero whose son. Frank Rug
piero. is tanitor of the hve-story brick tenement
house in which the body found. left her room
on the third floor early to go to mass. The
stairs were still dark but in the faint light which
came through the open street door she saw the
form of person sitting on the second step of the
staircase leading from the entrance hall. 1t was
TOO dark to distinguish whether the person was
man or a woman and Mrs. Ruggiero used to
seeing drunken men and women sleeping on the
stairs and in the hallway in the early hours
But the supposed sleeper was in Sch position
as completely to block Mrs. Ruggiero in her way
70 the street. The feet rested on the floor. the
body on the second step. and the shoulders rested
against the steps above. The left hand was ex-
tended. crasping the banisters.
Mrs Ruggiero had by this time grown sufii-
cienty accustomed to the dim light 10 see that
the person on the stairs a woman. and she
took the outstretched hand with the intention of
placing It by the seeper's side. and thus leaving
room for herself 10 pass. The hand was stone
cold Mrs Ruggiero fed back in alarm TO her
rooms and aroused her Frank. who hurried
on a few clothes and went down to the hall to in
yestigate He struck a match and ordered the
woman TO get out of the house. When she failed
10 resnond to his command he repeated it, ana
shook her by the shoulder. The only response
was faint moan. Then he struck another
match and by its light he saw poo Of blood on
the floor and a trail of blood leading toward the
street door.
FRIGHT AMONG THE TENANTS.
Ruggiero did not stop to investigate further.
His frightened yes brought the other inmates Of
the house to the lower floor on the run. \ num-
Der Of other people of the neighborhood came in
from the street. They all Of the opinion that
the woman was dead and Ruggiero went out and
found Patrolman Thomas German. Of the Mac
dougal-st station. who patrolling his post. in
Thompson-st.
German thought that the woman was drunk, or
that she had some trivial ailment or Illness. He
summoned an ambulance from ST. VinceAts Hos
pital and when it arrived the surgeon. Dr. j. A.
KYLE decided from a brief examination that the
took his patient direct to Bellevue, where she was
entered as suffering from the causes which ap-
peared at the first examination. She was placed
in Ward q.
Dr. Finch. at Bellevue, then made thorough
examination He discovered that the woman had
been stabbed in the pelvic region. and that there
were rnanv bruises on her body The location Of
the wound accounted for the difficulty in discover
ing IT, and for Dr. Kyle's failure to find II at the
first superficial examination. The woman re-
maned IN an unconscious condition from the time
she was first seen on the stairs until her death
which occurred at 1875 a. m, when she had been
in Bellevue four hours. The body was taken 10
the Morgue, where autopsy was performed in
the afternoon by Coroner's Physician O'Hanlon
and Dr. Robert ". Hall, Of tho Bellevue house
staff The result Of their investigation showed
tha. a most brutal murder. suggesting the type
made famous by Jack the Ripper had been
committed The body was we'll nouriehed and
we'll formed and was apparently that of a woman
about twenty-five years old It was almost COW
cred with bruises as though she had been sub
tected to the most brutal treatment before the
final assault which caused her death. 40 part If
the body was tree from the contusons, many or
which appeared to be caused by kicks, but they
were especially numerous on the legs and thighs.
The weapon with which the wound was made
the doctors said. was either stiletto or long
knife sharpened keenly. II might have been Il
razor but this was considered rather unlikely
since the weapon has penetrated distance of
five inches The liver indicated drinking habits
THE DEAD WOMAN'S STORY.
Before the autopsy performed Carrie Will
fans. Of No. 325 East Twentyffth-st. prisoner
assigned to Bellevue. asked to see the BODY. she
identified It as that Of woman whom she had
known as Alice Welsh
Alice. she said lived until about year ago
with a man who known simply as Jim
IN Fffteenth-st.. near Eighth-ave. Jim the
Williams woman said. was industrious work
ingman, and supported Alice in good style. About
a year ago ne lost his position, and quarreiIed
with Alice He was shortly afterward sent 10
the penitentlary for one year. and Alice W"lSh
pecame a dissolute woman again. she was Il
frequenterS Of Frank Stevensons resort IN
Beecker-st.. The Slide" which SIN does pusl-
ness i'm quiet way. Stevenson, Carrie SAD, was
a friend of the dead woman, and she was IN
the habit Of placing her money when she had
any. in his hands for safe keeping.
40 CLEW TO THE MURDERER
BY o'clock the Central Detective Office had
half It's available force on the case. They began
their work by taking into custody Philip Newly
the night clerk at the Yorktown Hotel VINO
when the woman was discovered in the hallway
came across from the hotel and told the police
who she was. He detained in the station
house to the great Indignation Of his employer
who protested vehemently that he had known
him all his life honest man. ana knew
further that he had not left the hotel from the
time he went duty Saturday night untl .
o'clock Sunday morning. long after the woman
found
All the people in the neighborhood united in pro
testing the imprObabnty Of Mewlys having com
mt,ed the crime So far as could be learned tne
only evidence the police have connecting MIN IN
any way with the woman is that he had been seen