The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-03-06
PATERSON'S HORROR
Miss Sullivan's Murderer
Was the Tall Gray
Coated Man.
HE MAY BE A MANIAC
Police at Sea. as Usual-Councils
Offer a Reward Women
in Terror.
HE MAY BE A MANIAC
Special to the Jersey CITY Ns,rs.

PATTERSON, March 6, 1896.-The MUIR
der of Mary E. Sullivan bids fair to go
down in the criminal history of New Jer-
sey an unsolved and unexplained Inys-
1 terry The young woman was brutality
manSled in one of the most frequeIEted.
streets in the central portion of the city,
and evidently made desperate struggle
| for her life.
Ten minutes before the dead body was
found a police sergeant passed the spot.
where the murder occurred, and yet the
murderer escaped and left not the slight
est clue that offers any hope of his being
| captured. The police admit that they
are completely mystified, and are cropping
| in the dark, with little hope of ever
bringing the murderer to justice.
There is no doubt that the heavy iron
coupling pin that was found in the lot at
Eighteenth street and Madison avenue,
| near where Miss Sullivan was murdered,
| was the instrument with which the muir
| der was done. The stains on the Jagged
head of it are blood stains, the authori-~
| ties say. No chemical, analysis has vet
| subjected to such a test in order to
| absolutely prove this oeflef. The pin
bears the mark of the susquehanna
avenue but two blocks from the scene of
| the murder.
| that the murder was the work of a
| tramp. Schoolboys called at Police Head
| quarters Yesterday and said tnat they
on Tuesday. When they saw the pin,
| however, they said that it was not the
| one that they had had So it was deemed
| Railroad.
Chief of Police .Graul said this morn
| ing that he was absolutely in the dark.
work., Ef SAID he o' SaVe Sa0s no doabs @sn that f
Peterson passed about a hundred yards
from where he found the body, was the
man who committed the murder
We have not sufficient description
| of the fellow. Peterson paid little atten-
ton and did not see his face. l do not
believe that the same man attacked Miss
looks suspicious that those women should
| haze been attacked in the same neigh
borhood shortly before the murder, but
least answer Peterson's description of
the fellow in the gray coat.
II believe that the murderer was
| ing through the city every day Then
the fact that the girl was killed so
near the railroad and with a car coupling
pin bears out this; conclusion. What
| mystifieS me is, what motive there was
for the crime ~
The murderer evidently did not kin
the woman to rob her, since a diamond
seek pin, diamond ring and some other
trinkets were still on her when she was
found. Again, there was no evidence
that she had been improperly assaulted
and no sane man would have attacked
the woman with such a motive in such
.sw1ti, sR9ti tbe exeantion - tb.4 ona -. $,
vacant lot on the corner there are houses
all about and the trolley cars pass every
five minutes. l do not believe that there
is night no matter how bad the wealth
er, when persons are not passing where
the girl lay every two or three minutes
There is police box on the corner,
man Whom rang that box at $40 O'Clock
Sergeant Kicker rang the same box at
9:2o. Petersen found the body at $780,
So there was just ten minutes during
which the whole thing must have oc-
Cured
DO think that. it was the work Of
crazy man? 1 have no opinion ON that
subject. 1 do not believe that robbery
or assault was the motive
There are people who commit murders
just to raise sensations. Perhaps this
advanced that some one was lying in
wait behind the big tree there to attack
grudge, and fell on Miss Sullivan by mis-
take. hardly think it possible. IN
deed, | am completely non-plussed by the
whole thing.
The police of the other towns about
are on the lookout, but how can they do
much. There are too many tramps in this
country with gray overcoats, and if they
arrested all such characters they would
have big lot of persons without any
evidence"
AS to the theory that the man who
Killed Miss Sullivan was the person who
attacked Miss Lynch there is some pos
sinillty Said ~ that "a 1t was 50, though the police
aeclared oansv phat pbvsafy they 90 not believe it.
that the. murder seemed to be devoid Of
any motive, and he was inclined to place
the case in the category of the Jack the
Ripper" class. He said 1T had been clearly
established that the motive for the crime
was was not robbery, and the autopsy showed
that outrage had not peen attempted
There were at least a dozen wounds on
the young womans body, mostly about
the head face and hands, and DR.. John
was first struck about the face and hands
on the ground the murderer crushed in
her skull with the car coupling pin.
County Physician Johnson said that
having concluded the autopsy, he had
turned the case. over to Coroner Good
vestigation. The Coroner has adjourned
the inquest to give the police and detec-
tiyes & an s opportunity to work on the case.
the brutal crime. The Common Council
chamber was crowded until a late hour
held to take action on the murder Of Miss
Sullivan. Many prominent citizens were
present and they urged that the~eity au-
thorities should take prompt steps to do |
everything in their power to bring the
murderer to justice.
by the Common Council for the arrest and |
conviction Of the murderer is hardly |
thought an adequate amount to be an in |
centive to bright detectives to work On 7
the case. The city charter will not per- !
nit the authorities to offer a reward ex- /
ceeding that amount, and an effort is be- /
ing made by citizens to have the reward
increased.
The body Of the murdered young wom-
an is now at the home of her brother. /
Lawrence Sullivan, and his sisters on /
Park. avenue. Sullivan has engage I'm
dertaker John S. Smith to prepare the |
body for burial. A curious crowd of T
persons stood about on the sidewalk IN /
front of the home of the Suiliyans fhjs
morning and watched the steady stream
Of persons who passed in and out Of the T
house. Most of these persons were init +
mate friends of the family, as we'll as
relatives and the pupils of the murdered
young woman.
Lizzie Lynch left DR.. Summers's house I
on Summer street, near Broadway. at inst
eight O'Clock. A man fell in behind rer (
and followed her for one block and fhen I
attacked her 1t is just one-half q mile I
from where this attack took place ia the /:
scene of the murder Help reached Miss
Lynch before she was injured
Mrs. John Brown. of 168 Rroadwav
shortly before eight o'clock on Wefinesiay
evening, opened the door and saw a rnao
standing in the vestibule Of her ho1,se
She screamed and the man ran AWAY /
few minutes later she saw the same man |.
standing at Broadway and Straight street
a block and half away. 4 = &
L