The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-09
SUICIDE. OR A MURDER?
DETECTIVE SERGEANT WOoRE'S
WIFE DIES OF 4 VT WOUND.

Eler Authoritarian Arrested on Suspicion OF
Causing Her ~Dcnth-Littie Doubt That she
KILLED IIcraeir-she was Incorporate. and
AFTER TroniHInE TO Rer6rm Get Drunk.
Mary Moore, tho wife of Detective Sergeant
William Moore, Jr., who Is connected with tho
Wall street branch of the detective force. was
found dead at her home in West 126th street
on Wednesday. She was to have been buried
yesterday. but n letter sent to the Coroncr's
Office brought about an investigation, and 1t
was found that she had died Of n stab wound in
the abdomen. IL Is almost Ccrtain-that the
wound was self.inflictcd, hut Coroner Fitz-
patrick thought it best last night to place tho
fathcr.in.law Of the woman under So, goo bail
until the case could be further investigated.
William Moore is so years of .agc. There is
no reason to suppose that he had anything TO do
with the woman's death, but he lived In the
house with her, was the last person to see her
alive, and 1t was he who found her dead.
Mrs. Moore was 10 years old. She and her
husband had lived together, but not happily,
because OF her drinking habits. For six or
seven ycnrs"she had been "A very hard drinker
and had used drugs besides. Moore had tried
to reform her, and recently he had been trying
to induce her to 20 to her old home in Boston.
thinking that the surroundings might help her
to behave herself. On Monday night she was
drunk and he scolded her. She got on her
Knees anu plGiucu WIN MIN 10 IOTRlVe ner
again. She promised she would behave her
self. He did forgive her. He left her to go to
his work or w at : dsf efilIoSfS io TSS Si1 y, co on Tq qf6,any
and | 1t was so late when he got through that he
DECIDED not to go home.
1a6th street. She was taken to the West
There she was identified, and instead of lock-
ing her up the Sergeant permitted two police
men, who were friends of Moore, to take her
home. w elneSUHy morning when old Mr..
Moore woke up she was still asleep on the sofa
liz the Told Ir Ser , fSSm if Of sh ,h Gis tn!i fell IL l Hwok ks,f hGs;
She said she'd do il, and did. After breakfast
ing, and she sent him out to buy Il wash boiler.
lie is Is feeble srDand and w i TOOK k him dn1 b nearly y an fni hour ito to
dining room door, which is ordinarily used to
enter the fiat, locked on the inside. He got in
he saw Mrs. Moore sitting in a chair. He
spoke to her; She did not answer. He called
walked over and took hold Of her arm. 1t was
limp. The old man was frightened. He ran
out of the room and summoned the neighbors.
The doctors said she was dead and had prob
ably died OF heart disease. Her clothing Gov
cred up the wound in her stomach, and there
way. Detective Sergeant Moore was sum
sister Kate and Mrs. McLaughiin, cousin.
They prepared the body for burial, and discov-
f tefna ihe For ES"H Some ir rea DlSeo or o Mhe a. neither nfsr q of
the women can explain clearly, the, burned the
underclothing of the woman, on which there
was a little blood. They probably wanted TO
conceal the fact that she had killed herself. and
thu, hn1s.d aE ,6sm G ws scandal .ha wo AT all m. events tamsa d they
there was a long carving knife on the floor be-
side her. The autopsy yesterday showed that
this knife had been driven into the body up to
the hilt, and she must have died within a few
moments. The autopsy also showed that she
suffered from many diseases due to her use
of alcohol and drugs. The clothing she had on
when she was found was not cut, showing thr t
they must have been lifted when the wound
was inflicted. The course Of the wound was
upward; as it would have been if she had raised
her clothing and driven the knife into herself.
Deputy Coroner Donlin wasn't altogether sat.
isfed that the wound was self-inficted, and his
uncertainty. raised the suspicion in Coroner
Moore, Sr. Detective Sergeant Moore accounted
satisfactorily for all Of his time. and all the
circumstances of the case point apparently to
the fact that the woman took her own life.