The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-18
HELEN JEWETTS MURDER.
4 CELEBRATED CASE IN NEW YORK
CRIMINAL Annals.
rac Crime That Ezc,tea the City In chvt.sn,.
Week, iSse-neasous rsr Relieving in IN,
GuIit OF Richard r. Rohtuunu-The ma
.uenrc OF Ogden HOFFMAN That s,t NIT -.

week, iSse-neasous rsr Relieving In IN,
Guilt or Richard r. Rettn-eu-The E1,-
a"encc OF Ogden HOFFMAN That Set Hina Pre-.
About the sam time in tho Christmas week
Of 1885 at London and in this city. two muir.
ders OF en- unusual character were committed.
Tn" London murder was very similar in kind
and surroundings to the Gieldscnsuppe case
II involved the Turing OF a woman TO a house nv
two men who butchered and dlsmembered her
aui deposited her remains in various localities.
Her head was subsequently hshed out Of the
water. her legs werc discovered in an osier
thurkc;, and her trunk and folded arms vere
k'dGc1 in a thoruughfnre. 1t was known "A
the iireenacre-Brown murder. and both FL
bridge Gerry and Surrogate Arnold in their IL
hrarics own reports OF it. OF the New York
murder case this generation is almost entirely
ignorant, and yet it excited great popular in
t,rcst. II Il indeSed in the Office Of the clerk of
the court OF Oyer undetermined as the Robin
son-J cwc.t affair." Not one OF the actors in
1t survived. It resulted in a curious apparent
miscarriage OF Justice. and in that respect takes
place with the Cunningham m Burdel affair of
two decades later; for the accused Richard p.
Robinson was acquitted. like Mrs. Cunningham,
although nine-tcaths Of newspaper readers be-
leyed ii the guilt Of each.
The real name OF the victim was Dorcas. she
was born at Augusta, Me-, and. aftcr a varied
career, drittcd to New York In the spring Of
1885 and went to live with n woman named
.,-,.t bo.uno, w., p-..I-.- - uNsn"E
80, ,rd ,x., s,-a... 90. - rN'
-. 10, -, .
A.. 60 -, b., 81. S"eSN t"s
,..s ir.I,So, !, ~. - I"'n en n
Tcndcrioin. Dorcas Dyon had given herself the
name OF Helen Jcwett. She attracted the at
tention Of u young dry goods clerk who LODGED
:, - - IIs" uHue. StNs
u p,htnsan - - .|
~ III AZ ~ 'oseph
:, - raor. 80 80" ~ ~ VINO
49, -. - ~ j." rA
=. No"ts cNtN-
% 'ue 'e%e''s Ia
~, -" 80 =, nNn 81 "s ouee
hh'i also sent nun notes. Ihclr last interview
occurred on his nineteenth BIRTHDAY. in tho
80 an - nc vas aunutle1
10 inc house efout 10 +. NJ. and it was noticed
N r,or, ar ,css co,rs.I his &c
During the night fire was discovered in Helen
Jcwett's room. When the door was broken
iron ~. r.o,.n r,s a 20 \, ,-;,-. :. 81.
STsn ,he woman was seen 10 &c lying on the
oed. apparently asleep The fire was extin-
rri.hed easily and then il was discovered that
."o "S "e' - SuinAns sho"eu tnnI SIG
had been killed before the bed TOOK fire. At
once. search was made for Rivers The back
- - 60. - - =.
""N Vas ''~nt open' ~ ohe Isoe near IL
WAS the uncNtinguished lamp that belonged to
the Jeyrtt npartment. The ward backed unon
-. I.,o,-;r~ ,, a Dr,,-o 800 49, - H.
wes@cTn side adioined another yard belonging
to n Hudson street house, while a ep-toot
N'ooSH teSce sepaFa'eo Ine townsend yaru
from ono on the east side in the direction to-
W." "esS pfoHumay, one" the municipal
n-sAb "HtIliea ehmDeo tnHs renee ana saw
that from this adjoining yard an alleyway led
I'M, Duane stree. The entrance ~ the aII.v
- 80 90, - s,nh,ta.a ~ -.
was Aouhd open an" oouoaess cae muroerer
- nd = bstchar Tbs Lot 49, .e.os.i-us
Is that which Frank Rivers had worn
Meanwhile n surgeon had arrived. BE COM
h attS c ss ~ 49, ~ tbc !" Ssas a'v Enno Mi'h the wound
..srS, 80 = ~ ~; 49, n'nda r. I. -.., -.
surgeon. and he has taken away w his mn minias
end '"' LII sow iee"- """eu "Fs' io"hs
i" ayerrhodv n. oncs concluded ,b., E-,,k
t. t. .rseSi,rcI s ~ ont ~ srrsst MI hin Il IN reanhian
thc foipings ~ Riyeps' or rn the R SI e IL
a. - sT 1ea INC ~ Wasehnian toInG MN nhaenianIy
was wanted for. The Waterman, already puzzled
a. a. hat ~ Poh,n.on va W. rsoii ~ 5 5os P Sx re- TO u
ior,IaTiop Tnbin.on oroSc and Srsese5 bin-
- il order to accompany the officer Of the
In the bedroom the watrhman Jiscovarsd
ySi-e r,arks m pobI m on's trnnssrs tS,t be
a. once reasoned had been made 5y whitewash
from the ssnce: and on the bureau he fonnd the
mtni,tIIrp ,Ii.:fn[ from HeIan iewstt'I bsd I'D
room. ROBINSON stoutiy denied thar he lad
boen in the thomas street house on the pre.
re- ling satrrdaT eTSninS To ali his statcmants
inc ofi.er listened With incrrdnIiiv ard can.
TONED Ms prisoner mot 10 taIE because What.
ever he aid might be- used in evidence con-
corning the charge; so Robinson remained
siienT but seeHiaJ To 10 NOR and nInra a.
fec,ei at the narratiSe Of the girls wound and
49, " NS 6H'S SN NNA
When on Monday the nsvs NJ the uurder
the IRE. and me arT,sr became nnbiic nothin1
sac wa ALI 81 ahont fhrnn@hnr tbs Gew Yort
~ lar davHITing hetxeen TWsnty'thtr,i .treet
and the Batiery7 With ira twelve Mards and
400 ono inhabiisnts RobinsonSs en- nJover and
friends claimed thai The ynnne cierE was in.
caTabIa AZ srIrh wo-k The haIieynr9 in hz
orilt nointad RI the MAS ~ eyiJenrs against
him and their belief was stranSthened when
n fhe Cornnar,s inoni.ifion the nnrts- Of the
store yvhcre Inc accused was emnIoyed idcntiieJ
thc Ratchet "a one heIonGinG 10 II He idonti.
Ned -he Ratchet by mnrks and by the irvine
Snsran,sd IN IN. handie aud this same Lind NJ
tvine he further identiSaJ on The hnitonhoIc ~