The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-11
TROUBLES OF A BARBER
CHARLES ZANOLI SUSPECTED OF
CRIMES LIKE H. H. HOLINESS.
He Has Pleaded Guilty to Defrauding
an Insurance Company, but Is
Held for other Ofenses.

NEW YORK, Dec. 1O-Charles Zanoli. the
barber who yesterday pleaded guilty to de-
frauding an insurance company and who
admitted that since 1888 he had collected
insurance on four wives, one mother-in-law
and one daughter, and one employee was
arraigned in Police Court again to-day on
the charge of being suspicious person He
was remanded until tomorrow to give the
detectives time to thoroughly investigate his
record and ascertain whether all the
people on whose lives he obtained insurance
died through natural cause The charge q
'hA insurance companies will not be pressef
until this curious sequence of death has
been properly explained. He asserts that
all the persons on whose lives he collected
insurance died from natural causes, but adj
mits collecting 1856 or a policy taken out
in his own name after he had represented
to the company that the dead body OF an
employe named Schmidt was himself. While
prosecuting his insurance business Zanoli
travelled under the names of Braune and
Sugmer. The police have no definite evil
4ence to warrant the charge of murder.
During the day the police accumulated a
good deal of testimony against Zanoli which
they consider important. Captain McClus-
ky, the chief of detectives, stated that he
had discovered a barber who had seen Fan
oil giving wife No. a dose of medicine.
The woman died the next day of cerebral
hemorrhage He also stated that Zanoli
moved short time ago to another locality
in this city, with the intention of getting
married again. The woman that Zanoli in
tended to make his wife advertised in the
papers for a husband, and had an appoint
ment with Zanoli at his store yesterday
evening. She kept the appointment and
found that Zanoli was in jail The police
also claim that zanoli tried to marry an
ut 40 TIynFY IN w n1f fnIA M
lice to-day that his child Lottie, on whose
life he collected insurance, died from an in
jury on the head resulting from blow
given to her by his second wife while in a
fit of anger. Zanoli also stated that his
second wife grieved so much over Lottie' s
death that he believed it caused her own
since he has been locked up.
Several OF the physicians who attended
the wives of Zanoi made statements to
Police Captain McCluskey tonight. DR.. j.
w. Lyman, who attended Zanoli's third
wife at the time of her death, told Sergeant
Morris that he was puzzled by some Of the
symptoms of the case and that he conSid-
cred Zanoi'S conduct peculiar at the time
The doctor also said that he had talked
with his wife about the matter and when
the accounts of the Thorn case were pub
lished he wondered If the Barber Braune
or Zanoli, and the Barber Thorn were not
one and the same. DR.. Lyman said he
thought the woman died from apopleXy, but
he never felt positive about the matter:
DR.. G. e. Barton, one of the attending
physicians on Jennie SUMNER the fourth
wife, who died Aug. 8, 1897, said that he
examined this woman just previous to her
initiation into the Order of United Friends.
Zanoli wanted a policy of $1,000 on his own
life and another policy Of $4,000 on the life
of his fourth wife. On account of their APP
parent poverty, the doctor refused to pass
Zanoli for that amount. but agreed to al
low both persons to take out a policy for
900. DR.. Barton considered some of the
symptoms attendant the illness of Mrs.
zanoli, or Sumner as she was known, as
suspicious, but DR.. Harris, who had also
been called into the case, told him that the
woman died of heart failure. DR.. Harris
corroborated many of the statements made
by DR.. Barton.
DR.. E. j. Sheehan, who attended Lena
Zanol, the second wife, who died Nov. 70,
1885, said that he gave a certificate that
death was caused by apoplexy. He noticed
nothing peculiar about the case at the time
he was called in to prescribe for the woman.
were insured in Zanolis favor will be ex-
humed for the purpose of determining, if
possible. any additional facts concerning
causes of DEATH