The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-06-29
THE MURDER MYSTERY.
Dismembered Body at New York's
Morgue Puzzles the Police.
MAY BE A VICTIM OF THE MAFIA.

At tho District Attorneys ONCE 1t Is
Intimated That the Dead Body May
Be That Of Missing Witness In a
Murder Trial.
New York, June 29.-The mutilated
body that was found in two sections,
one in East river on Saturday, the
other In the northern part of this city
on Sunday, has not been identified A
number of persons have visited the
morgue, thinking they might recog-
nize the body as that Of a missing
friend or relative, but none could
identify the body One evening paper
has offered $1,000 and another $500 for
solution of the mystery.
Coroner's Physician O'IIanon made
another examination of the body yes
terday afternoon. Afterward he said
that whoever had cut up the body,
while he might not have been sur
geon, must have known something Of
the human anatomy, as he had cut
the body in the parts where saw and
knife would meet with least resis-
tance. In the case of the legs, the cuts
had been made santing instead of di-
recty across. This was the easiest
way to make the cuts.
But the physician admitted that the
cutter may have struck the easiest and
simplest way to do his horrible work
by mere accident. Still he did not think
that possible, and thought that even a
butcher accustomed to the killing and
cutting up of animals could have not
done the work so well as it has been
done.
1t was said by physician yesterday
that the parts of the body had been
boiled. This Dr. O'Hanlon does not be-
lieve. The peculiar appearance of the
fragment found in the upper part of
the city was due to its lying in the sun
before being wrapped, he thinks.
The district attorneys office has
taken a hand in the attempt to identify
the body. Assistant District Attorney
Bell, who has charge of the prosecu-
ton in the case of the murder of
Santo Abruzzo, on March 13 last, which
is declared to have been done at the
behcst of the Malta, said yesterday
that three witnesses in the case had
disappeared. Two were lost sight of
case first came up. Seven men were
indicted, one was discharged, one sent
up for q term in prison, and Michael
Carmeiro, another of the men, is on
trial.
In this case a man named AdzarO
was to have been the principal wit
ness, and he had disappeared.
Mr., Bell said: "One of our witnesses
was offered $1,000 by friends of Car
metro not TO testify, and they have
done everything in their power to stop
the prosecution. While | have no
reason to believe that the trunk is that
Of my witness. it Is possible, and in
order to do what I can to solve the
mystery shall get some Italians who
know Adzaro to view the body, be-
cause from the description given there
is some similarity between Adzaro and
the body"
The only distinctive mark on the
parts Of the body found is on the in
dex finger of the left hand That is the
test the detectives are trying to apply
to every identification. The entire nail
on the finger looks as If twisted to the
right. The right corner and outer end
extends beyond the flesh of the finger,
while the right corner on the inner end
is nearly in the center of the finger.
The nails Of all the others is trimmed
to the quick, and this fact gave rise
to an carly report that the nail of the
deformed finger had been broken in the
struggle for life. There is no fresh in
jury on the finger. The felon, cut or
blow that resulted in the defOrmity
had healed several years ago.
At o'clock this morning a well dress
ed man, believed to be a Japanese,
called at the morgue and said he could
identify the mutilated remains He
described certain neCuliartles of the
body accurately. When shown the in
complete corpse the foreigner said:
Yes, l think know the man." Then
he asked about the cord, Qtscrlb-
ing it as window cord. Yes, that's it,"
he said,
A detective questioned the visitor,
but got no Information from him. The
visitor said he would return later in
the day.