The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-15
MURDER In A VACANT LOT.
PRINTER THOMAS j. LYoNS,s HEAD
BEATEN IN WITh STONES.

shown by HiEh Blood MARKS on n Pence
His Body DraEred Away from an Opening
In the F~cnce-Another Brooklyn pIy.,ery
-Bleody Etnser Marks Found on n Towel
Thomas ]. Lyons, n printer employed by the
Lockwood Press Company of l43 Bleecker
street, this city, was killed with stones in a lot
on Fulton street, near Saratoga avenue, Brook
Ign. som time between midnight and z O'Clock
yesterday morning. Two twenty.pound stones
stained with blood were found about forty feet
from the body. One whole side OF the head was
crushed In, and the bones OF the Jaw and check
ON tho other side were fractured in half q
dozen places. Tho condition of the ground
showed that tho murderer had dragged the
body away from the spot where tho stones were
found. Across the breast he had placed the
mans coat, carefully folded, while beside the
head he had laid the black derby hat.
Tho remarkable thing is that q murder could
have been committed on o freQuented thorough.
fare like Fulton street, at q spot less than half Q
block from a station Of the Kings County Ele-
waited Railroad, without causing an alarm.
There can be no doubt that there was q struggle.
Tho condition Of the ground showed that beyond
a question. 1t was more or less torn up for sew.
~eralfeet around the spot where 1t is evident the
man was killed, and small stones which cover
the ground were scattered about.
The murderer was partially screened from
public view by a fence on Fulton street. This
fence was erected by o firm OF bill posters, but
in one end an entrance four feet wide and six
feet high had boon cut. There is no fence at the
other end Of the lot, which opens on tho street
back of and running parallel with Fulton street.
Lyons was killed right beside the Fulton street
entrance to the lot. ANY one passing ct the
time would have seen something Of tho strug.
gle; any one within q block must have heard Q
cry II one was uttered by the assaulted man.
Over thirty detectives worked from 0 o'clock
yesterday morning until long after midnight
this morning without getting o clue to the iden-
tity OF tho murderer. They managed to trace
some Of the movements of the dead man during
the night, but that was all. What will mako 10
q harder mystery to solve than any other one
thing Is the very evident fact that the murder
was the result Of an alteration which arose be-
tween the dead man and some one whom he had
met but with whom he had no previous 40
quaintance. 1t Is known that Lyons was drunk
during the night, and the police think either
that ho got into a brawl with some stranger and
that they went into the lot to settle the differ
ence, or that he was lured into the lot and muir
dered by some one under the impression that he
had money. The police favor the theory Of q
drunken brawl because the mans coat was of.
A piece of was furnished to the
police late yesterday afternoon by @. d. DotIer.
q negro evangelist. He tells Of a row in a Full
ton street trolley car. between IL 80 o'clock and
m,aht one w Satsr snS mig might to which ended ended by y, two two
car a block away from the scene OF the murder,
to light IT out; DozIIer saw the body of Lyons
or not IL was that OF the white man who figured
In the trolley car row.
The lot where Lyons was murdered 10 In the
centre OF the block in Fulton street between
sss6ratogG and Hs9pkinsen avenues; 1t is about
stores, above which are fats. 1t runs through
to Hull street, and the whole interior of the lot
Elevated Railroad. The lot is a playground for
the children in the neighborhood, and they have
shrubbery that 1t ever contained.
Running. diagonally across the lot from tho
street fence to the uptown end OF the lot on Hull
street Is a well worn path. which has been used
short cut from pI Fulton nssttrreee street to their home homes .of .
Shortly before 8 o'clock yesterday morning
street. about ~hf" doors Sh from n'e ebe az lot ap sent h ber
twelve-year-old daughter Mamie over to q Full
1Tm Str etoi grocery 5gt to get : pound Of butter;
across the path; She got three-quarters OF the
way through the lot when she saw the body
drunk and had fallen. '"f Then she noticed OF aHf blood
much frightened, she turned and ran for home
as fast as she could. She told her mother there
Nonsense" said Mrs. Warner.
NH ohes dead. know 1t" said the girl. "lsaw
| DlOOu ali around him.
Convinced that something was wrong, Mrs.
Warner threw a shawl around her shoulders
heard the story. The two women and the little
E girl started tei across the lot, When they got
up a combined screaming that brought
three or four people, who were on Fulton
fence to see what was the matter. One of these
was a boy. who gave one look ut the body and
| TO HOpkinSOn avenue. where he grabbed Police
man Post OF the Twcnty.seventh precinct by tho
arm and exclaimed excitedly:
Come quick. there's n man been murdered In
a lot down the street."
Post hesitatei because the lot is not in his
precinct, but the boy was so insistent that he
concluded 1t was a serious case and went along.
II was apparent to the policemen At tho first
land you boys cali. a doctor. It's just possiSIc;
Mrs. Warner ran home and got some water.
and then Post washed the dead mans face and
tho meantime the boys had found Policemen
MeagheT and vyse Of the Ralph avepue station.
case. and leaving the body in their charge went
back to his post.
nevertheless. MeaEhor telephoned TO 81. Mary's
Hospital; in st. Marks avenue, for an ambu-
lance and one arrived in n few minutes. Ambu-
lance Surgeon Lee pronounced he man dead.
Hos been dead several hours | should say"
said Pr, Lee. The Fractures are 80 numerous
they were sustained, or which caused death. I
should say that the blow on the back of tho
head, which crushed in the skull, was the fatal
one
From the Ralph avenue police station Capt.
Ennis sent u patrol wagon with half u dozen
policemen and Detectives Brown and Tompkin-
son to the scene. The man was lying on his
back. his arms stretched out at full length, his
legs close together. and his head Title over 50
that the right ear Just touched the ground. 1t
looked as II the body had Ucen carefully placed
as IT was found. Then here was the coat.
neatly folded and lying across the chest, ana Tho
hat beside the mans head, all evidence Of tho
presence of some one when the man was dying
or after no WAS dead.
Having made u u study of the body, the dcteo-
tiyes sent IL Ia he station.
About three feet from the opening in the fence
there was IA mass Of blood stains ON the fence.
Tho uppcrmost stains were HlmOst six feet from
the ground. and they extended all the way down
to the ground. A few feet away on the lcuCo
were more blood stains. the highest ones AT this
point being about three feet from the ground.
Then all around on the ground were moro blood
stains.
The small stones were all covered with blood,
there were clots Of IL in the dirt, and the l"avcs
on a little bush that grows there were stained.