The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-11
WHO KILLED THIS GIRL I
Police WORKING HARD ON THE
ROCKVILLE CENTRE MYSTERY.

A Lattie Girl Similar 70 the one Murdered.
and, Like Her. wearinG y Red Cioak. Sem
with n woman IN Freeport Nine Days Ago
by Mrs. Locke Penrsnil or That village.
District Attorney Youngs Of Queens county 10
taking q deep interest in tho Rockville Centre
murder mystery. Detectives Sullivan and
Downing Of his office, with Town Constable
Shelley ana Coroner Smith Of Hampstead.
started early yesterday to examine the place
whore tho little girls body was found. as well as
Bcdcll's yard, where tho underclothcs were
found four days before.
The Coroner believes that tho murdered child
belonged somewhere in the county. 1t is tho
general belief that a scandal lies behind tho
crime. No motive has appeared. No marks of
violence were found. Death, It Is known, was
caused by carbolic acid poisoning. The body
was stripped of almost all its clothing and hid
den. A moro critical examination yesterday
showed that the finger nails had been pared and
polished with more caro- than would be expected
in the case Of q poor person. The teeth also
were very clean. 1t is on this account, in eddi-
tion TO tho good quality OF the clothing. that the
pollce base their suspicious that tho parents of
the child were In woll.to.do circumsta noes.
Most Of the unaergarmcnts woro hand.sewed.
G9ronsr Smith yesterday had a ,, npmS SS Of
taking thom,, James Redmond. the photoEra-
ph, +. believed at first that no had taken tho
pIttuto VI u thllu uGlOTb. N CIUSC IbptCllO
Of his negatives convinced him.. however. that
no was mistaken. The child was about three
years and u half old.
The police carly began nm investigation OF tho
mysterious cerrlage episode. 1t was Town
on Friday night about $3.50 o'clock. 1t drove
into the wagon shed Of Groth's Hotel. Shelley
knows almost every horse and carriage in the
vicinity, and no is positive that thsse did not
belong in or noar Rockville Centre. 1t was
n top.covcred buggy, and contained two
though celebrating whether to get out, and tho
haste in which they then drove down the road
toward Brooklyn made Shelley think the mat.
s tier e cleak t nsre 9 }onna st on ,Ss r phG On, Ghil cnsr hood
had Just passed along. The police made in;
quiries of all tho livery stables in the vicinity IL
such a carriage had been hired, but Will no
success. The storm was at its height about the
wern out. Tho child's shoes have not be found.
They are the only articles missing in the child's
that the child could have come SO far without
having shoes, on. They hope IL they find these
to discover the makers mark inside of them.
All of tho old scandals in and about the place
have been recalled. but none OF them affords
any very valuable suggestion.
Information which the police believe may be
OF some value came out late Yesterday after.
noon at Freoport, which Is about four miles east
of Rockville Centre. Mrs. Locke Penrsali, the
wife of the proprietor of the krecport House ut
Frccport, after viewing the body of the little
girl and also the clothes. said positively that
she had seen the child nine days ago at Free.
port with a woman Of whose identity sho was
not certain. She suspected that the latter was
q woman living near Rockville. Tho woman
Freeport. Mrs. Pcarsall said she observed the
child closely because of its beauty. 1t had on u
red cloak similar to the one worn by the muir.
about the neck. Tho police intend to-day to
make inquiries about Freeport and, If possible,
find some others who observed this child.