The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-02-17
Henderson, Philadelphia's Child
Slayer, a Degenerate.
TYPICAL CRIMINAL FREAK
Similarity Between His Case and Jesse
Pomeroy's-The Federal Statistics
Show Many Such Incidents
Equal in Atrocity.
From the chlcago Chronlele.

for cases analogous to That OF samuel
Henderson. the l5-year-old degenerate
confined in Moyamensing prison, this
city. for the murder of Percy Lockyar.
aged years. a Juvenile murderer Is 4
rare specimen. whatever his provoca-
ton may have been. Henderson Is
criminal freak, not only of this, but of
another and more dangerous stripe.
His crime is what criminologists of he
scientific school have come TO class as
pure murder" the most atrocious type
of murder The term pure murder
is applied TO crimes whose perpetrators
have an Unborn tendency to take human
life. have no provocation for their deeds
and experience a misplaced enjoyment
while witnessing the sutferings of their
victims. If a diaboi1cal streak can dis
color human nature such criminal
must be stained with ii.
The scientific history Of modern crime
discloses the fact that the case of
Jesse Pomeroy, the boy torturer, who
/ operated Is years ago in Boston, is
strangely similar in salient features to
that of this Philadelphia degenerate.
Were Pomeroy in his grave the two
cases might be used as convincing evil
dence in support of the theories of the
Theosophists and all who believe in the
reincarnatCn of the soul Henderson
I has not heard of the crimes Of Pome-
roy. who has never been made the sub
ject of any literature printed in Eng
fish. His case was thoroughly studied
/ by an expert criminologist and pub
lished in Paris not long ago. 1t is re-
garded as one of the most pitiful cases
of youthful degeneracy in the modern
history of crime.
In contradistinction to Henderson.
! whose face bears the brand of cam,
and whose body is that of a physical as
/ well as moral degenerate, Pomeroy was
4 in many respects an imposing youth in
I appearances. He was stout and active,
| bright and intelligent III expression.
/ Had Henderson the intelligence of
/ Pomeroy. coupled with the same muir
/ degous instincts, he might have operat-
j ed as widely S the latter before detec-
| ton Like Henderson, however, Ppme-
roy had low forehead. though ii was
4 broad. Unlike the Philadelphia boy.
i whose lips are fiabby and whose lower
jaw recedes, Pomeroy had firm mouth
\ and rather heavy underjaw. The fea-
| turc which detracted most from POM
| eroy's good looks was detective eye,
caused by illness in infancy.
! When only II years old-a year
! younger than Henderson-Pomero
was arrested and sent to the Massa-
+ ehusetts house of correction for tortuf-
ing young children. His victims We're
vafiously estimated from 20 to 30. In
1 all cases they were much smaller and
/ younger than himself II Was his GUS
/ tom Ia entice them from home, often
/ by offering them brides, take them 10
j some secluded spot, diNest them Ut
+ their clothes, bind them and torture
+ them by prieks of a knife or some
other sharp instrument One victim
VAS found bound t. a BEAM naked and
bleeding from many wounds. In some
cases he cut the flesh from beneath
their eyes. disfieuring them Tor llfe.
One victim WAS stripped, bound,
/ whipped and afterWard jumped upoL
/ until black and blue. Another MAS
made to take off all of his clothes on
i cold winter day and stand With his toes
4 i'll a stream of water
Though sentenced to serve in the re-
formatory until his majority PamofoY
was released in Two years because ot
/ exemplary conduct. Ills father being
! dead his mother kept store, and he
+ went 10 work there with his mother
assisting her. shortly afterwafd an one
I bright day in April. 1874. a deaf and
dumb boy, digging for clans In the
marsh in South Boston, discovered the
/ body of d bright faced boy Of l. IN
i whose veins the blood of life MAS yet
warm. The throat WIS gashed from ear
10 ear, Is stahs entered the region Of he
heart, the backs Of the hands were mn
tlated and one eye Nas partially re-
moved. pomcroy. at once suspected,
i was arrested and held for trial. TN one
+ occasion he confessed hut afterWard de-
MED his guilt
Two months after his Incarceration
+ laborers excaNating in the building late
] " occupied AZ bis mothers store dis
i covered. beneath Il pile Of ashes and
+ stones the body II a little grl. II vars
Of age. The child had been missed hy
/ her mother since thu previous March,
/ but suspicion had not rested seriously
upon fomeroS. since she MAS never