The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-08-08
HIDEOUS BL UNDER
Warm Body Of Suicide
Left Hanging For
One Hour.
WAS M0RBDO DEAD 2
Hoboken Wife Murderer
Cheats Van Hise and
the Law.

jail awaiting tFlaI IUF the IduiueA " 1i-''
wife Johanna, saved the county the
trouble and expense of his trial and prob
able execution by hanging himself IN ms
cell this morning. Moredo was confined
in a cell in Ward 8. and it was while the
other prisoners were taking their morning
exercise in the corridor between nine ana
ten o'clock that Moredo deprived Hang
man Van Hise of job.
A prisoner named Morris discovered the
murderer's lifeless body swinging from
hook near the ceiling and yelled to
Keeper Gilhooley, who had charge of the
corridor. Gilhooley looked at the body
and then notified Warden Patterson. The
body was not cut down until about 1880,
after County Physician Converse had ar
rived and Coroner Delaney had been sum
moned. 1t was then taken to the bath
room and subsequently removed to Speer's
morgue.
Moredo had torn the canvas covering
from his cot in TO strips, fastened one end
of it to one of the hooks from which the
cot is suspended, and made moose at the
other end and put it around his neck.
He evidently jumped from the cot after
he had completed his preparations, be-
cause his feet were about two feet from
the ground.
Moredo, since he was committed to the
County Jail on May 22 has repeatedly de-
clared to the other prisoners that he
would never be hanged. and he was in the
habit of making motions across his neck
indicating that he intended to cut his
throat. close watch was kept on him,
and ON one occasion when his cell was
searched knife was found concealed in
the cot. The knife was made of the blade
of an ordinary table knife ground to
point like a stiletto and had the bowl of
a spoon for a handle. He seemed cha
grined when it was taken away, but
still insisted that he would not be hanged.
When the body was discovered this morn
ing it was still warm, and Moredo might
have been resuscitated if he had been
promptly cut down.
The murder for which Moredo was to
| have been tried was of a most brutal
character Moredo and his wife had
quarrelled frequently Her husbands
abuse finally became so unbearable that
she decided that it would be impossible
for her to live with him any longer, and
she went to live with her mother, Rose
BnllaDo. at No. 405 Adams street, Hobo
ken. She took her two children, boy
and girl by former husband, with her
and resumed her first husbands name,
Muzzeo. Moredo frequently called on her
to try and persuade her to live with him
again, and she yielded to his entreaties
once, but he treated her as badly as ever
and she was forced to leave him again.
On one occasion after that he got up on
the roof of the house in an effort to reach
his wife's apartments. He was arrested,
and on being searched at the police sta
tion dynamite was found in his possess
sion. He said that he in tended to blow
up the house unless his wife would con-
sent to live with him again. At that time
Moredo was committed to Jail for three
months and while there he attempted to
commit suicide by shooting and stabbing
| himself.
| On the day she was murdered Mrs
| Muzzeo took her children out for a walk.
| She asked her mother to accompany her,
| but her mother refused. Mrs. Celestine
| Mobile, neighbor, who lived at No. 326
Adams street, went with Mrs. Muzzeo
and took her eighteen months old baby
along They walked through Sixth street
! to the other side of the Erie Railroad
| tracks and sat down on the slope of the
| hill.
Mrs. Boitano changed her mind and fol-
lowed her daughter and grandchildren.
She had reached the railroad tracks when
! she was startled at seeing Moredo- He
| spoke to her, asking her where his wife
| was. Mrs. Boitano said she did not know.
| Moredo looked up toward the hill and
| saw his wife and her friend and the
! children there He walked rapidly up to
| where his wife was and spoke TO ner
/ Mrs Mobile saws that he asked his Wife
| to take him and promised to be good 10
| her if she would live with him again;
/ His wife pulled handful of grass ana
! stufing it in her mouth said:-I wouid
! rather eat grass than live with you
| again." LIT -
Moredo then drew his knife, which ne
| had evidently prepared for tne occaasion
4 and plunged it into his wife's BODY re
| neatedIv, He stabbed her in the chest
| arms and back and left the knife sticking
! M 70 the hilt in her right arm county
| physician Converse found nine dlsunct
| wounds two of which were In the lungs
| Moredo then ran away, but his vletim
| screams and the screams OF her mother
and Mrs Mobile had attracted the atteh-
| ton of some young men who were piayinS
| hall and they intercepted him. James j..
Farmer. Of No $50 Newark street. Hobo
ken knocked the murderer down with
bat and held him until Policeman Ryan
| arrived. Ryan was not on duty, but he
took the murderer into custody and es-
corted him to police headquarters in Ho-
boken with the assistance of Policeman
Fall The ball players and the crowd that
gathered were inclined to lynch Moredo'
but the policeman got him safely away.
Moredo was indicted for murder and
arraigned on June 27 His counsel, former
Judge Hoffman and Aleck Young. set up
the plea that he was insane and unable
to plead He did plead not guilty. how
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