New-York tribune., 1899-06-11

WITH A SHARP INSTRUMENT.
The dismembered and headess trunk of a
..out well-built man foated into the grounds
n the Crescent Athletic Club. at Bay Ridge. in
brooklyn Borough. yesterday morning An ex-
animation OF the body showed that there had
o,adently been murder and that the murderer
hsa followed the example OF Martin Thorn in
she case OF Guldensuppe, by an attempt 10 de-
.,roy all means OF Identification. The case diff
Jared from the Guldensuppe murder In the fact
that there were no wrappings about the head
Lass trunk nor was there any mutilation of the
skin of the torso.
The body first discovered by Frederick
1ohnson the night watchman Of the club who.
a, 500 o'clock yesterday morning started with
his dog toward the water. 1t was Johnson's in
,ention TO give the dog his morning bath but
,he animal showed singular disnclnation TO
enter the water. Johnson was surprised and
,seking for an explanation saw floating some
distance away a white object. A closer look
convinced him that it was the body Of a man.
and he ran 10 the clubhouse and reported the
matter to the clerk who was on duty there
AT the lstter's suggestion Johnson secured the
assistance Of another employe took boat and
rowed out TO where the body floating in
The water. He hitched a rope around the ob-
1eCl ana lOWtl II dSiD4ts NucIt NuIlOOS
,hrong Of club attendants viewed it. 1t was
clear TO even the lay mind that the body was
nat Of the victim Of murder. The skin was
cut clean through at the point of severance
with the other portions Of the trunk as If with
a razor or sharp knife The weapon must
have been handled by a person of nerve. for
there was not waver in the line. and the i'm
pement had severed skin and flesh neatly and
The clerk a for the pOlipa
and a mounted officer rode down 10 see the
body. He corserted to its removal from the
beach % the club TO the shallow shore at Sew
enty-ninth-st where it was Immediately towed
In the mean time word had been sent TO
Police Headquarters in Brooklyn, and the sug-
gestion that there was another Guldensuppe
mystery in the hands Of the police made Deputy
Chief MackeIar instruct Captain Reynolds. in
charge % the detective force. TO send two Of
his men down u the shore Detectives Con
molly and Desmond reached the body just as
Mr. Reilly. the county undertaken, arrived there.
The detectives found that what was left of the
nan measured in lcnSth exactly forty inches
The head neck and shoulders were missing
as were the heart, lungs and other organs of
the chest The viscera below the diaphragm
was intact
The person who rad dismembered the body
had used a sharp instrument, but showed no
acquaintance with anatomy in severing the
bones. II seemed a. If an axe or butchers
cieaver had been used About two inches OF the
lower part o. the breast bone remained. and
that had been chopped through. leaving jagged
edges
An attempt had been made to disarticulate in
srfer fas +yxN Of he hat adh
TO the portion OF the breast bone that was taken
away. The cartilage was cut. as If with a sharp
knife The floating ribs and lower portion Of
the backbone remained, and the vertebra at
the point OF cutting was not shattered.
Both Of the legs had been cut off below the
knees the skin and flesh had been severed
with a sharp knife and. again. ii was evident
that the bones had been broken off as IL by
blow with an axe. The left thigh bone was
broken about three inches above the knee, ana
il was thought that the unskilled operator had
tried this too with an axe. The bone at the
point Of fracture showed the sharp line Of an
axe stroke. and a triangular piece Of the thgh
bone a bout three-quarters Of an inch long. had
been broken of But the dismemberment there
had been abandoned. and as stated the leg was
cut off about three inches below the knee
N THE WATER ONLY SHORT TINE.
The only mark on the clean white skin that
seemed 10 be Of ante-mortem origin was a
bruise under the right knee. II was about an
inch long and half an inch wide. The skin was
sbraded and cut in the right groin and at first
the officers thought that the incision might have
been made with a knife, but closer examina-
ton showed that the abrasion and incision were
due TO the rope with which the men at the club
had towed the body TO the landing place The
twisted mark Of the rope coil could be clearly
followed on the skin The body was in excellent
condition. There was not the slightest sign OF
decomposition. and II was evident that IT could
not have been more than twenty-four hours in
the water.
The detectives noted that the chest measured
seventeen inches across and that the portion OF
the torso remaining was twenty inches In
length A careful examination made for
marks that might lead 10 Identification. but
none were found.
Later in the afternoon the body reached the
Morgue. where a second examination OF the
most searching character was made by Central
Once men. The dead man. according TO con-
lecture. must have been in life from feet 10
inches 10 feet II inches in height. and could
not have weighed less than two hundred pounds.
1t was evident. too. that the victim was not
man advanced in life He was strong and we'll
nourished and his age may have been between
thirty and thirty-six years
The body was viewed al the Morgue by CorO-
ner Burger, who said he would hold an autopsy
this forenoon at 1870 O'Clock
Preparations viii be made to-day. II is said.
10 drag the bay In the neighborhood OF the
crescent Athletic Club house for other portions
Of the dismembered body.
Up 20 III o'clock last night no one had ap-
peared al the little Morgue under the shadow
Of Fort Greene Park 10 identify the body. The
convection Is growing in the minds Of the people
VINO have seen IL that murder has been perpe-
lrated, aud that there has been another attempt
70 dispose Of the victims body as was done IN
ne Guldensuppe case.
close examination OF the trunk last night
showed that the man living was the possessor
of long and strong body, and probably snort
ees. His hair must have been dark brown
and his body was probably cast into the water
ess than ten hours before IL was found
THEORIES ON THE CASE.
Among the plausible theories regarding the
ase is that the man was swimming On the