The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-08-20
Later He Was Placed Under Arrest,
as Was the Dead GrI's Lover
POLICE WORKING OF SEVERAL CLUES.
Murdered Girl Had Received Letters From
Several Men, and the Police Are Trlng
10 Locate The Writers Of Them

New York, Aug. 20.--Katherine Scharr
of 90 Second avenue was murdered a
her home some time on Saturday night
The murderer used hammer. which h,
found on the premises, and with it crush
ed in the woman's skull.
Miss Scharn was 22 years old. The kill
| ing was reported to the police at 1:3t
| o'clock yesterday morning and by
| o'clock last night two men had been taken
| into custody and were retained in the
1 West Thirty-iifth street station.
The only charge against them at pres
| ent is that they were suspicious per-
sons.
The two men are Fred Scharn, the muir
| dered girls brother, and Lincoln Price.
| bank clerk of Thirteenth street and
| Brook avenue, to whom she was engaged,
and with whom she had an appointment
for 1880 o'clock Saturday night up in the
Bronx.
Other arrests are likely 10 follow on the
strength of clues furnished by the girl s
correspondence. She had received letters
from several different men. Most of them
were love letters and many named the
time and place for the next meeting.
The police are looking for the several
writer's of these letters. 1t was through
the correspondence that the detective first
learned of Price.
BELIEF OF THE POLICE.
The police seem to be confident that
the murder was committed by one OF the
men with whom the young woman had
been acquainted. They have no idea that
the murder was the work of a thief. al
though a gold watch and two gold rings
which the victim owned. are missing, and
her pocketbook, which contained about
IS was found on the floor beside the
body.
There was also a blue cambric mask
such as no thief in his senses would ever
use, according to the detectives. on the
floor near the blood-staned hammer.
The hammer was kept In tool box
under the wash tubs In the kitchen. In
the opinion of the police no one ws~ was
not familiar with the premises would
have found the hammer
Katherine Scharn and her brother Fred
had kept house together since last Sep
tember in a four-room fiat on the third
floor. rear, Of the Second avenue house
They shared expenses until recently.
when the brother, who is only IL years
old got out of work. Fred Scharn was
the first TO tell the police of his sisters
murder. He reached home soon after
midnight.
lie opened the door from the hallway
into the sitting room. he told the police
and lit a match. The first thing that he
saw was the hammer. and then his sis
ters hat. Then he saw the girls feet ex-
tending over the threshold from the .eu-
room.
She was lying face downward with her
arms twisted behind her back. that
the hands almost touched. Young Scharn
says he saw all that by the light of the
first match lie lit another and discover
IL. L..
He did not attempt TO look at his sis
ters face but touched her hands, which
were icy cold.
Then, according TO his own story and
that of woman i'm the next fiat, who
was listening, he exclaimed Murder"
and rushed downstairs.
Instead OF going to the police station.
Scharn went first to the owner OF the
house where he lived. and failing to find
him, went back to his own house with
two women he had met at the other
house.
NOTIFIED THE POLICE.
They were quick to recognize that Miss
Scharn was dead, and on their sugges-
ton, young Scharn went To the police,
who at once began the delayed investiga-
ton They found that Che woman's head
had been hammered. and the skull was
crushed and the jaw broken. An ambu-
lance WAS SNnftpntus Su'Ston VINO
examined the body, said that the girl had
been dead several hours. From this and
other facts the police are confident that
the murder was committed between 8
and 6 o'clock Saturday evening.
When Fred Scharn first told the police
about the murder he said he had spent
all OF Saturday evening with Nettie Har-
ris OF 6Sl East one Hundred and sixty
second street, To whom he was engaged
GO be married.
The Harris girl corroborated Scharn's
story as to his whereabouts on Saturday
night.
From the same source IL was learned
that Miss Scharn was To have married
Price.
Price was found and taken 10 the po-
lice station. lie has been q clerk i'm the
Western National Bank at Pine and Mas
sau streets for about eight years II
have known Miss Scharr for three or
four years" Price told the police II
gave her the two rings which. I under-
stand have been stolen. The last that
I heard from her was by a note yestcr-
day, In which she asked me TO meet
her at 7;30 o'clock last night at One Hun
dred and Sixty-sixth st,eet and Third
avenue.
II went there. but Miss Scharn did not
came. so, after waiting n little while. I
went home and stayed there till the
evening"
Miss Scharn had saved all of Prices
letters since February. lSgS. and she had
been receiving about two a week. accord-
ing TO the detectives Price had writ
ten several times recently that he was