The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-07-11
CHLOROFORMED
Police Find Bottle Used to
Drug Little Mahoney
Girl.
NET CLOSES ROUND M'NEAL
His Wife Wrote to Board of
Guardians That They
Didn't Want Girl.

New and sensational features have been
unearthed by the police in the case of
Herbert McNeal of New Durham, who Is
prisoner at Police Headquarters await
ing extradition to New York to face a
charge of abducting eleven years old
Mary Mahoney, OF No. 102 Washington
street, Manhattan, under pretence of en-
gaging her as a nurse in his family. The
child herself proved a good detective and
showed that she had grounds for her
charge.
On Tuesday night, McNeal, who has a
wife and. two children and is a fireman
employed on the West Shore Railroad,
called on Mrs. Mary AIahoney and asked
If she would allow her daughter to go t.
his home as nurse. He said he lived
in Brooklyn. and promised to pay the
child 81 per week. Mrs. Mahoney con-
sented and McNeal started out with the
girl AT 10 O'Clock at night he was found
in the freight yards of the Central Rail
road at Communipaw with the child cry
ing, he holding a handkerchief over ner
mouth. They wer taken to. the First
precinct police station by OFFICER Higgins,
and the girl said that just prior to the ar
rival of Higgins McNeal had asked her to
kiss him and had drawn her to him.
She cried and the handkerchief was
placed at her mouth. She said the hand
kerchief burned her lips and she was sure
ii was oaked in chloroform. The police
could find no trace of the drug when the
handkerchief was examined at the sta
ton, and they were inclined to believe
that the child didn't know what chloro-
form was. Captain Cody, however made
inquiries when she said she knew the odor
of the drug. When asked how she came
by her knowledge she explained that she
was niece of DR.. Martin Nugent of
Croome. County Limerick, Ireland, and
that she had paid sufficient attention to
the bottle in her uncle's laboratory to
distinguish between their contents and
she was positive about the chloroform.
Though her story was not credited in
some quarters Captain Cody decided to
make a thorough investigation and he
sent the child out with Officer Higgins to
go over the route she had taken with
McNeaI.
No detail escaped the child. When she
came to the spot where the alleged at
tempted drugging took place she pointed
it out and said that she had heard some
thing fall near by while she was with
McNeal. Higgins went over the ground
carefully for several feet around and he
found the pieces of a broken bottle.
When put together the label showed
that the bottle had contained chioroform.
The name of ''Schuman," druggist iii
Brooklyn, was on the label, and Detective
Daniel Lee took it to Brooklyn this
morning to find Schuman, and, if possible,
add another link in the evidence against
the accused. The girl also took Higgins
to the ice cream parlor where McNeal
had bought her ice cream, and to the sa-
loom where he had bought her soda wa
ter. The proprietors of these two places
will be summoned to testify against Nc
Neal if their testimony is thought neces-
sary.
There is now no doubt in the minds Of
the police that McNeal attempted to drug
the girl.
Another feature of the case was the
fnding of a number of letters. that put
"a new light on the intentions of McNeal.
The police have come in possession of one
letter write to McNea1 by woman
named Murphy, whose address is not
known to them. This letter was evidently
written in reply to one sent to the writer
by McNeal. it she explained that she
had found young irl whom she was sure
would just suit McNeal. No further de-
tails of this feature could be learned.
Further details of McNears application
to the State oBard of Childen's Guard
ians for girl were obtained from Miss
Day, secretary of the Board She turned
over to the police a letter which she had
received from Mrs. McNeal to whom she
wrote regarding her husbands application
for a girl Mrs McNeal explained in the
letter that McNeal had a wife and two
children already and that he had as much
as he could do to support his family and
that it would be impossible to receive a
girl into the family. Mrs McNeal begged
Miss Day not to pay any further atten-
ton to her husband should he continue
his efforts to have girl identured to
him. She also asked that her husband be
kept in ignorance of her communication,
saying that if he learned of it she would
get in trouble with him.
Mrs. McNears letter was enclosed in
cne frcm Division Superintendent Stone
of the West Shore Railroad, McNeai's
employer Mr. Stone explained that Mrs.
McNeal had written the letter he for
warded to the Board and he drew atten-
tion particularly to Mrs. McNeaFs re-
Quest for secrecy.
Detective Savage of Police Headquarters
New York City came here this morning
and made a complaint before Acting
Police Justice Mccormack. in which he
charged McNeal with being fugitive
from justice. Mr.. Mccormick committed
the prisoner for thirty days to the coun-
tv Jail awaiting his extradition to New
York. where he has been indicted for alb
duction.
McNeal had nothing to say this MORN
ing. -
sTof WASTING THE WATER