The Jersey City news., 1901-07-20
MAY Be MURDER.
Mans Body Found on Old
Canal Hulk Off Hen
derson Street.
DID BRUISES CAUSE DEATH?
Three Men and Three Women
Who Know the Facts Held
For Investigation.

William Engler, thirty seven years old,
who lived aboard an old hulk of a canal
boat at the foot of Henderson street. in
the South Cove, was found dead on the
floor of the cabin last night.s Three men
and three women are prisoners at Police
Headquarters awaiting the result OF an In
vestigation. They have all made state
ments showing that they have some
knowledge of the incidents just preceding
the finding of the body and at least two
of them are SO closely in touch with the
facts in the case that they have been
able to tell in detail all of Englers actions
for hours before his death.
Sergeant Quinn of the First Precinct
Police Station and Detectives Lee and
Prescott, of Police Headquarters. found
the body. The head showed several
bruises. The police think Engler had been
dead at least two hours.
Whether the blows that caused the
bruises or the oppressive heat OF the
cabin were responsible for death the
police do not know They are making
thorough investigation TO determine the
cause. They seem to incline just now to
the opinion that the heat was mainly re-
sponsible for death, but they are also con-
fident that the blows on the head which
caused the bruises felled Engler, so that
he was unable to drag himself from the
cabling to the open air.
DR.. Rector, who made an examination
of the body, said he thought bruises such
as were on the head could not cause
DEATH
The prisoners are:-Frank Tighe, no
home; John McInerney, of NO. 1S7 Monitor
street; William Leheay. of No. 179 Grand
street; Kate Mum, of No. 43 Tenth ave-
nue.. Manhattan, New York City; Mar
garet Jennings, no home, and Stella Bren-
nan, of New Haven, Conn.
From the statements made by these peo-
pie it seems that Engler and the Bren-
nan woman were aboard the boat drink
ing beer alone yesterday afternoon from
two until three O'Clock. At that time
Tighe went aboard the boat and made
oyertures to the Brennan woman which
seemed to anger Engler and he ordered the
intruder off the boat. There was an argu-
ment, Tighe, however, walking slowly to-
ward the bew, Of the boat SO that he.
night jump ashore. Engier picked up an
ak handle and struck Tighe over the back
with it.
When Tighe got ashore he picked up
brick, he says, and was about to throw
it at Engler when Engler rushed into the
cabin SO as to get out Of range Tighe.
threw the brick through window He
then left the vicinity, not knowing or car
ing whether the brick had reached its
mark,
The Brennan woman says that when
Tighe came aboard the boat she and Eng
ordered fron@the boat He left and later
a brick came through the window. 1t
struck Engler on the head and he fell to
the floor of the cabin. She then left and
Joined a party of beer drinkers ashore.
She Gid not see Engler again until she
was taken to the station house where she
saw the body. Both she and Tighe told of
the brick hitting Engler to everyone they
met and those in the vicinity were busy
gossiping about the fight for hours.
No one saw Engler up to 10 o'clock last
night, when some men went aboard the
boat and found him dead. They became
frightened, and though they told their
friends of the CHASTITY find they feared to
tell the police.
The Jennings woman, however, decide.
the authorities should know of the mat
ter and she called at the Gregory streeI
station house and told Sergeant Quinn.
Chief Murphy's theory is that the man
had evidently been drinking hard and
had fallen to the floor when struck by
the brick. He said the heat was very op-
pressive and he was sure that 1t was 120
in the cabin, so that it was impossible for
any one to live there for any length of
time.
When the prisoners were arraigned be-
fore Police Justice Hoos this morning
they had nothing to say. The case was
laid over awaiting further investigation
at the request of the police.
County Physician Converse examined
the body at the morgue today, but hat
nothing to say for publication. The
facts in the case he kept to himself. What
he discovered he will tell only to the po-
lice