The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1902-02-10
DISAPPEARED FOUR WEEKS AGO
BUT WAS KILLED WITHIN
TEN DAYS.
SHE WAS SURELY STRANGLED
Positive Clew of Murderer's Identity
Has Not Been Obtained, Although
Some Suspicion Attaches to Man
Named Bennett, Who Rented House.
fBy Associated Press.l


San Francisco, Feb. 10.--The mystery
surrounding the murder of 16-year-old
Nora Fuller, whose nude body was found
on a bed in an unused house on Sutter
street. remains unsolved.
The result of the autopsy has made 1t
practically certain that the girl was
chloroformed and then strangled. AL
though she disappeared four weeks ago
when she met a man calling himself
John Bennett, in answer to an adver-
tisement for a girl to care for child,
the autopsy physician is positive she
was killed within the last 10 days.
This tends to confirm the statement of
Locksmith Bertrand, who faid he visited
the house where the crime was COM
mitted about a week ago and found 1t
vacant.
She Was Strangled.
This leaves three weeks of the girls
time since she left her home yet to be
accounted for Evi lence in she was
strangied is found in the fact that there
were two abrasions on her n ok and that
a cord, small but strong, measuring sew
eral feet in length, in bow KNIT at one
end was found in the toilet.
On the strands were found red stains.
To add to the certainty that the stains
were made by human blood were found
two handkerchiefs all covered with the
red fluid.
A clumsy attempt had been made to
burn the handkerchiefs, but they were
only partly destroyed. There was moth
Ing to indicate that the girl and Bennett.
who, under the name of c. b. Hawkins,
Is believed to have rented the house,
lived there. Neither the water nor gas
had titrn oh hnr ra
heard no noise there.
The noise Of a struggle is said to have
awakened a family living near by two
weeks ago, but II may not have been in
the house of mystery.
Among the few things found in the
house was large scrap of paper torn
from the Denver Post.
A Slight Clew.
1t had been issued from the press on
the afternoon of January 8 and 1t could
not have reached San Francisco before
the evening of January il and 1t was
probably not delivered before the morn
ing of the following day.
The man known as Bennett or Haw-
kins secured the key to the house on
the day before the paper left the press
In Denver, and as he alone had access
to the place, ii was only he who could
carry the scrap of paper there The po-
- lice think he Is known in Denver, or has
interests there.
A dispatch from Muncle, Indiana, says
that three months ago, there disappe jared
from that place man named Charles
r. Hawkins, barkeeper who is alleged
to have taken away $4,000 belonging to
Mrs. Sarah Williams.
The police OF the country, 1t Is said are
requested to arrest him. The description
answers the G. I. Hawkins or John Ben
nett who rented the Sutter street resi-
dence.
The police, however, are without a
positive clew as to the murderer's iden-
tity.
No Light on Tragedy.
One of the girls friends SAYS she had
spoken of an acquaintance named Ben
nett and streetcar gripman declares
few days ago he saw an old woman
carry basket up the steps of the house
where the crime was committed.
Beyond these few fac's there Is no
light on the sensational tragedy.
An alibi has been established for M. A.
Serebrenik whose card was found in the
purse of the dead girl. 1t was ascer-
tained that he sailed for China on the
Peking, on January IL, several days be-
fore the girls disappearance.