The evening world., 1903-07-17
Its Skeleton, with a Piece of
Tape Knotted Tightly Around
the Neck, Found To-Day Un-
der Kitchen Floor at No. 81
West Ninety-third Street.
SMALL BODY WRAPPED
IN MADRAS OUTING SHIRT.
The House in Which 1t Was
Found Has Been Vacant Since
January, but the Police Are
Now Looking Up the Former
Tenants.

Tie skeleton OF a child with a p,e.e
IF tape knotted tightly arou-I the neck
was found to-day under II. kitchen
floor OF the vacant house All No. 81
West Ninety-third street. TIE police
OF the West One Hundredth street sta
tion are tracing former tenants Of the
house In the hope of finding o the
skeleton came to be there. Until K
pert examination Is made It will be
impossible to tell how long since the
l'tile body was placed underneath the
floor.
The house is a three-story and base
ment structure OF red sandstone ane
orick. one OF a row OF six. It was
bought a short time ago by Charles ].
R~ittenberg. of No. Ii Broadway. He
employed carpenters and plumbers to
renovate the structure.
How Skeleton Was Found.
Frank Davis, 4 carpenter. Of No. PISS
r. Srbh avenue was at work In the
kitchen to-day taking out the floor un-
put in new pipes. He came across what
appeared to be a package wrapped in a
worn white madras outing shirt.
Davi pulled the parcel out and I'M
wrapped 1t. The skeleton fell on the
floor. There vas very little flesh on the
bones and the manner of death was not |
apparent, although the tape around the
throat would seem to Indicate that the |
little one was choked to death.
This tape is about an eighth Of an
inch Wide OF the sort used by women
for drawing strings. It was wound time
and again around the throat, each wrap
being secured by a knot at the back.
Examination shows that 1t would
have been possible for the body to be
placed where it was found either by
pulling UP boards in the ioor Of the
kitchen or removing boards in the CELL
ing of the cellar directly underneath.
The house has been vacant since early
last January. For a time previous 20
1t had been occupied by n Mrs.
Opdyke as a furnished room establish
ment.
Forced Out by Coal Famine.
Mrs. Opdyke was unable to secure suf-
flcient coal to warm the house and
her roomers left. Finally she closed the
place, moved her furniture further down.
town and dropped out OF sight with
her son, a boy.
Before Mrs. Opdyke moved into the
house it had been vacant a long time
after being vacated by the family of a
named Rothstein, who is In the
goods business.
1t does not follow that the child was
under the floor by some one who
lived in the house. Access to It from
the rear was easy. Any one wishing to
of the body could have secured
and accomplished the purpose.
Davis, after his CHASTITY discovery.
went out and called Policeman Snyder.
who placed the body back in the position
L occupied when Davis first saw IT,.
superficial examination. He said that
ne could not tell how long the child
nad been dead. He estimated its age
10 have been from n year to one year
and six or seven months.
Mr.. Rothstein lives now at Seventy
ninth street and Amsterdam. avenue.
He moved out o the Ninety-third street
house over a year ago.
II lived in the house or two years"
said Mr.. Rothsteln this afternoon. Just
beore / moved in. the previous tenant
repairs were made. We were
rover troubled until about a, year aga.
l thought that tine plumbing was
out o shape. The landlord SAT- that
rather than tear up the house he would
reduce the rent, but l did not care TO
stay. II Is my opinion that the skele-
ton was under the floor beore l moved
INTO the house and that its presence :
a rise to the complaint o the tenant ;
who preceded me-"
Mrs. Opdyke was seen this afternoon !
It hor h me, N" lT2 Yves: E~ighty-fourth
street. She was a~stounded at the in
formation about the skeleton: 1t must
been placed there long before she
vent into the house in her opinion. She
In and out of the kitchen every
during her occupancy of the house
1t would have been impossible for
one to have placed the dead child
lnder the floor without detection in