New-York tribune., 1903-07-15
FALSE CLEW TO MURDER.
STORY OF LEG IN RIVER.
Woman Who Wore Bloody Gar
ments Three Them AzCay.


found under the second-ave bridge Inspector Titus
| got clew yesterday which obyiates, he says, all
| fancied connection between the Roxbury murder
and the woman's clothing. 1t showed that, instead
of having been murdered. the woman herself threw
away the clothing at an hour which would make 1t
| almost impossible to get to the bridge from the
scene Of the Roxbury assault after the assault had
| occurred.
Captain A. H. Dewey, of the barge Alabama
which docks at the Harlem River and Lincoln-ave..
told the detectives yesterday that last Friday
evening, not later than $50 o'clock. he was stroll
/ ing around. and chanced to a woman, carrying
bundle walk along the footbridge which leads up
to the main bridge. She was of middle age, stout
dressed in pink wrapper. he thought. but the most
! noticeable thing about her that her head and
! neck swathed in bandages. Out on the bridge
! she met apparently a laborer. as he was
| roughly dressed and wore coat. Impelled by
curiosity. Captain Dewey followed the woman, and
as he walked past where the couple stood he heard
! her say:
This is the first time I've been up here in six
| months"
! Soon after they separated and Captain Dewey
! the woman throw the bundle she had into the
river, she supposed Instead, it fell on the bank
under the bridge and Captain Dewey, still curious.
! examined it. When he found only bloody
! clothes of particularly good material. a not
! altogether uncommon find in that neighborhood.
he left them where they had fallen. There they
found by the watchman, Mcnamara, the next
| morning.
CONNECTION
! In commenting on this, Inspector Titus declared
that this cleared up all possibility Of connection be-
! tween the clothing and the Roxbury case. first.
| because it was supposed that the woman in the
| Roxbury affair had been killed. whereas this
| woman was much alive; also, because the Roxbury
| assault occurred at about $50 p at One-hun-
| dred-and-sixty- -sixth-st. and River-ave., and 1t
| would have been impossible for the woman to get
down to the bridge at $50 o'clock, having in the
| mean time changed her clothing and had her head
! bandaged.
Others maintain, however, that there a pos
sbility. and instead of ending all connection between
! the two affairs, the fact that this woman who
| threw away the clothing injured about the
! face neck, where Roxbury supposed to have
| wounded the woman with his asSailant, manifestS
! clearly that the theories in the case have been
| true; that Roxbury really did stab woman with
| his umbrella, but that instead of dying being
murdered by her companion, she lived and got rid
| of the telltale bloody clothing.
STORY ABOUT WOMAN's LEG.
| It was through development which promised to
! set at rest all controversy to the womans body,
! and perhaps solve the whole Roxbury mystery,
! that the police found out about this woman. Yes
| terday afternoon there came into the inspector S
| Office a report that woman's leg had been turned
| up by tug under the Second-ave. bridge. The de-
| tectives were the jump at once. Inspector
| Titus and dozen rushed down to the Alex
ander-ave. station, whence the story had come and
from there over to the bridge. Impressing some of
| the harbor police and various dredging machines,
they began long search for the body, but at
! called off the hunt. Results nothing but wounded
feelings Aaca25eti rssze +1r rsfv-S -ptcsH2 a.,
lass I9unno. a ,sltsoE f9 The a. H. Banr ErReGing
! Company responsible for the story.
AS the tug, towing two barges, came under the
| bridge Duane. standing on the pier. said that he
woman's leg appear under the stern Of the
boat, and Immediately go down again, K the
! body were weighted. He told the watchman who
! informed the police. Another story that Will
| dTiv was in he ejphf RI
at One hundred and thrty-secOnd-st. and saw the
Leg in a black silk stocking. the foot incased in
patent leather shoe This story is definite enough
to say that the limb large Further particu-
| lars were not given While a woman's shoe size
! No Z, found, Inspector Titus declares that no
body could ever have been there or the dredging
| would have brought it up.
ROXBURYs CARDS FOUND.
In the Roxbury proper there were few de-
| velopments yesterday. The search for the mur-
| derer, says the inspector has narrowed down ia
| an ordinary thug "bushwacker," but the man
! who boarded the One-hundred- and sixty-hrst-st
| is considered out of the case. Yesterday
| several cards belonging TO Mr. Roxbury were
found. scattered about. if the murderer search
ing the cardcase he ran, had scattered them
along his route. The first one identification card
| of FOrdham Council Royal Arcanum. on which
| a blood spot, found at One-hundred-
and-sixty- -hrst-st. and Walton-ave., at about
9:15 o'clock on Friday night. This, like the
| club found by one of the many boys about
the neighborhood, and yesterday was turned
| over to a policeman. He searching, found sew
| eral visiting cards and an identification card
| Membership No. 42,S31." in the Commercial
| Travellers Mutual Accident Association, be-
tween One-hundred- and sixty -frst-st. and One
hundred-and- sixty third-st
WHAT CARDS MAY PROVE
From the direction which these cards indicated
the man had taken, and the time the first was
| he n1ilrd
attack was made on Roxbury inspector Titus
thinks the evidence against the man who boarded
the ne-hundred-andsixty -frst-st is decidedly
less DANA gins. Still another find yesterday was d
picked up on River-aVe.. about one hundred fee
from The place OF the assault and handed TO Jo'
taches Importance all for he says one coulC
find almost any old article of clothing near there
An my ehorts bent tracing a highway
man." said Inspector Titus. sreaking OF the direc-
ton of his search for the murderer. From the
beginning I've ned that theory. which the club
bears out ard see no reason 90 cnange 1t. As "a
saiiant that is very likely. II strikes that would
peared to a couple in lonely place they might get
alarmed. while il a man and woman came into sigh
OF spoons with resultant alarm. As, has beer
suggested; it might have been a man in woman ma -
was d farmland Pete discharged last Satur
This m man had only had the job for week, anc
| when Linkugel returned from market on Satur
day morning the hand was abed yet TINS ap
peared be couTting discharge, but don't thin5 ti
TINS man had any ti.T1s 10 GO Win pe SIN
macher's back there on Saturday night. whicL
man I have under consideration. There are tweIV'
men on the case. and expect some results sogl,
day but learned nothing Mrs. Gibson. ftoA
burv's mother dId not appear The witnesses were
a farmer. Coogan, who told Of couple OF tranps
who slept in his barn Friday night and severe
men and boys who had been talking 70 their neigh
bors about the case but knew nothing in realty
Miss Lillian Thomasch who was served wi Win .,
Monday 10 appear before Assistant District t AtIo