The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-27
ARREST FOR YERDUE MURDER.
POLICE HAVE ONE MAN AND ARE
LOOKING FOR FIVE OTHERS.

The Prisoner Salesman VINO Had Been
Stirred by Stories That verdue Had
Shown Attentions TO Little Girls
Crime Due to . Mistake, Police Say.
The murder Of Frederick Adrian Verdue,
private detective employed by the Mooney
4 Boland Detective Agency in this city, at
Fifty-ffth street and Ninth avenue on
Friday night was apparently the result OF
neighborhood OF the motives Of Verdue
and his partner, Joseph Hansen, in giving
pennies and otherwise showing attentions
to a number of little girls living in the
vicinity.
The Central Office detectives who had
been at work all day in the neighborhood
arrested last evening James Martin, Fl years
old, travelling salesman, who lived at 81
West Fifty-fifth street. They locked him
up in the West Forty-seventh street station
on charge Of homicide.
According to the police, Martin was the
moving spirit in the gang that committed
the murder. They are looking for five other
men who, with Martin, made up the gang.
The police say that the prisoner was den-
titled by Hansen as the man who held him
while the others committed the assault and
then ran away.
Martin said that he had nothing to do
with the murder, but that he did threaten
Hansen early on Friday evening. He
said that he met the detective while on his
way home at a little after 8 O'Clock. and.
remembering the stories that children
had told about receiving pennies from
the two men. told Hansen that he had
better get out of the neighborhood,
Then, Martin said, he went into his home
and knew nothing of the murder until he
went out again some time after it had hap
pened
Martins father went to the police station
and declared that his son had been at home
| mt the time when the murder took place.
| The police said that Martin was well dressed
and apparently respectable. He is en-
ployed by big firm in this city. it is said
AS far as could be learned yesterday
| there Is no reason for belief that the in
| tentions of the detectives toward the two
children with whom they had been frolick-
| ing for several days were anything but
proper. verdue lived at l4l Montague
street, Brooklyn, with his young wife.
He was a man of education and refine
ment who had been obliged to 20 into de-
teotive work through financial revers es.
! His own wife didn't know his business.
! Verdue and Hansen, according to Mana
! ger Robert Ferns Of the Mooney L Boland
agency, were assigned several days ago
to watcn woman living on Fity-fif,h
street in the neighborhood of Ninth avenue.
| Tney had been waiting for several DAYS
| TO get on the woman's trail and had natu-
rally excited some attention in the neighbor-
| hood.
On several afternoons they amused
themselves by talking to the children on
the block and when some OF the little gi' Is
asked them for pennies they complied.
After that they got in the habI Of
throwing small coins to the children.
On Thursday they had few words with
| some young men who hang around the
corner of Ninth avenue. The young men
told them it would be wise for them to
| hang out somewhere else. The detectiN es
laughed and said they would stay around
the block AZ long az they wanted %. On
| several occasions they were al ked what
they were waiting for, but refused TO tell.
The prejudice against the men grew,
and although they were aware of it they
had no idea according to Hansen, of it's
|
together on Friday night, verdue station
ing himself on the north side Of the street /,
in front of 35l West Fiftyffth st rect, and
Hansen taking up position opposite
They had only been around a few minutes
| when il became apparent that the folks
in the neighborhood were determined t.
get rid Of them. According to the police,
who say they got the story from eye-wit =
nesses, a man in his shirtslee-es first ap-
preached Verdue and asked him what he
wanted. Verdue told him that it was none
CT his business. Then the man pulled small
! club out of his pocket and began hitting
! the detective on the head with it.
Hansen Immediately ran over to the
rescue and crowd gathered. The crowd
was hostile and Verdue ran in one direct ion
and Hansen in another. each followed
by gang of angry men. Every one in
the vicinity had taken hand in the affair
by this time and the detectives were badly
| scared.
Before verdue had run far he sank to
| the ground unconscious. Hansen ran to
| Ninth avenue and into the store Of "A grocer
| named Beckman. Several men followed
| him in and he was struck several times,
| but the grocer and his clerks drove he
men out and then Hansen notified Police
| Headquarters by telephone.
The arrival Of policemen on the scene
caused the crowd to dispense. Verdue
was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where
he died later. his young wife by his side.
Hansen was locked up and Yesterday the
Coroner committed him until Tomorrow.
Verdue, the police say, was not an An
napolis man. but had been educated as an
engineer He was once a clerk in the Brook
lyn navy yard and later worked as n news
paper reporter. He was at one time in
| the employ of the Holland Submarine Boat
Company and took up the work Of n de-
| tective when he left that job.
No credence ia placed by the police in
the Identification of Hansen as the man
who assaulted Verdue, made on Friday
night by Mary Hamilton, a negro girl who
Witnessed the fight. The girl was 80 ex-
cited at the time that she was ready to
identify any one. Hansen was badly whipped
| during the row, but has no serious in juries.
SAL ESGIRL MARRIES 4 COUNT.