The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-14
ROXBURY HIT BY PICK HANDLE
FOUND BY BOY NEAR WHERE HE
WAS STRUCK DOWN.
Miss Thomasch Tells Coroner she Thought
Murderer's "Now. You." Was spoken
to Her-Coroner Seeks Motive Other
Than Robbcry-Inquest and Funeral.

to Her-COr0ner Seeks Motive Other
Than Robbcry-HnQuest and Funeral.
The weapon with which Charles w.
Roxbury, the tea faster, Ia supposed to
have received the blows on last Friday
night from which he died early Saturday
morning at his home. 1917 Crane place.
The Bronx, was turned over to Police In
spector Titus yesterday afternoon. It was
club about fifteen inches long and looked
az II it had been once part Of the handle
to pickaxe. At one end it had been sawed
from both sides toward the centre and
the two cuts did not exactly meet. There
were few dark red spots at this end OF the
club.
The club was found about 7:30 o'clock on
Saturday morning by a thirteen year-old
boy of the name Of William NJ Meyer. who
lives at 184th street and Mott avenue, in
the grass in River avenue, not far from
the corner OF 188th street, where Roxbury
was assaulted. After the boy had found
the club he used it for while to bat stones
with and then threw it away. When he
heard about tho Roxbury assault yester-
day he looked for the club, and when he
found it gave Ii to policeman. Tho patrol
man turned It over to Detective Collins
OF Inspector Ttuss staff.
When Titus showed 1t at the fremont
avenue station last evening" he said he be-
lieved the finding of the club tended very
strongly to support his original theory that
the assault had been committed by thug,
whose sole motive was robbery.
The inspector has had several original
- A. T.
who assaulted Roxbury was accompanied
by a woman. and this man, fearing that
he had killed his victim, killed his own
companion, on the theory that dead women
tell no tales Titus chucked this theory
overheard again last night.
In the light OF other happenings in con-
nection with the case yesterday, It Is just
possible that the inspector was not quite
frank last evening when he said that he
believed the weapon which inflicted the
blows which killed Roxbury had been
found.
The inquest into the tea taster's death
was begun at the office of Coroner Berry
Yesterday morning Before the first days
session was over, testimony was brought
out which suggested an altogether different
motive for the crime than robbery. Testi-
mony was also adduced which contradicted
the first story Of the assault told by Miss
| Lillian Thomasch who was with Roxbury
| at the time.
Miss Thomasch was the first witness
called. She is about 30 years old, OF medium
height, with a plump. well-turned figure,
| swapping dark brown eyes and golden
red hair She was dressed in black and
wore heavy black veil over her light
e., -a hat In fnlxpn tho afnnd aha said
she was hairdresser and attended custom
ers at their homes. She said she lived
with her mother, four small brothers and
sisters, of all of whom she was the chief
support, at 1904 Washington avenue.
She said that she had known Roxbury
about eleven years having been in
troduced to him by mutual friend when he
| lived In West Thirty-fourth street near
Ninth avenue, and she lived around the
corner in Thirty-third street. She was
then, she said, quite young, but she know
that Roxbury was married man. She
had seen him with more or less frequency
! during the eleven years that followed.
but met him always by accident and never
by appointment until last Friday night.
Finally she moved up into The Bronx,
and no did he and his family, but that was
simply coincident. One day. about two
weeks ago, she met Roxbury by chance,
and he told her that on the night Of Friday.
July 10, he was going to dine with his
mother, Mrs. Gibson, IN West Thirty ninth
| street, and that IL she would meet him
at about 7:30 o'clock at the Forty-second
street elevated station Of the Ninth avenue
elevated road they would 60 up town
together.
left her home before dinner to pay visit to
| her cousin. who lives in West FOrty-seventh
street When she got In the Vicinity Of
her cousins house, she concluded 1t was
| TOO late to pay the visit and 30 walked
over to the elevated station at Forty-second
street and Ninth avenue, thinking TO go
| uptown on the West Side.
Roxbury WAS not at the station when she
| got there. The first train that came along
! she thought was too crowded and she
waited for another. In the mean time
Roxbury came along and they took the next
| train to 155th street. Together they walked
across the viaduct and at the eastern end
| she said she told Roxbury that she must
| 90 along Jerome avenue to her home He
| persuaded her to walk over to Third avenue
and go home that way.
She was not able to tell the exact route
over which they travelled, but they finally
struck Girard avenue, through which
| to River avenue, where they turned to the
! north. Tho way was lonely and she told
Roxbury. she said, that she feared they
might be robbed.
Ooh, there's no danger of that" she
quoted him as saying but If you are afraid
| we'll turn back"
As they turned around to retrace their
steps, Miss Thomasch said they saw a
| man and woman about two hundred feet
away coming toward them. Roxbury
noticed the couple, and, according to the
young woman, remarked:
"You see there are others here as we'll
as ourselves and that there's nothing to
| be afraid Of
WELL Miss Thomasch told the Coroner
she replied. III you are not afraid. I'm not
1hereupon they turned around and pro-
ceeded northward again, Roxbury being
| on the inside Of the walk. She said they
had not taken more than two or three steps
when a man, wearing dark clothes, an
| Alpine hat, and having smooth face, or
| O very light mustache and being about
S feet 10 or II inches tall, rushed from the
| opposite side of River avenue, passed by
her, turned, and. as il addressing her. said:
| Now
Then he raised some sort Of a weapon
and brought 1t down on Roxbury's head,
grazing her left arm as he did so. Rox-
| bury fell and she, grabbing her chatelaine
bag, in which was her purse, ran north TO
| 167th street. There she met Albert Schultz
and T. William Yates, who live in 187th
street, near River avenue, and both OF
whom were sitting on their porches She
told them what had happened and they.
after a little, returned to the spot where the
assault occurred To this story Miss
| Thomasch added that she thought Rox-
| bury's assalant. when he said, Now, "
! really meant to say TO her. Now you run.
| or something like that.
After she had told her story Schultz
! and Yates were called. II was by them
| that Miss Thomasch's story was contra