The sun., 1903-05-23
SAYS MAN MADE HER A THIEF.
PSEUDO SERVANT GIRL TOOK HER
BOOTY TO POPE'S HOME.
Bold Woman stole In Many Places Where
She Was Employed as Servant and
says She Couldn't Help Doins what
Man Told Her to Do-licr story Doubted

"I did 1t, but that man made me do It,
No matter what he told me to do, had to
do IT, couldn't help myself
These were the words OF Lillian Mat
thews, in the Butler street police court in
Brooklyn, yesterday, when she pleaded
guilty to the theft Of gold watch from
Mrs Gerda Ekenberg of 462 Sixth street.
As she spoke she pointed to slim, short,
consumptive-looking man.
"Do you mean to say that he hypnotized
your" asked somebody
The woman shook her head.
II don't know anything about that" she
said. but I know / couldn't help doing
anything he told me"
Mrs Matthews seems to be made up
entirely OF straight lines and angles. She
seemed to try to cry. but oil she did was to
screw her eyes together very tight and
produce strange sound In her throat.
She was widow. she said, and he'd been
living with the man for q number OF years.
The man was also a prisoner. charged
with receiving stolen goods, but he denied
his guilt as we'll as the accusation OF the
woman that he had exerted undue influence
over her. He gave the name Of James F.
Pope and st.d that he was a contracting
electrician living with his old mother at 800
Eighth street and that the Matthews woman
was bosrder in the house
Capt. REYNOLDS Of the Fifth avenue sta
ton said last evening that through the
arrest of the Matthews woman by his de-
tectives, Bahrman and Hennessey, a stop
had been put to ono of the most annoying
series of thefts that had occurred for long
while Her game. he said, was to seek
employment as servant, stay over night at
a house and clear out by daybreak next
morning, taking with hor all the valuable
stuff she could lay her hands on
MANY complaints Of such activity have
been received by the captain during the last
two or three months. All came from the
lower part of Sixth, Seventh. Fig nth and
Ninth streets, Brooklyn. Nobody dreamed
at the time that the thief was living. all the
hood. Mrs. Matthews never showed her
self in the day time Even longtime ac-
auaintances of Pope did not know that he
had any other woman than his old mother
in the house at geo Eighth GIT street street:
scheme to stop the thefts. Every evening
servants inserted by families. in his pre-
cinct. These he would divide between
the men on post and order each man who
warn the families that had inserted them
of the mysterious Lillian Matthews. Yet
the woman continued as before. Civ ing
always her right name, and never arouslng
fhe first clue to the thiefs identity came
named wundoehl, at 81 Fifth avenue.
He notified the captain that a woman had
come TO his shop on three occasions to
pawn articles, choosing always time when
a different man was in charge OF the shop
She gave the same name always. however.
which was that Of Lillian Matthews. The
captain looked over the articles she had
pawned and found them, to be property
reported to have been stolen by the mys-
terious servant girl.
Yesterday morning the Matthews woman
appeared at Wundoehl's shop again to
pawn . gold watch The Pawnbroker
ants telephoned to the police station,
Detectives Bahrman and Hennessey came
down on q run and arrested her. AT the
station she told Capt. Reynolds that she
was guilty of Iumes1 ni thefts that tbe but ses
WAS stolen. She repeated time ana again
that the man Pope was responsible for her
acts and demanded that he be arrested. go
that she could charge him to his face with
While this was going on in the station,
Mrs. Ekenberg came In to report that a
servant girl whom she had employed the
night before had disappeared with gold
watch and six silver spoons: Mrs: Eken.
DSr4 lOentlHcO CIo oo eAS oos ~eA',
drl' and later identified the pawned watch
a. the one stolen from her home. The de-
tectiyes then went to the house In Eighth
street, arrested Pope and searched the place;
They found wonderful assortment o. o.
1aicies ~hich' they n Concluded, must have been
stolen. As they we're found in Pope's room
be was charged with being the receiver.
Magistrate Manner held the woman in
Si 600 bail for the Grand Jury and the man
was held In the same amount for further
examination.
Capt. Reynolds said last evening that
Pope's mother had on one occasion been
picked up in the street in demented con
dition and taken TO his station. sister
Of Pope was also said to be mentally un-
sound, he said, and there was reason to
believe that the man himself might not be
quito right In his head.