New-York tribune., 1903-07-27
BODY FOUND IN SEWER.
WOMAN WAS STR4NGLED.
Shoestring Tight Around Neck-
Mystery to Mount Vernon Police.


dcate that she was murdered The discovery OF
the body was made by two little girls who were
out picking apples near Sixth-st., that city.
In order to place the body in the sewer the
murderer evidently had to break the pipe, and
the theory is that the body was lowered to the
hole with rope The woman was apparently
German. She weighed about 14T pounds. and
was 3 feet Z inches tall. She had large blue
eyes and prominent nose. Her nails had just
been manicured. The body was neatly dressed
in blue and white polka dot shirt waist and
skirt, with black stockings and patent leather
ties. Her hat was found about hundred rect
away Coroner Weisendanger, who examined
the body, said that the woman had been dead
not more than a day.
The part of the city where the sewer is IS
known as East Mount Vernon. At the end OF
the street the sewer empties into the East
Chester Creek When the body was removed
from the pipe it was discovered that long
black shoestring was tightly tied around the
neck 1t was an open knot. Coroner Weisen-
danger said that the stranger had used all MS
strength in tying it, for the string had cut deep
into the flesh and had shut off the flow of blood
through the jugular VEIN
CASE SHROUDED IN MYSTERY.
Who the woman is is mystery. NO one hau
ever seen her in the neighborhood.
Isabel Knight of No ~ Union-ave. ana
Ethel Mullen, of No 212 South Fulton-ave'
were the two Mount Vernon girls who founo
the body at about o'clock They thought II
was a bundle of clothing. Discovering what II
really was they ran screaming from the scene
They told ex-AIderman A. A. Ultcht, who lives
about a quarter of a mile away. He sent Woro
to the police Chief Foley and Detectives
Lynch, Atwell and Walters drove to the place.
Chief Foley Immediately informed Coroner
he iod
kers and personally supervised the removal OF
the body.
The Sixth-st sewer pipe runs through salt
meadow to the East Chester Creek, and is held
in place by a retaining wall and viaduct' ABOUT
one hundred feet from Sixthrst., and Tor twenty
five feet the fve-foot pipe is uncovered IHere
being a cracked section in the brlcK caPPIhs
| which has been unrepaired for some time Ine
nine is about six feet below the surface Oh the
retaining wall.
In the cracked section a piece of brick cover
| ing fortv-seven inches long and nine mcheS
wide evidently had been crushed in with
| o-oubor or sIedeehammer Through this aper-
| ture Police Surgeon Van Potten thinks that
| the body was lowered with rope head hISI'
This theory was borne out by the fact thaI & tIIe
| lower limbs were uncovered, the woman s sKlIIs
| being up around her head in a rufhed mass Sne
lay doubled up her left side. as thouEn sns
had been hurriedly lowered HeT neau o ieSsee SIC .
in a pool of black slime. Her left arm was
| doubled under while her right hand lay imp
on the stick of wood
THINKS SHE WAS STRANGLED.
| Coroner Weisendanger is of the opinion that
| the murderer straugled his victim to DEATH ana
| then carried her to the sewer. The coroner says
| he must have had assistance. Chief Foley ana
his detectives believed that the body might nave
| been thrown in a manhole $50 feet north of the
| excavation, and that the recent rain washed 1t
XT,o. Mo aiVSf
| this theory was the discovery Of freshly broken
| pieces of mortar and bricks and sand from the
! )of of the pipe on the clothing. This seems to
chow that little water, if any, had passed
| through the pipes while the body was there.
| Besides most of her clothing was entirely dry.
| except that near her head. No recent footprints
| could be found in the roadway leading on the
viaduct or in the sand banks on each side OF the
| pipes, which had been thrown out OF the eX-
| cavation. :
| been strangled to death in the woods around
| the neighborhood and carried through the salt
| to pHevent the police from tracing the footsteps
| The discovery of the victims hat in the salt
meadow at the IoGt oL liis 49,, an So
| credence to this theory. Then again, piece
| of tar rope twenty-five feet long was ound
! by Detective Walters on the edge of the re
! tanning wall twenty feet above where the hat
| lay. The body could have been lifted out OF
the meadow with this rope, and then carried
about fifty feet to the sewer pipe
HAT TORN OFF VIOLENTLY.
The hat was large and round trimmed, with
| indented crown OF the rough straw variety.
| It contained two large. plain hatpins, which
ran clear through the crown. showing that it
! had been forcibly torn from the wOmans head.
| Strands OF her hair were found around one of
| the pins while the other pir through a
| black velvet bow. Near the rope Detective
| Walters also picked up large leadpencH and
| another hair bow No jewelry of any kind was
found, and there were no marks on her clothing
| which would lead TO her identity. There had
| evidently been ring on the middle finger OF
| the left hand. and a bruise on the second joint
| indicated that il may have been taken off
| The news of the discovery of the body spread
| TO the fashionable section Of Vernon Heights;
| which is near the salt meadows, and crowd
| watched the detectives they removed the
| body.
| SAW HER HAT SATURDAY.
Coroner Woisendenger learned last night from
Rudolph StreaI who lives at No. i26 Durham
! ave that he the hat lying in the
salt meadow at p m. Saturday. He saw
no one acting mysteriously around the ueighbor-
! hood
DR. Van Patten crawled about twenty feet
| in the sewer pipe. but could find trace Of
| anv blood and after making this investigation
! he said he was positive the body had never
been washed through the pipe, for it was
blocked in some places by pieces of timber and
| bricks.
| The body was removed to Davis's City Morgue,
| and Coroner Weisendanger ordered Drs. Van
| Patten and Banning TO perform autopsy 10
| ascertain if the woman had been drugged or
| assaulted. There aGTasiOns various
| parts of the neck. Late last night Coroner
/ Weisendanger asked the police of all neighbor-
| ing cities TO find out if there was 4 woman miss
| ing answering the description Of the victim.
STRING TIED EXTREMELY TIGHT
whoever tied the shoeqtring around her
neck" said the coroner last night. made one
Of the tightest and best open knots I have ever
seen The string cut almost an eighth OF an