Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-26
HAVE TWO NEW CLUES
Police Nearing Solution of
Suit Case" Mystery.
HAVE SUSPECTS NAME
HE rs BELIEVED TO BE NOT
ABOVE SUCH CRIME.
Suit Case Used as Receptacle for Body
Positively Identified-Weav-
ing the Thread.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

BOSTON, Mass, September 26-Two i'm
portant developments have come within the
last few hours in the suitcase mystery"
as 1t is now generally called. One is the
positive identification of the suit case by
man who says he formerly owned it, and
the other is the finding in the waters off
Winthrop of a bundle containing blood
stained women's underwear, together with
bandages and stained rags. The police at
taeh the greatest Importance to these two
developments, and further light is expected
to be shed on the grim tragedy before many
hours elapse.
The police assert that the Identification
or the suit case is reliable and positive.
Upon this Identification Chief Shaw of
the state police, Chief Inspector Watts of
the city department and Chief William Nc
Neil of the Winthrop force assert their
confidence that they can, inside of day,
place their hands upon the man who is last
known to have owned the suit case in
which the torso of the young woman was
thrown into Winthrop bay last Thursday.
Police Know the Man.
1t is declared that not only was the name
of this man disclosed to the detectives. but
sufficient information had been obtained to
enable them to trace him, if he has not be-
come alarmed and left his usual haunts
The circumstances of the recognition of
the patched suit case have been concea!ei
as closely as the detectives could guard
them, but in their exuberance over the
promising clue they could not refrain from
showing the intense satisfaction they felt
las. night. 1t will be rather difficult To
reach the man in question, but the police
say they are absolutely sure of fin liz :
him. and they expect that he will be able
to tell them how the bag happened 10 oe
floating in Winthrop harbor. a receptacle
for the dismembered body of the young
woman.
The story is that young man, who iden-
tilted the suit case, declares that, having
owned it for several years and having no
further use for 1t, he sold it about three
months ago to an acquaintance. He knows
the name of the purchaser, but did not
know, just where he lived. But he had
knowledge of his residence sufficiently def
mite to enable the police to trace him.
The young man examined the case close
Iy, inside and outside. He scrutinized the
repairs to the handle and looked partcu-
lariy at the patch on the inside, sewed
there to re-enforce the lea ther through which
the handle rivets passed. He identified it
positively and then told the story of the
circumstances of the sale for the informa-
ton of Chief Shaw of the state police Mr.
Shaw was convinced of the mans honesty
and he was impressed with the accuracy or
his identification of the suit case.
Purchaser Suspected.
1t appears. according to what this police
informant has said, that the man who pur-
chased that suit case is not above suspicion
of being capable of participating in affairs
such as that which preceded the dismem-
berment of the body of the young woman
From what they were told the police be-
lieve that when they find this man they
will not have to seek further for infornia-
ton as to how that suit case happened to
be in Winthrop harbor.
1t is not maintained that this man is an
expert surgeon, for his reputation is to the
contrary: But the detectives believe that
he Is sufficiently capable to have disarticu-
lated the joints of the body as skillfully as
Medical Examiner Harris says was DONE
1t is said that he is equal to such a task.
The next in importance to the identitica-
tion the clue pointing to the last owner
ship of the suit case, is the fact that this
man also had another and a smaller suit
case. The original owner of the bag found
last Thursday gave Chief Watts informa-
tion which convinced him that the person
who disposed of the body used another suit
case for the other parts, perhaps the head
Or the arms and legs.
Efforts to Avoid Detection.
1t seems that the reason he gave three
months ago for wishing this olive green
suit case was the one he had was too small
The police, therefore, are going to look
for this other case. They argue that a
person who endeavored to conceal the torso
by throwing it into the harbor believed
he was taking the most effective way to
avoid detection. They assume that he con-
sldered this means more certain than burial
or cremation.
Therefore, they are confident that, appre-
eating that the head would be the most
damaging of all evidence, he would be GER
tain also to throw that into the harbor ex-
pectlng 1t to sink. This conviction has
MADE the police hope for developments once
the owner of the uit case is located