Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-19
EFFORTS HAVE FAILED
Mystery Of Gussie Pfeiffer's
Murder Unsolved.
STILL WORKING HARD
PURSUIT OF JOSEPH GIRARD
CONTINUED.
Formal Examination of Witnesses
This Afternoon-Hope for
Developments.
STILL WORKING HARD
Special Dispatc to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK. September 19.-AI the ef-
forts of Capt. Burfend and his detectives
toward the solution of the tangled mystery
of who murdered Gussie Pfeiffer. whose
mutilated body was found in a thfcket off
the Pelham road in the Bronx last Saturday
afternoon, were still centered today on the
pursuit of Joseph Girard, the truck driver
and sailor. toward whom much of the cir
cumstantial evidence in the case points
with the finger of suspicion Some Of this
evidence is of a conflicting nature. but the
police feel certain that the man knows
enough about the case to make his capture
worth good deal of trouble.
Other than this continued search for Gi-
rard the principal feature of the case to-
day will be the formal examination Of wit
nesses which takes place this afternoon.
All those who knew Gussie Pfeiffer and
had knowledge of her recent movements,
and all those who had similar knowledge of
the suspect Grard, will be exhaustively
questioned in the hope OF developing new
clues. Special efforts will be made to draw
out all that is known by Mrs. Julia Mahon,
commonly known as Mrs. Donovan. with
whom Gfrard boarded at the Klemer home,
In the little settlement not far from the
place where the girls body was found.
The police have no reason to believe that
Mrs Donovan has not been entirely frank
in her statements, but there is chance
that she may have unconsciously omitted
here and there some fact In her story OF
Girard's movements on the night OF
Gussie's disappearance which may prove to
be of Importance Her story as told al
ready of the events of Wednesday night
and Thursday morning is as follows:
Did Not Come Home
"Girard did not come home to supper. At
about midnight he came home and his
hands and clothes were all bloody He
showed me his right hand. The fingers
were badly bitten. He said that his horse
had bitten him. He changed his overalls
and jumper and told me to wash them. L
bound up the cut on his hand. 1t was
bleeding badly. 1t looked like bite. He
got up early Thursday morning. put on
clean overaals and went away. have not
seen him since"
Mrs. Donovan told further of q strange
thing that happened to Girard three weeks
ago, and 1t is borne out by other testimony
The occurrence was the Disappearance Of
Girard for six days. AT the end of that
time he was found wrapped from head to
foot in gunny sacks in the pigeon house
Of a shed which stands fifty feet back from
the Klener house. He was taken out in a.
eomatose condition and went to Fordham
Hospital. There 1t was found he was suf-
ferdng from drug, probably Knockout
drops. He never told, as far as can be
learned how he was drugged, or what hap
peneu 10 MN during thoSe SIX days. What
continues to mystify the police today is the
lack of any certain evidence showing what
the girls movements were between We'd
nesday night and the time when she met
her death. The autopsy unmis takably
showed that the body found on Saturday
noon had not been more than twelve hours
dead. The theory is advanced that the girl
lay for two days a comatose condition
and died by inches. This wouold be ten
able. in the opinion Of Coroner O'Gorman
were 1t not for the fact that an examina-
ton of the stomach showed that the girl
had eaten a hearty meal not more than
two hours before she was killed, as the
food was only partially digested The cor
oner says that digestion would have gone
on as long as the heart continued to beat