The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-08
TELLS HOW HE KILLED WOMAN
ONLY MEANT TO non HER; LEFT
HER LIVING.
Young Baker wasted All his Earnings ON
Girls OF Her Class Sudden Impulse 10
Get Eyen-COnscIence Forced Him
To Confess innocent Man SIN Held.

Girls Of Her Class -suuuen Impulse W
Get Even-COnscience Forced Him
to Confess innocent Man sim Held.
Though virtually cleared of all blame
for the murder Of Maggie Cord IN at Is
second street last Saturday nj yht, Alex
ander Gord)n, the young IN who lived
With her and who was arrested by order OF
Coroner Hlrburger. is still kept in prison.
Hamburger says he thinks IL is cruel to hold
him, but he did not order his release yes
terday when John Wechince, % years old,
a Hun yaril IN baAer of 2D9i Third avenue.
repeated with convincing details his oon-
fession that he killed the woman
Wechince says he did not know the woman
was dead until Monday morning, when he
saw am account OF her murder in a German
newspaper together with the fact hat the
police had charged her husband with the
crime and felt confident they could send him
10 the electric chair. Then, Wechince said,
the possibility of an innocent man ufering
for his crime 50 preyed upon his mind that
he could neither work nor sleep. In despair
he communicated with the police. His
story was not extraordinary. II Is so oom-
plete and he seems SO sane that the Coroner
and Assistant District Attorney r. f.
Manley have no doubt that no is telling the
truth. The police had made out a very
strong case by circumstantial evidence
against Gordon.
wechince is a fine looking young fellow
physically and highly intelligent. He says
he does not drink. and his appearance bears
him out in that. He worked steadily at
his trade and made good wages. Yet he
never could get any money ahead, he said.
He spent all his money on women.
III C-A-I- A. .a-n
up his place in a bakery at Fifth avenue
and li5th street and try TO get one in
some other town. HI was on his way TO
an employment agency in East Tenth
street about half past 10 o'clock that night
with this object in view when ne met Maggie
Gordon. He passed her house at is Second
street, a few doors from the Bowery. She
was on the stoop, Gordon having just gone
out, as he alleged when arrested Sunday,
70 get a package Of cigarettes. Wochince
says the woman accosted him as he was
hurrying by. He said he was out Of sorts
with himself and the world in general and
had Just two cents in his pocket. A thought
suddenly struck him.
"Isaid to myself that women like her had
made me like I was then, he told the Coro-
ner. They got all my money and made
me a fool. Why not, l thought suddenly,
lust 20 in and rob her for a change? l
did 80. was so excited that | did not
even lock the door. The woman began to
laugh and finally to talk about my money.
That made me crazy.
s'Here is your money I said. grabbing
her by the t hroat before she could make
n noise. i will give you money choked
her until she was still. / did not mean
TO kill her. choked her so, he Illustrated
with his hands. IL was then noticed that
his hands, like those of many bakers. were
abnormally big and strong, made so by
constant kneading of the bread into loaves.
He went on:
Il pulled on her stockings and found
the money; not much; only $3.50. Then |
went away. / was there only a few min
utes-fNe or six, maybe. | e to a res
saurant on the Bowery and 81 ent 10 cents
for a veal ohop--the first l had that day.
Then / played a couple Of games of pool
and went horne. I worked next day and
thought nothing more OF the case until
Monday morning. | did not know l had
killed the woman and supposed she would
be all right. She was breathing when I
left the room. l was reading the Moroen
journal when l saw that a woman had
been choked in Second street. l quickly
looked again. Yes, it was there, No. IS.
And her husband was arrested and might
go to the electric chair. That made me
You are a murderer, you are a muir
dererP l constantly thought. Then l went
1oWh W III CAAiDNOy IhChS SLOP III G1S
Tenth street and saw my friend, John
Gebhardt. l told him whSt I had done.
You are crazy, you did not do it, he
said. told him I was not crazy and had
killed her. Then he tried TO get me to
run away on a ship and offered me money
and papers. ] said no; that l must get
that innocent man out OF Jail, and asked
him 10 tell the police. He said l should
no home and sleep and come next day to
nee him. I went home and he sent the
police to get me. | am glad they came.
! want to go to Jail. l don't care what
You do to me-hang me, send me TO the
Hlectno chair. But him, the other fellow,
. you must get out"
Coroner Hamburger was inclined TO release
Gordon on nominal bail as a witness, but
Mr.. Manley adv ised against that course.
he said he believed Nochince was telling
the truth, but 1t would be more cautious
20 hold both men pending an inquest, and
Coroner Hamburger readily agreed, although
ne said that it was cruel to keep Gordon
locked up.
rhe inquest will be held Friday morning
and II the jury finds Gordon innocent he
will b. released on the charge Of murder
and held under nominal bonds as a witness.
His brother. JACOB Gordon, a well to do
contractor in The Bronx, said he would
give bonds in any sum. He said his brother
had never before been arrested and he
thought With this as a lesson he would
readily give UP the vicious associates he
bad formed o. the Bowery.
Coroner yesterday hat she will arrive
In this city thism morning TO see II the woman
murdered was her sister. The Gordon
woman came from Pittsburg two months
ago. She had a bad reputation along the
Bowery.
Wochince says his mother, four brothers
and two sisters live in New Britain, Conn.
His father committed suicide there q year
ago with poison.
He wasted all his money Ike me and killed
himself. wish I did the sama thing hefora
I killed her. But they will send me to the
electric chair and that is just the same
said the young baker.
GOT STANDARD OIL EVIDENCE.