Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-31
SAVED BY A CRYING INFANT
Exciting Man-Hunt in Dark New
York Flat.
CHANCES
DESPERATE {
TOOK
Leaped a Four-Story Chasm Trying 10
Fscape-Killed in the End.
Slayer Free.


| Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, August 31.-After trying IN
vain to kill an entire family, burglar was
| himself shot dead this morning by one OF
those he had tried to kill. The shooting
took place in the kitchen of neighbor,
! after the burglar had made three visits to
the rooms he desired to rob. On the first
visit he was scared away. The second
time he opened wide two gas cocks In the
| kitchen gas range. The third time he went
| back to turn on five instead of two, the
! first attempt at murder having been dis
| covered. Fate was kind once more to the
sleeping family, and they all escaped. Then
man-hunt began all through the rooms
| on the fourth floor of 225 East SD street.
1t a hunt in the dark. with thief
slipping from place to place, desperate
| enough to do anything. and a determined
| man following up each step, revolver in
| hand, waiting to get good view of his
| target. Cornered, the burglar took ter
| rible chance and leaped from the Intel Of
| a window four stories above the sidewalk
to the Intel of another, a yard away. Then
he ran through room full of screaming
| children and women to the kitchen trying
| to find an exit by way of the rear fire es-
| cape. Here he fell. with three bullets out
| of four in his body. The other missed The
| thief died at once.
| Charles VERBAL, assistant superintendent
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art was
| the man who did the shooting He lives
on the fourth floor of the fve-story brown
stone house in SD street Verralrs family
includes his wife Bridget, mis- son Thomas,
| four years old, his son, Charles, six months
| old, and his wife's brother, Patrick Kier-
| man.
| The second floor of the house is vacant
Some time early in the evening the man
| slipped into the house, and after jimmying
| the door of vacant room on the second
floor. concealed himself inside to await
| his opportunity to rob.
First Attempt.
1t was about 1 o'clock this morning that
| Charles. the VERBAL baby, began to toss
| uneasily and cry. Its peevishness awak-
| ened the mother. She tried to soothe it.
| and then arose and went out to the kitchen
| to warm some milk for 1t. When she
| stepped into the kitchen she heard a hiss
| ing noise the location of which she could
! not identify then, and saw that the rear
| window looking out on the fre-escape was
| wide open. There was odor of gas, but
IL was not strong enough to affect her and
she went on with her preparations. The
! milk was warmed and the baby became
| quiet when he found the nipple of the bot
tie in his mouth Mrs. VERBAL told her
husband about the odor of gas she had
noticed and asked him what he thought OF
it. He made light of the matter In
few minutes they were all asleep again and
the fiat was quiet.
1t may be that when Mrs VERBAL went
out to warm the babys milk the intruder
was hidden somewhere on the premises or
ii may be that he had slipped down the fire
escape again and returned later. Whatever
| the circumstances, il IS certain that the
next time he manipulated the gas he turned
on every jet that he could find He soon had
| the gas flowing from the two in the range a
Jet suspended from the center Of the kitchen
ceiling, and two in the dining room. With
all going full blast the family would soon
have been dead had not Mrs. Verrall who
did not sleep we'll after the baby had
| aroused her the first time, again awakened
| with peculiar Sensation In her throat and
a feeling as if she were sitting That was
at 30 o'clock. She instantly came to the
/ conclusion that something was altogether
| wrong in the fiat. Then she awoke her hus-
| band and children one after another. They
made an investigation. me husband
thought first of striking d match. then he
reflected that If he did this an explosion
would follow so the investigation was car
ried on in the darkness. In turn the various
jets were found open and shut off
Stabbed the Robber
Verrall marshaled his family and led
them across the hall TO the rooms of
Thomas Herman. There the two families
sat and talked it over. Then Mrs VERBAL
heard noise as if some one were walking
about in her rooms and she cried out:
There he is now. Wen get him. Tom"
While the children and Mrs. VerraIl cow
cred in kiernan's rooms, Herman, arming
himself with a shovel and VerraIl, taking
his revolver started to trace the source of
the noise. Verrall, gun in hand, went to
the rear and, entering the kitchen, started
TO work his way very slowly toward the
front of the house.
Through the kitchen, dining room and
bedrooms the pursuit led. When the bur-
glar reached the front window he threw it
/, | open, got out on the narrow Intel, and
then, pausing moment, riSked his neck by
leap from the Intel of the window look
ing into kiernan's rooms. Kiernan's daugh-
ter Jennie saw the man land the sill
and come through the window. She
screamed loudly. Her father, lifting his
shovel and crying He's in my rooms now"
ran in the direction of the sound. VERBAL
also came bursting out of the room in which
! he was.
Slayer Is Commended.
The thief right through a group of
| crying children and gained the Herman
kitchen. He was within few feet of the
fire escape when VerraH got fine view
! of him In the full light He fired four
shots rapidly as he could pull the trig-
| ger. One bullet struck the intruder in the
arm. Another hit him in the chest. A
| third lodged in his abdomen and the fourth
went wild. The burglar fell where hd
| stood
There were no papers or anything on
the dead thief which would furnish 2,
| clue to his identity. The man was sliglts
| ~ bald and about thirty-five years of age
He had gray eyes and sandy mustache.
r His clothing was black. The police may
| be able TO find out who the man is through
r the circumstance that five of his upper
| teeth missing and two of the lower.
! VERBAL went to the station with the Do