The San Francisco call., 1907-02-04
HELD FOR MURDER
Of CLAUO YOUNG
Captain Duke Causes Arrest
of Fred Gentosa, Bed
maker at Ferry House
MYSTERY NOT SOLVED

Captain of Detectives Duke caused
the arrest yesterday morning Of Fred
Gentosa, the bedmaker at the Ferry
House, who made the discovery of the
nude and beaten body of Claud Young
Saturday afternoon. Detectives Conlon
and MCGOWAN placed the accused in
custody and his name was inscribed on
the detention book. That is the result of
yesterdays work on the murder of the
young Englishman, whose killing is
apparently as mysterious as ever.
Captain Duke declined to give his
reasons for the arrest of the young
man and would not discuss the case in
any Of its phases.
Gentosa is given a good reputation by
Proprietor Hesse of the rooming house.
Heese declared the young man to be
almost girlish in his horror of blood,
and thus accounted for the illness
which overlook him shortly after he
had opened the door of room 81 and
announced his grewsome discovery to
the proprietor Of the place.
Gentosa has been employed for sew
eral months at the house as bedmaker,
and During that time. says Hesse. he
has been faithful in his work and hon
est But, says Heese, "he has always
impressed me as almost effeminate in
his quiet manners and demeanor."
The suspected man is about 25 years
of age and Italian by nativity. He does
not appear to have the strength of
body or the perverted nerve to commit
a murder, but Captain Duke only says
he would not have been arrested if
we did not have evidence TO show. at
least. that he knows more of the trag-
edy than he has thus far told"
NO SOUND OF QUARREL
Mrs. Elsie Gordon, a cook. who has a
at he ia har Of ~
hall on which room 81 opens. claimed
yesterday that she heard voices in that
room Saturday morning between $50
and 10 o'clock. She told the police that
she passed down the hall at that time.
and when in front of the curtained
window which admits a little filtered
light from the hall into the room where
the tragedy took place, she distinctly
heard two men speaking. The men.
she claimed, were talking in an ordi-
nary tone of voice. and there was no
evidence Of a quarrel.
In spite of her positiveness the
police are inclined to discredit Mrs.
Gordons statement about the voices in
the room. They said that the sailors in
room 2s did not leave the house as
early as they thought and that the
voices heard by Mrs. Gordon were those
Of the two seafaring men.
Many persons came and went no
/ doubt, she said, but did not observe
anything unusual or singular. and l
heard no sound of any blows nor any
outcry. Nothing. however, can shake
my conviction that the voices emanated
from room 81, as the window opening
from that apartment on the hall was
open and the voices were so distinct
that l could have easily heard, as I
passed the room. what the men were
talking about. had I been curious"
Autopsy Surgeon Kucich disposed
yesterday of the one blow theory He
declares that the victim was the object
of rain of blows, but that the crash
ing impact of the bootheel on the point
of the jaw was the blow which put
Young out and accounts for the fact
that there was no outcry or struggle.
That vicious swing Of the high boot
was enough alone to have killed the
young Englishman, but impelled by
frenzy of passion, the murderer kept UP
his work while his victim convulsively
turned over on the bed and instinctively
hid his face with his arm. In this pos
ture the body was found six hours later.
LITERALLY BEATEN TO DEATH
But why did not some one in the
house hear the thud of the heavily
nailed heel as the boot was swung
again and again? Mrs Gordon, with
her door open at the end of the hall,
only about twenty-five feet away, heard
no sound; Proprietor Hesse, at his little
office just around a bend in the hall,
heard nothing; no roomer passing un-
der the open interior window, which
Sits a little light from the hall into
room 81, heard anything in spite of the
fact that the first blow at least, must
have made a sickening sound as the
heel broke both jaws and scattered
teeth about the room. DR.. Kucich
states that the immediate cause of
death was concussion and hemorrhage
of the brain. There are, he says, nu-
merous abrasions of the chest and
shoulder, besides evidence of many
blows about the head and face. Claud
oung was literally beaten to death
A card found in Young's wallet bore
the name of NJ. A. Russell, manager of
the General Electric Company. On the
back of the card was a memorandum
which indicated that Young had met
Russell The police hoped to get some
information from Manager Russell con-
cerning Young. but the former went to
Monterey Thursday and will not re-
turn until today.