Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-27
CRIME REvEALEDTODAY
Body of Missing Viola BoyIan
Found in New York.
IN BOTTOM OF A COAL BIN
Little One Mass of Cuts and
Bruises.
TWO ITALIANS ARE SUSPECTED
Neck Was Broken and Throat Showed
Strangulation-Child Had Been
Assaulted and Murdered.


NEW YORK, June 27-With her neck
broken, her throat showing marks of
strangulation, and her body a mass of cuts
and bruises, Viola Boylan, eight years old
who had been missing since last Monday
was found dead in coal bin in the cellar
of her home at 229o I'd avenue, this morn
ing. 1t is the belief of the police that the
child was assaulted and murdered.
The little one was found at o'clock this
morning by Fred SchoepfeI of the same
cellar to get some wood, and by chance
glanced into the coal-bin, and saw what
he supposed to be a pile Of old clothes
AS he started to pull the clothes out into
the light he discovered they contained the
body of the Boylan child, for whom the
police and the whole neighborhood had
been looking for several days.
From the story subsequently told to the
police by Bessie, Viola's elder sister, sus-
picion has been directed toward two
Italians, whom Bessie said had been seen
near the house for several days previous
to her sisters disappearance. The entire
detective force of the East 10th street
station has been put upon the case.
Nearly Collapsed When he Saw Body.
Schoepfel, who is a man fifty years old,
nearly collapsed when he saw the condition
which the child's body was in. 1t was
covered with blood and coal dust. As soon
as he could gather himself together he
ran out and got Policeman Vetter, who
summoned DR.. Fisher of the Harlem Hos
p1tai, who, upon his arrival, gave as his
opinion that the child had been dead for
several days. An examination Of the body
showed that the neck had been twisted and
broken, Deep marks Of powerful fingers
showed upon the throat. There was also
deep cut over the eye and discolorations
and bruises on nearly all parts of the body.
Capt. Walsh Of the East 126th street sta
ton and Coroner Hamburger fastened to the
house and made an investigation. The
Child was the daughter of Thomas Boylan
painter, and was the youngest Of seven
children.
The girl was last seen by her mother
Monday afternoon, when she sent her to the
and o'clock. The little one did not re-
turn. and that evening at 8 o'clock she
notified the police, and a general alarm was
sent out for her.
Thought Child Was Kidnapped.
1t was the belief Of the family that Viola
had been kidnapped until her body was dis
covered this morning. Bessie, the elder sis
ter, Informed the police that two rather
Misunderstanding Italians had frequently
followed the girl to school in East 10th
street of late, and that she had seen them
near the house Sunday afternoon.
Bessie has given the police pretty good
description OF the men, and Detectives
Dunno, Moran, Sommers and Sheridan went
out to look for them in the Italian quarter
of the upper East Side.
The police are working on the theory that
IN he trr1a
of the Staffeldt child. who was assaulted
and stabbed to death in a field In Floral
Park several weeks ago.
Whether Viola was decoyed to the cellar
and murdered there, or whether the body
was removed and hidden there after DEATH
was one Of the first questions the police
sought to solve.
Coroner Hamburger put Schoepfel through
severe crosS-examination. The coroner
ordered the child's body to be taken to the
morgue, where Coroner's Physician O'Han-
Ion will make an autopsy.
Neck Snapped Off Short.
ut does not take an autopsy, however"
said hamburger. Ito show that the girl
was assaulted before she was murdered.
1t is evident tina: the assailant was a man
of enormous muscular strength, as the
spinal column at the neck was snapped of
short, and the Indications are that it was
done by sheer force of hands,
In searching the cellar this morning
Capt. Walsh came upon a bit of blue rib
bon which was used as a snood for the
murdered child's hair. 1t lay in the dirt
on the floor of a hallway in the cellar about
forty feet from the coal bin in which the
body was found.
All about were signs that the child had
been assaulted in the cellar near the front
of the building. and the ribbon was i'm
portant in helping to determine the fact
that the assault had been committed in the
cellar. 1t was at once taken to Mrs Boy
Ian, who, with tears. identified it as a rib
bon used to Lind Viola's hair.