Evening star., 1909-06-11
HEAD FOUND IN RUBBISH
Laundry Mark Traced by Police
Leads to Revelation.
MISSING SINCE WEDNESDAY
Bersin Feared Men Who Were At
tentive to Girl Who Tilted Him.
Says Married Sister of Man.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


ed body. abandoned in oilcloth packages
streets, was identified this morning by the
police.
The missing head was found later on
pile of rubbish at Vandewater and Rose
streets, near the Brooklyn bridge
Samuel Bersin. Jewish painter. twen-
tytwo years old. living at 221 East g.
street. is the murdered man. Traced by
means of a laundry mark on his under
clothes, his body was recognized by
brother and two sisters. Even before the
finding of the head. they pronounced it
positively their brothers. corpse.
The investigation thus far allowed in
dcates that the crime was the out
growth of jealousy. Bersin had been
attentive to a girl named Jennie Siegel,
who lives at No. Sheriff street.
1t appears that he had rival whose
first name was Herman. Detectives are
trying to identify this man and learn
his movements during Wednesday.
Capt. Arthur Carey. head of the homi-
eide bureau, the police officer In charge
in dismembered body cases, would not
tell how the police traced the laundry
mark to it's source.
Police Guard Information.
He gave the impression this morning
of knowing more than he would tell. 1t
looked as if he were withholding details
| likely TO lead to the final step in the in
vestigation. the discovery of the murderer
Don't ask me anything more. boys;
I've told you all that / can tell YOU
With these words Capt. Carey shut up
like clam when he was asked this
morning to explain how he had accom-
plished the feat of tracing the laundry
mark.
The police have in past cases occasion
ally succeeded in finding a man by the
laundry mark when the laundry happened
to be a large one and well known. In
more such cases other laundrymen, on be-
ing consulted, have recognized the mark
and guided the police to the right laun-
dry. 1t is seldom, however that the marks
have serNed to enable the police to estab
Iish difficult identifications.
Without revealing his method, Capt
Carey said he traced the marks on the un-
derwear found on the boGy to the Amer
lean hand laundry, at 10 East 9Sth street.
Inquiring there, his men learned that the
marks We're those of the wash of young
man named Bersin, living at III East
9Sth street, only three doors away.
Roommate Tells of Missing Man.
\ man named kornboom was found at
~, on the third floor. He was reused
out of bed and questioned. He told what
the police believed to be a straightforward
story.
His roommate, he said, was young
Jewish workman, a painter by trade,
named Samuel Bersin. The man had been
missing since Wednesday morning at D
. clock.
Young Bersin, he said, worked for a boss
painter somewhere in the neighborhood
OF llSth street and Lenox avenue. Korn-
bloom did not know what was the en-
ployer's name. Wednesday morning, as
usual, Bersin turned out at O. clock OF
d little after, so as TO go out and get MS
breakfast and be on time at his job. That
was the last that kornbloom saw of
BerSin.
Wednesday evening Bersn did not re-
turn to their quarters nor Thursday even
ing either Bersin had some effects there,
SO kornbloom did not worry and felt con-
iident that his roommate would turn up
sooner or later.
He did not know much about Ber-
sin $ haunts and amusements. He re-
membered that the painter had relatives
at 1So East lU1st street. The police left
kornbloom at liberty, warning him to
hold himself in readiness when they
wanted to question him further.
Identifies Brothers Body.
At the 1O1st street address the police
found Mollie and Solomon Bersin, a young
woman and a man, who said that they
| were brother and sister of Samuel
Bersin The police took the pair to
the morgue to view the headless, dis
| membered body. which had been deposit
ed there after its discovery.
The Bersins were Skept1cal as to its
| being their brother until they were
brought before the body. They looked
| mediately showed great agitation. The
| young woman nearly tainted.
| The man looked hurriedly at the hands.
Look Mollie. look" he cried. and made
| the woman look with him.
| Then TO the police he admitted that
| it was their brother beyond doubt. The
| sister nodded her assent.
| Samuel, his brother said. had three
! physical peuliarities. that. taken to-
| gether. would distinguish him in "a mil
! lion. One was his right foot.
The three first toes were almost of the
| SANE length the second and third being
/ oNergrown. The fourth and the little
/ toe were so short in comparison that they
| looked like mere stubs beside the others.
/ The fourth finger on either hand had 4
defective nail. The nail on one finger OF
! the right hand was loose, as If it had
| been in jured and were sloughing Off One
split, the brother remembered, and the
| flesh had grown partly over 1t afterward
| on one side.
| These marks. the police considered
taken together. conclusive. Thus the
body was identified at just about the time
| when the severed head was being discov-
cred down town
Finding of Head.
| 4 ragged looking man ran in the Oak
street station about 6 o'clock this morn
ing looking scared. While picking about
a pile of rubbish near the corner of Rose
and Vandewater streets. nearly under the
Brooklyn bridge, he had been shocked by
seeing a severed head staring at him from
the top of the heap.
The police recovered the head. Con
Guiding that IL belonged to the dismen1-
bered body, they notified the homicide bu-
reau and awaited orders to send the head
TO the morgue for identification.
! The man who discovered the head gave
his name to the police as John kerens, nc
home He discovered the head quite by
accident. he said. AS far he remem-
bered, he had not seen any other persons