New-York tribune., 1909-03-16
CLERKS SLAYER
Brutal Crime in South Street Hotel
One Arrest Made.

one arrest was made late yesterday afternoon IN
the case of Isadore De Valiant, night clerk OF 'n5
Eastern Hotel Whitehall and South streets' "l'
was slain between > and a. m yesterday. lie
was last seen alive by newspaper reporter who
returned to his room at the hotel at 10 a. m.
The first man 10 discover the body was William
Hubel an empIoye Of the hotel who arrived at
a. m As was his custom. he went up TO the office
on the second floor to get his keys from De valiant
Not finding him at the desk. he searched about. and
finally went into the buffers pantry. There the
body was lying in a pool of blood in the corner.
surrounded by broken chairs. There was deep
cash in De vaIant's throat and his skull
fractured, apparently by blows with a two-inch
iron pipe. which lay the floor beside him
When CAPTAIN Marten, of Police Headquarters.
Captain Hogan of the John street station. and
several detectives arrived the scene they dscov-
cred that De Valiant had been robbed of his gold
watch scarfpin shirt stud and $50 OF his own
money and that the money drawer had been rihed
of s75 and a revolver Bloody finger prints we're
on the safe which contained $4,000, and the cash
drawer and desk. on the register were signed in
UNCERTAIN scraws. indicating that the writer's were
drunk. the names Der Ross" and &C. Andersen
No rooms had been assigned them. and 1t
thought they had lured the clerk into the pantry
on some pretext. had killed and robbed him. and
then made their escape.
nevsboy Oscar Sewry of No. Ss4 Monroe
street said that three drunken men, roughly
dressed. of the hotel at 80 a m. bought
papers OF him and asked where they could get
drink. He directed them TO Hillebricht's Hotel.
next door. he said. and they went In there. On
the boys coat found blood stains where, IL IS
supposed one of the men took hold of him.
\ waiter named Joseph Sundorfen said the men
had been in Hnebrichts earlier in the morning
and that they had been directed the Eastern
Hotel. They came back. he said. about o'clock,
and said they had been over to the Eastern and
that there was nobody there. You could have
robbed the place" they told him. After taking
few drinks they went out. Sundorfen said that
when they left the hotel the first time they had
money and that when they back they had
plenty of it. He heard OF the men called AN
dersen" which was one of the names on the reg
lister next door.
CAPTAIN Carey. Of the homicide bureau, Is in
cIined TO believe that these did not commit the
murder that they went upstairs to the Office of the
Eastern Hotel and. finding nobody there, wrote
their names I'm the register. scribbling they
waited When the clerk. who was probably then
living dead in the pantry, failed to appear. they
went downstairs and into Hillebricht's saloon
again.
De Valiant was of French descent. forty-five
years old and lived in Mountvale n. J.. where he
was tax collector. He had been employed night
clerk in the Eastern Hotel for two years.
In the afternoon Detective Keating of the John
street station saw three men I'm a brawI in front
Of the Eastern Hotel. He arrested one OF them
because the man had blood spots on his hands and
on his hat. The prisoner said he was Otto Seth a
fireman, OF No Emmett street, BROOKLYN. on the
way TO the station the prisoner asked Keatine
why he didn't arrest Of the others in the fight
who, he said, had a revolver. This made Heating
all the more suspicious. so he took his prisoner