The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-07-02
NOVAk NOT
SLAYER OF
'Y0UNGG|RL
Laborer Suspected of Crime Is
Arrested, but Practically
Proves Alibi
Businessman Who Saw MUIR
.derer Says Workman Is Not
the Guilty Person
Police. Secure New Evidence
Tending TO Reveal identity of
Miss Brasch's Assassin
Developments in Case Indicate
That Real Criminal May
Be Jailed Today

- LIZ OQIlCQ UuQy
T NovAK. the former employe Of
Gray Brothers. suspected Of the
- murder of Carolina Brasch. the
young girl book keeper killed at her
desk in the office Of the stone con
tractors early Wednesday afternoon.
was captured yesterday morning by the
police. Unexpected Developments which
materialized after his arrest prove be-
yond doubt that:the man under arrest
for the murder is not the girls slayer
Evidence in. the possession of the
police. which at present they refuse to
divulge. exonerates Novak entirely oe
any connection. with the crime. The
facts that at first seemed to prove be-
yond a doubt that the Bohemian was
guilty-are seen. in the light Of these
recent developments. TO have been ac-
eepted too readily. and with too great
desire to make the man under suspi-
cion fit into the facts
NoVak Shown Innocent
Novak is innocent and must be lib
Grated today by the police.
The identity Of the guilty man will
become known today also
! The events of yesterday. as developed
by the police detectives. seemed alter
nately to fix the crime upon Novak and
at other times, to point to his innocence.
The testimony of Joseph O'MaIley.
clerk in the office of the Knox coIIee-
ton agency. where Novak eashed his
check after having been told by Miss
Brasch that the firm could not pay
him his money. declared that Novak
must have been in the collection com
pany's of1ice at 443 Pine street until
several inmates after the crime had
been committed. II. as was agreed by
those in the ONCE of Gray Brothers. it
occurred at about 1870 o'clock. OMaI-
ley held to it that he barely reached
his of1ce.at that hour. and that Novak
was there then. and remained there
for some ten minutes more.
90
Fixes Time of Murder
Harry Gray. when seen late. yester-
day afternoon. went over the events Of
the day Immediately preceding the
shooting very carefully and decided
that the murder must have taken place
somewhere between the hours of 1:45
and 2 o'clock. closer to the latter time
than the former This statement made.
it seem possible that Novak. said BY
the. collection agency employees to have.
left their Office at about 20 minutes to.
2 O'Clock. could have rushed over to the
office of Gray Brothers in the wel1s-
Fargo building. Second and Mission
streets. and done the shooting.
1t became a game of shaving down
the minutes !. in one direction and
lengthening them out in another. so
that Novaks known. actions might ft
into the actions of the murderer.
At late hour yesterday afternoon
the police became convinced that No
wax. despite their earlier conclusions
as to his guilt. was innocent and must
be released. It later became evident
that they were working on an en-
tirely different clew than the one they
have been following. though they de-
MED that they did not believe Novak.
the murderer. They did not deny that
they would liberate him today
Murderer Is Seen
F. G. Higgins of the Pacific hardware
and steel company. who. as he was
passing across the hallway near GRAY
Brothers Office. saw the murderer
rushing out of the door Immediately
after the shot with smoking re-
volver in his hand, was brought to DO
lice headquarters yesterday morning.
and the first serious shock given the
police theory was received when the
businessman announced positively that
Novak did not look anything like the
murderer to him. 1t was thought that
perhaps the fact that the Iaborer had
worn a different coat at the time OF
the shooting might have something to
do with Higgins failure to identity
Novak as the man he saw with the
revolver, and the same coat he had
worn during the preceding day was put
on Novak. He was made to walk to-
ward and away from Higgins. to turn
and wheel. but still the only witness
to the murderer's escape from the
building DECLARED positively that No.
wax was not the man he had seen
This halted the detectives midway IN
the development Of their case and ~