Los Angeles herald., 1909-05-22
SAYS he SAW a
MEN POUNCE ON
ANNIE POLTERA
NEGRO BOY DESCRIBES FIRST
PART OF CRVhE
MYSTERIOUS MARKS eklE FOUND
ON cHILD's BON
Detectives Work All Day y griffith
Park Case, but Disco 5r No
Cew Save Youths
Story

Park Case, nut DlSCos>r mo
CIew Save Youths
Story
John Clayton Robinson, a negro
youth, who lives with his aunt at 1913
East Thirty-fourth street, was brought
to central police station last night by
Officer l. G. Nokes, as a result of state
ments that the boy had made in re-
r4rd to the murder of Annie Poltera,
the 9-year-old child found dead Thurs
day morning near the entrance to Crit
fifth park According to the story told
by the boy, he was walking along the
road near Griffith park Monday after
noon and saw four men standing near
d clump of bushes.
AS Annie Poltera passed along, the
negro said, two of the men jumped from
the bushes and grabbed her. He sWore
that he saw one of the men STAB her
with a pocket knife. He became
frightened, ran away, and did not soc
what occurred after.
The boy was turned over to Detective
Tom Zeigler who questioned him
closely, but the boy stuck to his story
1t is the only clew that developed yes
terday in the child murder case.
Detective Zeigler took the boy to his
home, and this morning will take MN
to the scene of the crime, to see IL ms
story holds true. Robinson will be
made to point out the place on the road
where the men were seen, and also to
detail the circumstances of his story.
The condition of the body leads to
the belief that more than one man
was implicated in the crime, and Rob
inson's story may prove to be the cleW
that will lead to the arrest OF the crin-
inals.
A sister of the negro boy came to
the station and said the boy was de-
mented and no reliance should be
placed on his story.
Reward for Murderers offered
All day yesterday scores of police
officers secured the grounds in the Vi
cinity of the murder, but failed to f1nd
any promising clew. The murder OF
little Annie Poltera still remains
mystery, unless the story of Robinson
can be verified.
Sheriff Hammel has taken personal
interest in the case and has offered
reward of $3.50 to be paid from his
own pocket for the arrest and convic-
ton of the murderer
Further investigation reveals more
grewsome facts in connection with the
Griffith park mystery.
One question that is being asked is
"Why didn't the father report the girls
disappearance before the body was
found?"
The inquest over the body was held
yesterday morning at Pierce Bros. UNI
dertaking rooms, but the evidence
given threw no new light on the muir
der mystery.
The revolving nature of the crime
was shown to the coroner's jury and at
the close of the inquest the report was
given that the child came to her death |
at the hands of parties unknown.
That Annie Poltera met a horrible
death was evident. The girls throat
had not been severed and that the
cutting was done by a person, either
of perverted mind or cunningly insane,
was evident. The knife had pierced
through the neck without severing the
skin in front.
Mysterious Marks on Body
Two circles on the body gave evil
dence of the fact that the person VINO
committed the crime intended to leave |
a mark of some mysterious nature.
The marks at first were thought to
have been teeth marks, but close In
yestigation showed that they were |
stamped. One mark was on the abdo-
men and the other on the right cheek.
The testimony of Dr. George W.
Campbell, who performed the autopsy, |
was to the effect that the murder had
been committed by a fiend. He stated |
that it was customary in cases OF the
kind for the perpetrator to leave a
mark of some kind, and believed that
the semicircular marks were made on
the body after death.
In his testimony he cited the fact
that Jack the Ripper marked his vic
Tins with a cross, others with cir
cle and that the semicircular marks
on the body of Annie Poltera were
made by a pervert, who had read of
crimes of a similar nature.
Another fact mentioned by DR..
Campbell was that part of the girls
clothing had been taken away
John A. Poltera, father of the girl, |
was the first witness. AS the aged man |
identified the body of his daughter he
raised his hands and cried out: "Oh,
Christ, have mercy on the soul that
could do such thing!"
Father Tells Story
In short gutteral utterances he re-
lated the disappearance of his daugh-
ter. He stated that he did not feel
uneasy when the girl did not come
home Monday night, as he thought she
had stopped at the home of neighbor,
Mrs. Willard, as she had on several
previous occasions.
He said he came to Los Angeles
twenty-five years ago from peasant
village in Switzerland, and for many
years had operated a chicken ranch |
near the north entrance to Griffith
park, where the body of his daughter
was found.
The fact that the father had started |
to drive his daughter to school on the
fatal day and that he did not wait for
her as she was not ready in time, was
dwelt on. The father related that |
Annie had to return to the house for |
her hat, and admitted that he drove I
away without her. and that the little |
girl had to walk four miles to the Los
Feliz school
Jasper Shelter and James A. Duison,
park employees, who discovered the
body. testified to the conditions sur
rounding the corpse That the body |
was placed in tall mustard weed with
the idea of concealment was the brunt |
of their testimony.
After the inquest the parents an
nounced that the girl would be buried |
this afternoon at 80 o'clock in Rose
dale cemetery.
Many Detectives at Work
Scores of detectives were at work on /
the case yesterday morning securing
the country in the vicinity of the place
where the body was found. That the
murder was not committed at the spot