The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-01-27

Have the police at last come upon solution of the gruesome tragedy in- volving the murder of nine year old Philip Mastroianno in the outlying northeastern section of this city in October, 1907? Is he identical with the slayer of the Shebley and Lomas boys
 in High Bridge park in New York two weeks ago? Can it be that Harrison Jerome Dennlson, arrested by the New
 York police as the maniac who shot
 down the innoncent lads while they
 were coasting in the park, is identical with the strange man who terrorized the boys in the neighborhood of the
 tragedy several days before little Phil
 ip came to his untimely death?
 Today at police headquarters an in-
 vestigation was begun by the police
 to ascertain where Dennison was at the time little Philip Mastroianno was murdered. Progress has been slow thus far, but the police, while by no means certain that Dennison is the man are anxious to trace his move ments, learn the dates of his numerous escapes from various sanitariums in: Connecticut and other New England, states, and satsify themselves whether he was at large when the murder was committed.
 The murder of Philip Mastroianno w criminal annals of the state. The po- lice were completely baffled at the time gathering only shreds of evidence that resulted in nothing. Two men dr. rested in Penn. for the crime, were brought back at an expense of hun dreds of dollars, only to convince the coroner of their innocence and to re- gain their freedom.
 Philip and several youngsters about the same age wandered from their homes near St. Mary's church, East Bridgeport, Sunday morning, Oct. 6, 19O7 They walked through a number of cross streets to the east shore of Yellow Mill Pond, thence to the rail- road tracks, to the east end, and through Bishop avenue over various streets until they came to the wooded section far north of the Bridgeport hospital
 Here they encountered a man whose appearance they described as so strange that the police were inclined to believe that fear had led them to inaccuracy. The most striking feature of the description was that the mans face was covered with a heavy growth of black beard This is the very sig High Bridge park boys who saw the slayer of their two comrades. They also said his shoes were encircled with many shoe strings.
 All took fright and fled, but little Philip was soon overtaken, they said, and the last they saw, he. was talk ing with the man. Three days later the body of Philip was found in the property of the Union Metallic Cart ridge Co.,, to the north of Lakeview home, by three foreigners who passed beneath an apple tree while foraging for nuts and fruit. The little corpse was bound with shoestrings, and the throat was encircled by a shoestring that" had been drawn until the Vic- tim had strangled to death.
 The crime was set down by the pO- lice as the work of a degenerate, but all efforts to locate him were in vain. Two men, friends of the lads family, left the city about the same time. They were brought back but discharged when they explained their whereabouts to the satisfaction of the authorities. Whether the little comrades of the slain child could now recognize Denn1- son if he were the same man, is con- sidered extremely doubtful, in view of the long time that has elapsed. But the police will be better satisfied as to Dennison's relation to the crime when they find whether he was con- fined in any sanitarium at the time.
 Dennison's people have had him in institutions throughout Connecticut, among them establishments in Vest port, Greens Farms, Hartford, Nor wich and elsewhere.
 Last evening Mrs. Sarah Harsh of 214 Hallett street reported to the police the presence of a vagrant who bore a resemblance to the descriptions of the park maniac. Patrolman Simons hurried to her home and arrested him. Today he was sentenced to jail for va grancy for 10 days. He said his name was Steve Garlick, native of Hun gary, 4S years old. The police do not connect him with the crime.