The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-05-12
WAS KILLED Is MONTHS AGO
Chief o'Hare and Members of His
Department Win High Praise for
Effective Work Done II Case--Al-
legged Murderers in st. Petersburg.

was unearthed under the old shack on
Fremont avenue on Tuesday afternoon
has been solved and in a manner to
reflect great credit on the police force
of the city. The dead man was John
Borkow, a Russian, twenty-five years
of age and he met death in the house
under which his body was found more
than fifteen months ago. A man and
woman known as Mr.. and Mrs. Julius
Shelanek are suspected of the crime,
but they are thousands of miles away
from Kenosha and living in st. Peters
burg, but already the officials have
taken steps to cause their arrest and
if possible arrange to have them
brought back to Kenosha for trial
The solution of the mystery was
brought about through the work of
Chief of Police Hare and Police Of
fcer Frank McClusky. McClusky
with Police Officer Borden had been
at work on the case since the body
was found and late Wednesday after
noon McClusky was successful in find
ing two Russians who were able to
give to the chief the first inkling in
to the case. Later these men, whose
names are given as Stefan and Joseph
Pachkowski and who are employed at
the plant of the Thomas B. Jeffrey
Company, identified the remains of the
dead man and told through an inter
prefer the wierd story of love and
crime which is alleged to have termin-
ated in the deliberate and brutal muir
der of Borkow and the burial Of his
body under the old house.
Shelanek had been resident of Ke-
nosha for more than year before the
crime was committed and had been EN-.
ployed at the plant Of the Chicago
Brass Company. At Christmas time
of 1908 Borbow and the woman who
afterward posed as the wife OF She
lanek came to this country from ST.
Petersburg. They made the trip from
the Russian capital together and when
they reached Kenosha they went to
live at the house ON Fremont avenue
They made no pretenses to being hus-
band and wife and it is thought that
when BorkOw brought the woman to
Kenosha that he believed that she was
the wife of Shelanek. Borkow came
we'll supplied with Russian gold and
it is declared that at the time he
reached Kenosha he had more than
$500 in currency. The two men who
identified the remains of the man had
lived at the Shelanek home as board
ers and were well acquainted with the
dead man. Before they had been
taken to the Rutledge morgue where
the skeleton Of the man had been tax
en- they identified portion of the
overcoat which had been found in the
shallow grave as a portion of coat
which had been made in st. Peters
burg. Later they saw the body and
the silver cross which had been tax
en- from about the neck of the dead
man and they identified this positively
as the cross which had been worn by
Borkow. There was slight break in
the cross and this had been shown to
both of the men by the dead man.
The two men told Of the troubles
that had come up between Shelanek
and Borkow after he had brought the
woman to Kenosha and after he had
discovered that the woman was not
the wife of Shelanek. 1t was shown
that the two had been rivals for the
hand of the woman in marriage, but
that the woman who was known to the
boarders as "Anna' had preferred
Shelanek. Borkow is alleged to have
disappeared about the first of Febru-
airy in 1909 and two days after his
disappearance Shelanek and the woman
gave up the house and portion of the
furniture was sold to second hand
furniture dealer in the city. 1t is
declared that after the sale of the
furniture the couple went away from
Kenosha, but that they did not leave
for st. Petersburg until after Borkow
had been missing month. The men
have the theory that Borkow was kill
ed by being hit in the head with a
pick axe and that following the muir
der his pockets were rifed. From the
information which the chief secured
from the men he feels certain that the
murder was deliberately planned and
that the plans for the disposal of the
body had all been made before the
fatal blow was struck.
The disappearance of Borkow had
long been discussed among the people
who had known the man, but the fact
that he was without relatives in Ke-
nosha had made it possible for his dis
appearance to be passed without being
reported TO the police. For a time it
was thought possible that the man and
wo1nan were still in this country, but
during fae Rsst summer Nns of tFs