Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-01-08
Aged New York Couple
Slain in Their Home.
The Bodies, Horribly Muillated,
Are Found by Son,
Forty.year.old Daughter Taken into
Custody for Observation.

New York Jan. 7.-As a sequel to
the discovery, today, of the mutilated
bodies Of two elderly East Side resi-
dents, Isaac Futterman and his wife,
Rachael in their home, the victims of
a shocking double murder, Etka Fut-
terman, the 40-year-old daughter of
the slain couple. was taken, late to-
night, to Bellevue hospital for obser-
walton as OF her mental condition. She
became hystericai when informed of
the murders and a search of an apart
ment in the house where she lived,
some distance from her parents home,
revealed, according Ia detectives. a
blood-stained shirt waist and various
other articles covered with blood. No
charge was preferred against the dis
traught woman, who cried out over
and over in the matron's room at Il
police station that she vas innocent
of the crime
Etka Futterman's removal TO Bellevue
was at the request of Aaron Futterman,
one of the two sons of the couple. This.
the police say, was the result of his dec
laration that his sister was confined IN
an institution for the insane several years
ago.
The police from the first discovery ex-
pressed the belief that the pair We're VIC
tins of some religious maniac
New York, Jan. "A double murder
was discovered in an East Side house.
today. Isaac Putterman, 50 years old.
and his wife, Rachael, y years old.
We're found dead and terribly mutilat-
ed in their rooms at 101 Norfolk street
The police believe THAT the couple
were practically tortured to death and
in the absence of any we'll established
motive for such crime. they think
the Putternlans were victims of some
religious maniac.
P:Itterman was retired manufac-
turer. He had. accumulated a small
fortune, but had always refused to
leave the East Side neighborllood,
where he settled when he came from
Russia. many years ago. The couple
lived alone. hut had three children
living IN other parts of the city. One
of these, Aaron Putterman, superin-
dentent of a brass factory, found the
bodies when he called at the house
today, on his usual weekly visit. He
and the police forced an entrance and
found his fathers body on sofa and
his moher's on bed, both only par
TALLY dressed. There were deep
gashes across the faces and bodies of
both, and the eyes of both were man
gled, one of the mans having been
torn from its socket. Putterman's alb
donen WIS slashed and there were
cuts on his body running lengthwise
from head TO foot. The nature of the
mutilation leads the police to believe
that it was begun while the Putter-
mans We're alive, and that death was
actually caused by blows which frac-
tured their skulls.
The bodies bore fingerprints of which
the police experts took photographs. The
key to the door of their rooms is miss
ing. and a small bag of money which
Mrs. Putterman is said to have carried
about her neck, and iewelry which Mrs.
Putterman is said to have worm cannot
be found. Nevertheless, the police do
not believe robbery was the motive for
the crime. The murderer evidently locked
the door behind him and took the key
with him and left no trace of his identi-
ty except the bloody fingerprints on the
bodies.
Aaron Putterman said the double muir
der was a complete mystery to him. for
he did not known that his father had an
enemy In the world. He said that what
ever money the murderer took was
comparatively small sum because his
father kept practically all his money in
a bank.
a large number of central office detec-
tives were al work on the case, tonight,
but up to a late hour they had run upon
no good clue. The police believe that the
murder occurred several days ago, as de-
composition had set in slightly, and
neighbors do not remember seeing the
couple since Jan. 8.