The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1912-02-25
SHOT DEAD IN HIS ..
STORE, THEN ROBBED
Continued from First Page.

with the gold initials "W. NJ" entwined.
The fob is worth about 500. he thought.
Meseritzs brother has a watch which is
just the same as the murdered mans.
He said their mother had given them the
watches. and that her picture had been
engraved inside the back Of the cases.
The seven safety razors which were
stolen were of well known make, and
the manufacturer puts on them identity
ing numbers by which 1t should be easy
TO trace them. As far as could be learned
the police had no trace OF the watch last
night.
The pawnbroker who gave to the police
one of the pawned razors is James j.
Ryan of 149 Smith street. Brooklyn.
Yesterday afternoon at about 4:30. he
said. two men came and stood in his door
for a moment, and then one. OF them
entered. The other went to the corner
and waited for his companion to come out.
The one who entered showed the razor,
which was new, and asked for 81 loan on
it. Mr.. Ryan describes him as about
feet 10 inches tall clean shaven. with
thin face and black hair. He wore
black derby hat and black coat and
around his neck was a black muffler. He
was shabbily dressed.
There was no conversation. When the
loan was made and the ticket made out
the pawnbroker's clerk who made the
deal asked for name. and was told
Murphy. 127 Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn.
There is no Murphy at that address.
Ryan could not describe the man who
stood on the corner very well. He said
he wore soft hat and q black coat. He
was short and stocky.. Under his arm he
carried bundle which Ryan said looked
as il it contained shirts. He appeared
to have been drinking. Neither OF the
men was more than 25 years old. Ryan
thinks.
The package under the arm of the man
who stood outside was wrapped i'm white
paper such as every haberdasher uses,
and was about the size three shirts would
make when wrapped up.
In reconstructing the events OF the
shooting as they took place the shirts
which were scattered on the hoor OF the
shop led the police to believe that IL two
men did the deed, one of them had been
back at the shirt counter while the other
was up front at the counter where the
safety razors were. 1t is thought that
sale of shirts was made and that then
Meseritz went in front to attend to the
man at the razor counter. The man who
had bought. or talked about buying the
shirts, it Ia thought, stepped back behind
the counter. followed Meseritz down the
alleyway until the haberdasher stopped
and then shot. The revolver was held at
some distance from the dead man because
no powder marks are visible to the eye.
No microscope has yet been used.
The safe in the store had not been
touched. Jes" Snitzer told the police
that the steel door of the safe had been
open when he left the shop few min
utes in the afternoon. He remembered
distinctly that it had been left open all
morning and was positive that Meseritz
had not closed it. In one of the steel
compartments was $50. which Meseritz
kept in case he should have to change
more large bills than usual. He had
made a deposit in the bank that morn
ing.
Inspector Hughes examined the prem
ises closely and with Capt. Coughlin ex-
amined the witnesses. Next door to the
shop, at 773 Flatbush avenue, ia shop
of the Brooklyn Valet. During the time
the murder and burglary must have
taken place Samuel Cohen, manager OF
the Valet shop. sat with his chair tilted
against the wall Of the haberdashery shop.
Neither Cohen nor May Fitzpatrick, en-
ployed in the Brooklyn Valet, heard a
sound to arouse their suspicious. On the
other side is Hesterbergs 8 saloon. No one
in the saloon could be found who had
heard the shot fired.
Coroner Edwin McGlennon ordered the
body sent to the Morgue. Coroner's ply
sician Hartung will hold an autopsy on
it to-day.