New-York tribune., 1912-01-28
BOYS HEAD CUT OFF
BY HOTEL ELEVATOR
Police Say He Was Trying to Get
Away with Loot from
AnS0nIa.
WAS TRYING TO RUN THE CAR
Wedged Between Side of the Ele.
vator and Shaft Wall-Stolen
Goods Near Body, Po-
lice Say.

John A. Perry. a sixteen vear-old hoy
who is believed by tho police IN have
sneaked into the basement Of the Hotel
Ansonia and ascended 10 the sixteenth
floor Of the building for the purpose or
robbing a storeroom Of gas and electric
fixtures was caught between freight
elevator and the walls NJ the shaft short
tated. Servants on the floor above
heard a series Of screams and ran 10 tn"
elevator shaft, where they saw the head
Of the youth on the floor Of the car.
When hotel detectives lowered the car
by switch In the engine room the body
dropped the sixteen floors 10 the bottom.
OF the shaft.
Police who were called removed the
body 10 the West 6sth street police sta
ton and a search Of the clothes revealed
card bearing the name OF John Perry.
No JO4 West 10Th street. A gray over
coat was found I'm the car containing a
quantity Of gas tips and brass fixtures.
and two sbundles containing gas and
o. the elevator.
Acting on the tip given BY the card,
which was barely discernible, the police
went To the address In i9th street
There they found Mrs. Mary Perry, who
went with them 10 the station and later
Identified the body as that Of her son.
II was about noon when James Con-
nors. "A cleaner, who was working on the
east side OF the seventeenth floor, heard
means and screams coming from the di-
rection Of the elevator shaft He called
Il servant by the name OF Victor. who
was in charge Of the cleaning, and the
two ran toward the freight elevator.
Looking down they saw the head OF I
boy sticking up between the floor II tho
car and the wall Of tho shaft Connor
called the engineer of the building on
the telephone. asking him to lower the
elevator.
When few moments had passed ana
the elevator had not been lowered Vie
was unable 10 endure the sight longer
He worked his way between the top OF
the elevator and the floor and dropped
downward into the car AS he did so
the car dropped in response TO the en-
gineer below, and as 1t came level with
the floor below the body dangling under
the car the head pulled loose and tho
body dropped
The immediate removal of the body by
the police left the house detectives free
to act. They identified the contents Of
the pockets OF the overcoat found in the
elevator as part Of the articles stored IN
a vacant room on the sixteenth floor
and decided that the youth had slipped
i'm the street door, entered the elevator
and started upward with the purpose Of
stealing some of the stored fixtures
Nominally the sixteenth floor Is occu-
pied by W. T.. ID. Stokes, the hotels
owner, but few of the rooms were used
for storage purposes, and the police and
detectives are convinced that some one
In the hotel was working with the lad
and had told him how to get at the loot.
The boys family is highly respectable
and his mother supposed that he WAS
working up To yesterday Hints OF the
theft of important papers belonging to
Mr.. Stokes and the possible employment
Of the boy by enemies of the wealthy
hotel man were discredited last evening.
and the police have practically joined
with the house officials i'm the belief that
The youth was inspired i'm his efforts at
robberv by some youthful acquaintance
i'm the employ Of the house. The authori-
are ccntring all their efforts upon the
canture of this servant and several sus-
.L.ldcr clnsn aIIrA ni illl nnn