El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-04-04
True Tale of What Is Re
garded by New York Police
Officials as One of the Best
Examples of Real, Simon
Pure Detective Work.

of New York city a murderer
toyed with the pair Of magazine
pistols that were primed for in
slant use. His eyes were glued on the
iadder-like stairway that led into his bur
row. and solemnly he swore he'd kill the
first man who attempted to enter the
cellar that morning.
For five hours the murderer lurked in
his foul smelling lair. He, together with
the accomplice who stood at his side
when he killed his man, had made their
way to the cellar from the roof of a
building several doors from the scene Of
the killing. The slayer had urged his ac-
complete to make a run for it an hour
OF two before dawn, he preferring to lay
low until he could walk forth in broad
daylight to the dive a friend Of his kept
where ne knew he would be slowed away
safe from all prying eyes.
As the slayer crouched in his corner
he deliberately set to work to destroy
every particle Of teItale evidence that
he might have about him. He had fired
three shots at the man he had just killed.
Therefore it was expedient to remove
the three empty shells from his revolver,
wipe out its barrel and thus destroy all
evidence Of its having recently been fired.
The empty shells were tossed into a cor
ner of the cellar, and then the slayer
searched his pockets in quest Of letters,
notes or memoranda that might tend to
shed light on his past in the event of
his capture.
A well worn and much thumbed
memorandum book was found in an
inner pocket JOtted upon its leaves
were many names and opposite some
of these were addresses. Two names
John Mulraney and John J. Downing
appeared more frequently in the book
than any others, and under the circum-
stances that book had much better be
reduced to the tiniest scraps, of paper
possible. Page by page, seemingly, the
slayer tore that book to bits. The little
particles Of paper we're strewn broadcast
and as they lay scattered about the cellar
floor the murderer remarked with a
chuckle:-"The guy what tries to put
them pieces together viii tackle a job
worse than a Chinese puzzle. It just
can't be did, that's all there is to that..'
At fifteen minutes after two o'clock
on the morning Of October 4, 1911, Lieu
tenant Daniel Kerr, in charge of the
Fourth Detective district with head
quarters in the West Forty-seventh
street police station, was awakened to
learn that Patrick McBreen, known
from one end Of the city to the other as
Paddy the Priest" had been held up
5y two burglars in his saloon at No. III
Tenth avenue and MORALLY shot. Paddy
the Priest" was widely known for his
charities and was highly thought Of on
the west side. The acting captain Of de-
tectiYes, hastily donning his clothes to
get out and take personal charge Of the
man hunt, at once concluded that with
a victim as popular as Paddy" he would
have little trouble IN running down his
slayer, for every man and woman in that
part of the city would aid in the search.
No sooner had the murder been re-
ported at Police Headquarters than
George S. Dougherty, then Second Dep
uty Police Commissioner and in charge
Of the Bureau Of Detectives, was APP
prised Of it. He called Acting Captain
Kerr on the telephone and told him he
would be with him in less than an hour
Despite the fact that Dougherty had to
come all the way from his Sheepshead
Bay home, he was true to his word, and
when his motor car halted before the
door Of the saloon where the killing had
been effected he leaped out to join Kerr
and Detectives Barber, Fitzpatrick and
Burgess, who were already at work in
search Of clews.
The murderer, or murderers, had made
a clean job Of it. There wasn't a pos
sible cleW TO be picked up in that early
morning search; and not a stain, foot
step, finger print nor any Of the other
agencies so strongly relied upon by po-
lice could be found to aid the detectives.
Here was a case that would require no I
end Of hard work to unravel and, as
DOugherty and Kerr agreed, one in
which only detective work Of the highest
order could bring results.
About ten hours after the murder had
been committed Kerr turned up two
men who admitted that tbey had seen
two other men enter the saloon few
minutes before the Priest was stuck
up and shot down.
Would you know these two men if
you saw them again?" the detective
asked.
Would we know them? Well, I
reckon. One of them guys was so tough
he'd be scared stiff if he caught glimpse
of his own image in a looking glass. The
other fellow was tough all right, too.
but the other was the limit"
The detective got a fair description Of I
the two men he wanted and at once
spread the police net far and wide.
Paddy the Priest died a few hours af-
ter being removed to the Flower Hospi-
tai and without gaining consciousness.
Annareufl fbera 7yoeD,+ . ;-l, ,-,