New-York tribune., 1914-12-24
GangSters Skulking in
Lonely Road Blamed
for Murder.
WHIP SCAR AND
CAP CLEWS IN CASE
Farmer Heard Voices and
Shots in Eastchester
Crime.

''"NV tAS b"iHct Dan HuIuel' are lhe
men, it is believed, who Tuesday night
shot and killed Charles Secord, Of New
Rochelle, on the Mill Road, in East
Chester.
One Of the fugtives may have a
fresh whip scar across his face.
Apparently the motive Of the crime
was robbery, Secord being known far
and wide, particularly iu the saloons
Of Yonkers, where he peddled cider. to
be in the habit OF carrying consider
able sums Of money on him. Tuesday
was his day TO collect. lie was never
careful to conceal the size Of his roll
in the places he visited, and some one
knowing this, and something OF the
route which he followed home, is be
lieved TO have planned the Staying.
Lack Of more thorough knowledge OF
the neighborhood and careiessness in
timing the execution Of the plan, to-
gether with the fact that the dead man
apparently put up a fight, sent the mur-
derers on their way minus booty and
the cap one of them wore at the time
of the attack.
This cap is a navy blue affair Of the
golf type, much worn. The marks Of
the maker are oblterssec by wear. The
size G7s-indicate that it was a
smallish person who wore it.
Posse Picked Wrong Trail.
Edward Mathews, town clerk and
former New York County detective un-
der District Attorney Jerome, working
with Tribune reporter, this afternoon
found two witnesses whose stories in
dicate that two persons were involved
in the shooting, and that at the time
Sheriff William A. Doyle, with posse
of German police dogs, was raking
the California" section, as part of
Eas, Chester in which there is q large
Italian settlement is known, the two
had made their way safely across lots
to the White Plains Road. the Tucka-
hoe station of the New York Central,
and New York.
These two witnesses are Carl Price.
the twelve -year-old son of the super
intendent Of the c. ODonnell Isein
estate, who, with his father, Edward
c. Price. saw the fash Of the shcts that
killed Secord, and a New York man
whose name Mathews is Withholding
70 the present.
Immediately after the shooting Carl
Price heard voices of persons passing
in the rear Of the Iselin barn, where he
was watching his father milk. This
was at 6:3O o'clock p. m, just after
the murder The New York witness
saw two men, one of them hatless, rusn
across the railroad bridge at Tuckshoe
Just in time to get the 7:14 train for
New York. The elapsed time is ample
for one to cover the distance from the
murder to the station.
Secord, who was ffty-seven years
old. had been IN the business Of selling
cider all his life The bulk OF his
trade was in Yonkers, though ne sup
piled many saloons in Mount Vernon
and the adjacent territory. Tuesday
was his day TO make collections IN Yon-
kers, and it was known that he would
pass through Waverly Square, Tucka-
hoe, shortly after 6 o'clock Tuesday
night. lie passed through at 6;2O.
A policrnan spoke to him.
Motorman Discovered Murder
Ten minutes later Lieutenant James
Gavin. on desk duty in the East Chester
police station, in Tuckahoe, was notified
by Frank Gallagher. farmer on the
Iselin estate. that Secord had been
found murdered about mile from the
square by Richard Lawrence, motorman
of New Rochelle bound car that left
the square five minutes after Secord.
Lawrence told the police that ne saw
a covered wagon ahead of him on le
track. He sounded his gong repeatedly
and the wagon swerved to the left. As
il did so he saw what he thought was
q blanket on the track. Getting out TO
remove il. he found it was the body Of
Secord. still warm. One bullet had
pierced the heart, another the left
thigh. and third broken the left arm.
Tightly clutched in the right hand was /
the heavy whip.
Before help came Price. who lad fin
ished his milking, and his son, seeing I
the car stopped, went to investigate the /
cause. Then Price told of seeing the I
three shots fred. lie had not investi- /
gated the shots. he said, because he .
thought IL was some automobilist I
emp.ving a revolver or shooting blanks,
eomething he has often seen done, he T
snvs. Still ambling down the road 100 1
wards away was the Secord horse,
while an equal distance in the rear and
directly under the electric light where |
Price and his sons saw the three flashes /
Of the pistol. was the golf cap, which /
Rad been pierced 5y one Of the horses
calks.
Victim Killed by Shot.
Or Oliver l. Austin. who was hur-
riedlv called. founi that Secord had
been dead but few minutes. Inc
shot killed him instantly.
Examination OF .he body showed tnat
coptinued on page 8, column