The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-03

TORSO AS THAT
0FACOLLECTOR
Police Trace Laundry Mark ;
Say Murdered Man Was
Rufus \. Durham.
RELIEF CONFIRMED BN
ODD CHEST AND SCAR

r.rt.r,,uon satisfactory to the police /
q, r,. parts Of the torso found Sew Years
,..r, r ,nr West Meadows between u |
,... park and Coney Island was made |
,..i..luy M the Brooklyn morguc.
The. lic thought to he parts OF the !
tY.. % Itufus - Duaham, so years old, !
a .,N..tor Tor Cowpcrthwait & Co. furn! |
t.., dealers Of Fulton aud Nevins street. !
t.ro,kl,u Mr.. Durham has been missing
..rro December Il. and this is the prob
able dot. 81 the murder. inashuch as two
cor.., nc italian and English newspapers
boring chat date were wrapped around
a., parts " the body.
\ stin bosomcd white shirt was Identified
Mr. puuhams--it bore q laundry mark
winch was identified as his-and gray
voollen uudcrshrt encaslng the upper part
~ such Of tho trunk ~ tho body as has
been found rs similar tn the kind he wore
NJ Durham had peculiar chest, de-
tr,h.d as funnel shaped: his pcculiarlty
fuir,cd the recovered torso. Mr.. Durham
t,d q scaT under his left arm the same
4c.T Nls found on the trunk.
HAD Only sta or SIS.
The police believe their problem is now
rriuccd 10 half its former difficulties.
and tho theory they have pieced together
is ,hl, Durham, collecting for his firm
r. the Red Hook section Of Brooklyn. WAS
murdered by persons who wanted to rob
HIN
" Ear as the investigation has pro-
crossed Il does not appear probable that
NJ Dunham carried more than SIS or
~ when he was killed. and this amount
and HE watch and clothing are all the
murderers got for their crime.
The police are still searching in the
Co1ey Island creek aud in the meadows
. more parts Of the body. The two
packages containing the parts Of the
torso were found at spot where they
.uld have been hurled by "A passenger
from a West End limo train. and dctec-
tiN"s were sent searching along tho right
o. way yesterday for more mysterious
D. 'hIg's. Graphing hooks were dropped
MAO tho creek and dragged many pack.
ages - dead dogs and similar refuse were
und, bur no more parts OF The body.
After tho two. parts OF tho body--the
upper part Of the torso. including about
two inches of neck. from which the arms
H"d head had been hacked. and the lower
part. from which the legs had been cut
bed been thawcd ont ana dried yesterday
mo ming an examination showed that
'H'v formed part OF the body OF an ell
u.ly man aud that the upper part was
dad loo tho white shirt and gray under.
sr"t Tn" lower part Of the torso was
"F1pprd in a maroon skirt Of cheap
make, which may furnish an important
uc
shirt Mark Identified.
Tho victims outer shirt gave the 20
IL. their hrst tangible clue. There wa'
n lumber and a mark on II. The number
~. -lS77 and the mark was like a V
with another = turned upside down ant
suu'rmposcd upon II. Detectives were
sent scurryinG about the city looking fol
laundry where the mark and number
ovuld be Identified
Late IN the afternoon tho search cam,
tu md Frank NJ Brown, who owns
laundry at 1874 Ralph avenue. knew
'h- mark and the number. The mari
WIS on" he put on clothing sent to
swan laundry and the number belongeC
- M. Durham, who lived at 752 Macor
street
IN. police recognized the name i'm
mriitt"ly for his disappearance had beer
reported Ia them late on the night o
December 81, the day he disappeared
ard the date horne by tho newspaper
w-tpped IN with the body inspector
Faurot and Acting Captain Coughlin wen
20 see Mrs. Durham, an elderly woman
hut they found her no dstraught owe
h"r husbands disappearance that the!
d'd not have the heart TO tell her thei
suspicions.
They examined some of the shirts ant
understands worn by Durham and foun'
;h't they correspondent with those foun
wl the torso
l"hn Matthews, who rented TO the Dun
hams tho second floor Of the house the
occupied, and who lives down stairs him
sof, view the parts of the body and sal
'n' funnel chest and scar under the arr
made him positive they were part q
Duuhdm's body.
Well Liked by Employers.
Durham II described as Of the "thii
Yankee type ruddy faced about -
pounds, feet inches and OF nervou
tUfUtsrauDut