New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-09-05
Police May Ask Her
to Re-enact Tragedy
in Park To-day.
SURE BANDITS
KILLED LAWYER
Suspects Taken Near the
Scene Freed - Vain
Hunt for CIeWS.

Strolling in Van Cortlsndt Park
was a rather precarious pastime yes
terday for short men wearing dark
clothing and caps and having at hand
no proof of where they had been be-
tween and o'clock Sunday night.
At one time, as Headquarters, the
Bronx detective branch and the Bronx
Coroners Office pressed their search
for the murderer Of Dwight 7. Dill
worth, there were a half dozen such
persons in custody-a fact significant
that the story told by Miss Mary
McNiff, only witness of the Lovers
Lane" shooting, was accepted as essen
TALLY true.
One by one, their alibis established,
the suspected men were released.
Twenty-four hours after the investiga-
ton was begun the last of them had
been freed and the police were where
they started.
There is little doubt at Headquarters
that the shooting was the work of
blackmailer highwaymen, out to prey
on park spooners. For many years this
type OF petty criminal has been FAM.
lar to the police. In the last few months
they seem to have been carrying on
their operations in something like an
organized way.
Park Stamping Ground.
Van Cortlsndt Park, with its many
dark drives to attract motorists bound
for or returning from the surrounding
road houses. has been their stamping
ground.
The park police know of half doz-
en- recent cases where spooners have
been levied upon. In these cases
complaints have been made and speed
ily withdrawn when the compliments
were told they must make their names
and addresses Of record before police
action could be taken. But great ma
jority Of the victims. undoubtedly, pay
up and call quits without even going
that far toward the apprehension Of
the blackmailers.
Since the shooting. one victim, a
physician. has communicated with Guy
Scull. fifth deputy police commissioner,
and Inspector Cray, who are directing
tn. investigation. From the physician
came a description of two men who
held him up a week ago Saturday night,
in similar circumstances to the Dll-
worth case and at point in Lovers
Lane" by daylight it is called the Coli
Links Roxd), not far from where the
LAWYER was killed. The description
tallies with that given by Miss McNif
of the two men who, she says, shot
her companion.
Father Slain by Burglars.
Djlworth, the police assert, after
having talked with a number of friends,
was the sort of man to have done wnat
Miss McNif says he did. A year ago,
they say, his fathe met death IN Okla
homa City in the same way resisting
armed burglars who had broHen INTO
his store.
In the course of long examination
conducted by Inspector Cray and Com
missioner Scull, Miss McNif retold and
ampifed the story which the first po-
liceman on the case drew from her on
Sunday night. Although there were
several minor contradictions in the
early part OF it as to how Dilworth
had come to choose the dark trip
through Lovers Lane when he might
have turned, few yards back, into the
well lighted and much travel He'd Mosh,
olu Parkway, and as TO why he had
stopped the machine in the lane most
of IL did not vary in many tellings.
The highwaymen. she said, had
popped from the shadows as the car
halted. shown revolvers, and without
further prelminaries ordered Dilworth
10 throw up his hands. After mo-
mentary hesitation, she continued: the
LAWYER had started to climb out of the
ContInued on page 2, column