Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-06-19
BODY OF CRUGER
GIRL UNEARTHED
IN DINGY CELLAR
Find Clears Up a
Battling New York Mystery,
Ring Leads to Identification
of DeCompoSed Body

NEW YORK, June 16.-Discovery to-
Gay of the body of 1S-year-old Ruth
Cruger, the missing Wadleigh High
school student who had been murder
ed and then buried six feet under the
cellar of a shop occupied by a bicycle
dealer who fed to Italy after she dis
appeared, cleared a mystery which had
baffled the police for months. The girls
skull had been crushed.
Miss Cruger's parents identified the
body. The police late today took into
custody several persons who were ques-
toned closely.
The bicycle shop to which the girl
went to have her skates sharpened the
day she disappeared was conducted by
Alfredo Cocchi who fed from New
York after the girls absence from
home was reported to the police. He
is now being held at Bologna, Italy,
and an effort will be made to extrad1te
him. Recently when detectives tried to
dig up the cellar in a search for the
body, Mrs Cocchi refused to permit 1t.
Today after she had left the place, de-
tectives entered and solved the mys-
terry.
The finding of the body is due chiefly
the tireless work of Mrs. Grace
Humiston, attorney for the Cruger fam
lily For the past week she had labor
ers excavating under the sidewalk in
front of the house, apparently convinc-
ed that the body would be found. A
silk shirtwaist, a corset cover and
glove were found several days ago as
a result of the digging but these could
not be identified as belonging to Miss
Cruger.
Today when detectives entered the
cellar and resumed the search over
ground covered months ago, their at
tention was attracted by Cocchi's large
work bench, resting against the wall
at the extreme end of the cellar. They
moved the bench and walking over the
spot their heels struck boards through
a thin covering of earth. The detec-
tives cleared away the earth and 1ouno
a wooden floor which they tore up ana
the form of the dead girl was disclos-
ed. A towel had been fastened around
her neck and her body had been bound
with ropes.
On being told by Mrs. Humiston that
a girls body had been dug up In Coo
chi's cellar, the father still skeptlcal,
hurried to the squalid neighborhood or
the repair shop, few blocks across
town from upper Riverside drive.
Police opened the way for Cruger to
enter the shop on his arrival. The CROWD
stepped back but the man hesitated-
stopped.
81 do not want to go in," he said.
Send some one to tell me about IT,
He stood in the street, staring at the
garish red sign on the glass basement
window.
Police Inspector Cray came out from
beside the body lying on the cellar moor
and described it in detail to Cruger' VINO
made no sign until the inspector men
toned the character OF the clothing the
watch and the Wadleigh High school
ring found on the left little finger.
"Oh. my God That's my daughter
he exclaimed as the inspector stopped.
He started forward. reeled and would
have collapsed had not the inspector
caught him.
After he recovered, he would not
look at the body and was taken nome
where the girls mother waited
Singularly enough, John Spite, the
man who saw Cocchi coming out or the
cellar shop about midnight OF the uay
the Cruger girl disappeared was the man
who unearthed her body today. The
suspicion that the girl was buried be-
meath the shop has always been strong
in his mind, he said.
Discovery of the body was accidental
Police and priavte detectives had search
ed every foot of the cellar over anu
over. They had dug it up in many
places.
1t remained for Inspector Cray to push
the two chests out of the way and dls-
cover that the concrete flooring mao
been disturbed
Immediately upon being notified of the
find, District Attorney Swami said ev-
erv effort would be made to have Cocchl
returned to this country.