The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1917-10-16
Double Crime Committed

The Toms River Courier gives this
account of a crime committed in Oceal
county:
When Samuel Chattin of Pasadena,
Thursday noon saw smoke rolling up
from the big Brooks Brae plant at That
place, he and his son rushed to the
plant, and peering through the window
into the fiery furnace within, he saw
the body of his own twelve year old
daughter Hannah lying upon cot be-
side that of a man. The interior of
the room was flame and smoke, and
the roof was tumbling in, so he
dared not enter. With the aid OF
neighbors they got pieces of timber
through the window and worked the
cot nearly to the window, when it over
turned and the bodies rolled off Later
the little girls body was taken from
the ruins, just the trunk and part of
the head; that of the man was also
found, with arms, leg and head miss
ing. 1t was an Austrian, Gildo Plaz-
ziano, who was Waterman at the brick
plant. The big factory, said TO have
cost from ten to twenty thousand dol
lars to build, was wiped out by the
| flames.
Prosecutor Plumer, Sheriff Brown
and Coroner Brouwer were at the fire
before 1t had burned itself out. They
were there just as the bodies were re-
covered, and the coroner gave permits
for burial, which took place at Tucker
ton.
Plazziano had been Waterman at the
plant for a long time. He was looked
upon as queer by most of the few peo-
1 nj arybA -. hn a NIL M
Pasadena, and had few friends. There
had been for some time, however, a
strong affection on his part for little
Hannah, the Chattin girl, and she in
turn seemed to like the Waterman. In
fact she often went down to his two
room shack that stood not far from the
plant, and where he lived alone.
Chattin says he had demonstrated
with his wife for letting the child be
around SO much with the Austrian, but
she could see no harm with a child of
those years, and the man seemed to
think so much of the little girl that it
disarmed their suspicious. Thursday
morning Hannah went to Plazziano's
shack about seven o'clock. She told
her mother that he was going to paper
his house, and she would help by hold
ing the strips of paper as he put them
on. At noon she did not return to
dinner. 1t was while they were about
TO start out to find the girl that they
saw smoke pouring out of the brick
plant.
The plant was a big concern that
would cover half an ordinary town
block. AT one end, Mr.. Hitler, the
manager, who came down occasionally
from Philadelphia to look things over,
had some rooms fitted up to live and
sleep in. When Chattin first got there
the fire was all in this part OF the build
ing, and the big factory end had not
been touched. George Bozarth and
Charles Holloway, of Chatsworth,
came along, and the three, finding the
two bodies in the blazing room, tried to
get them out with rakes and poles, as
told above. While they were doing
this, the flames worked over into the
main plant.
| Somebody phoned to Sheriff Brown,
who at once got the prosecutor and
coroner and went down there. An ex-
animation of the Austrian's shack
showed four rolls of paper ready to put
on the walls as the girl had said.
There was also new leather satchel,
in which was found q child's muff, a
child's tam-o-shanter cap, and work.
basket with scissors, needles, etc. On
the table were some bags Of candy, and
one piece of candy showed that the
girl had been eating it and laid it
down again. Plazziano had spent Tues
day and Wednesday in Philadelphia,
returning Wednesday night. There is
no doubt that he had brought with
him these gifts for the girl.
The officials, as well as the parents
OF the girl and all who saw the tragedy,
could form but one conclusion: That,
yielding to base desires, the man had
enticed the child to the rooms of the
manager at the plant; that realizing
the enormity of his act, he had first
killed her, to prevent her telling, then
set the place on fire to destroy all trace
of the crime, and killed himself. The
bodies when taken out were so charred
that it was impossible to tell how they
had come to death, but as escape from
the burning building could easily have
been made, it seems reasonable to sup
pose they were dead or helpless when
the flames cIept upon them.
Chattin is Tuckerton man. Some
time ago he lived at Seaside Park,
going there to work for Mayor Math-
is in his contracting business as team
driver Plazziano in 1914 was indicted
convicted and fined 5000 for selling
liquor without license at his shack in
Pasadena. When the officers were
there Thursday they found dozen or
more quart whiskey bottles about his
place.
A few years ago there was another
fire at Pasadena, just across the way
from the brick plant, in which a man
and woman were burned to death and
a house destroyed. Relatives at that
time insisted that Plazziano had killed
them and burned the house to hide his
crime. OF course there was no proof
and all investigations failed to show
more than anienmity or jealousy be-
tween the two men.
The Brooks Brae brick plant was
built perhaps 10 or 20 years ago by
Philadelphia capital. The company
owned some 5000 acres of land, much
of which was underlaid with clay. For
some reason the plant had not been
operated, and Plazziano was kept there
as watchman. The big wooden
buildings were filed with machinery
for brick making. The loss will run
nm irf0 MANY thousands