New Britain herald., 1917-07-11
SUPERFICIAL PROBE
 OF CRUGER MURDER
Police Near Body But Failed to
 Investigate Thoroughly

New York. July 11.-In his confess
 sion, a copy of which arrived in this
 city yesterday through diplomatic
 channels, Alfredo Cocchi, murderer of
 Ruth Cruger said the pit in the base
 ment of his shop in which he hid the
 body, was covered only by box on
 February IA. the day after the murder,
 when Detectives Lagarenne and Me-
 Gee made an examination of tho
 cellar
 According to Cocchi's story, the pit
 had been dug before the attack on the
 girl. Nothing had been put into the
 hole to cover the body. when the first
 inspection of the basement was made,
 CoCchi said. Neither the piece of
 wood floor which had been sawed out.
 nor the hole in the concrete had been
 replaced. according to the murderer,
 when he concealed the entrance to the
 hole or burrow by putting a box over
 it.
 COcChi accompanied the detectives
 on their first visit to the basement on
 February 14 when he was in the
 midst of his work of destroying evi-
 dence. In his confession he said the
 box in the corner of the room went entirely unobserved. In his confession he said the box in the corner of the room went entirely unobserved. In giving his explanation why his crime went undetected. although policemen
 surprised him when his preparations to conceal the body had only begun, Cocchi said in his confessions: '"The reputation l had with the police was so good that the police de- tectives said they were making an in- specton merely in order to say that they had done it."
 The document containing C0cchis statement to Joseph w. Grigg, the agent of the police department, which was sent by Ambassador Page to the state department and turned over to District Attorney Swann, did not tell why Cocchi had prepared the grave in advance. Cable messages had quoted him as saying that he meant to use the hole for storing gasoline. Crushed Skull With Club. Cocchi said he had never seen the girl before the morning of February 1 13, the day she entered his shop to 1 leave her skates to be sharpened. l After seeing her that time. he said he formed the plan for attacking her on ] her return in the afternoon for the l skates. When he first assa1led her in ] the rear room of the shop, where he lldu lHN NelSleQ ulduN NOluCIl on luG 1 pretext that he wished them to sign 1 a receipt. Cocchi said he threw his
 arms about her and sought to kiss 1 her. She screamed "Police!" he said 1 and frightened him so that he tried to l smother her. He did not succeed in ! this, the confession says, because she l was "too strong and resistant so he seized a heavy club of wood and struck her three times on the head, | crushing her skull
 Cocchi said that while she was still alive he dragged her to the hole in 1 the floor, 14 by IA inches. which had ! been used to admit a heat register, ] and dropped her through to the base ment.
 His confession made no mention of l the "ripper' attack, which was made 1 with knife, while the girl was l dying. according to pr. Otto H. l Schultze, who performed the au- topsy. The absence of reference to l this phase of the crime in the con- l fession and in messages from Bologna 1 indicates that the authorities there may not beinformed of it. The con- l fession makes no mention of the ropes l which were found knotted about the l body and ankles
 After the departure of the detec- 1 tives, who had interrupted his con l cealment of the body, Cocchi said he i resumed his work of filling in the grave and replacing the floor to make 1 discovery of the body more difficult. l The confession does not mention his 1 visit to Father Moretto at s Charlton 1 street, nor his visit to the Water i Street Mission. He said that, after his l flight from his shop on February 16. l he had used an assumed name and 1 had visited various steamship offices
 in an effort to work his way to Italy. 1 Cocchi did not tell the details of his 1 trip to Europe. In no part of his ! story did he speak of accomplices.
 The report of MT. Grigg said that when Cocchi was arrested it was ] found that he was carrying on an I ardent correspondence With a young 1 woman in Bologna. and that he. con ! his arrival, he began making love to 1 the girl ito amuse himself"
 l ALLEGED SPY WINS HONOKs. ] Copenhagen. July l1.-~Dr, Anton 1 Meyer Ger rharu who was Count Non 1 RernstOrf'S emissary to Emperor 1 William in conne>tio With the Lusi- 1 tania case and whose activities in the ! United States were the subject of ] much comment, has been promoted l to he ministerial director of the Ger 1 man colonial office.