New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-07-20
Girl Murdered.
Body Hidden in
Dingy Areaway
Mystery Surrounds Death
of Unidentified Woman
Found in an Alleyway
in Tenement District
Skull Crushed by Blow
Theory of Fall Disproved;
Police Think She Was
Brought There Dead

TIA hodv Of we'll dressed young
.,or.an. about twenty-five years old,
wss found yesterday in dingy area
uav of the tenement house at 40 Rut-
ave Street. She had been killed by a
s,ox which fractured the base of her
sknIl. From the position and condi-
ia, Of the body when discovered the
.,.sorisies believe the woman was
murdered elsewhere and brought to
this spot by her slayer.
Nothing could be found on her per-
am that might give the police clue
N her identity or nationality. DR..
rbsrles n. Norris. chief medical ex-
SINNER. performed an autopsy. Aside
from the wound at the base of the
skull. no marks were found on any
mart of the body. DR.. Norris said he
believed the woman was of Irish ex-
traction.
The murder was discovered by Mrs.
Rosie Frank, janirress of the house,
shortly before s o'clock in the morn
ing when she went to clean up the
small court where the body law. The
SPOT at the end of numerous little wind
ing areaways below the street level
which, the police are convinced, could
only be reached with the aid of light
By one thoroughly acquainted with the
premises
The suggestion that the woman might
have dropped from an adjoining roof or
- 10
discarded by the police because Of the
position in which the body was found
The court is only about 5 feet long
and fet wide, and was partly filled
with rubbish, cans and boxes. The
woman was found lying fat on her
back close against one of the walls
with one hand by her side and the
other bent across her breast Her
clothes were smoothed out to the tops
Of her shoes, showing no evidence of a
struggle or a fall
Comb May Prove Identity
About q foot away lay 8 black silk
turban nat in which was a large brown
comb Of a peculiar make. The police
hope to obtain some clew to her ideri-
tity through the comb.
The theory Of a fall from a window
"1S -NA S-AIA O-SN4S0A-CO, Lu6 pOlLCe say,
By the declarations of tenants that the
victim had not lived in this or neigh
boring tenement houses. Mrs. Frieda
Weiner. who lives on the first floor of
the Rutgers Street house, with a win
dow Of her apartment opening onto the
court, says she had been sitting I'D all
Sunday night and yesterday morning
at this window because of the heat and
that she heard no sound of any drop
ping body or struggle in the areaway.
That the murderer was familiar with
The premises was pointed out by the
janltress. Mrs. Frank says that she
had been locking the door leading from
me hrst floor areaway to the lower
!syel for the past two weeks to keep
children from throwing refuse there.
Sunday night however, she merely
fastened the door with a wooden peg.
door leading into the count was
fastened n q similar manner. The
slayer must have discovered in some
way, she says, that these doors were
not locked. When she visited the
place yesterday morning she says she
found the doors still fastened with the
wooden pegs. They could easily have
been replaced by the murderer as be
left the house.
Dr. Norris said that had the woman
committed suicide by leaping from a
window she would have been found
crumpled up and her clothes disar-
ranged. 1t Is considered strange by the
police that no blood marks were found
on any part of the floor leading to the
court. This was explained by the medi-
cal examiner, who said that the damage
was internal, and that blood began to
how freely only when the head was
lifted from the ground by Dr. Rouss, of
Gouyerneur Hospital, who had been
summoned first to the scene This
would seem to indicate that the woman
mad been but recently slain.
Question of Time Uncertain
Against this, however, is the word of
MRS. Chava, who keeps fruit stand
outside the tenement house next to the
areaway. She says that she was at her
stand at o'clock yesterday morning
ana tnat she was sure no woman was
carried into the place since that time
Inc suggestion was then offered that
lne woman may have been led to the
place and then murdered.
marry Mandel, who runs a restaurant
at 40 Rutgers Street, after looking at
ene BODY, identified it as that of a girl
VINO mad been in his place with a man
ABOUT ~ o'clock Sunday morning He
sad they had some breakfast, that the
man appeared to be an Italian. They
SSohyersed with each other, he said, but
ne qidn remember whether they spoke
with foreign accent or not
4 Lithuanian saloonkeeper of the
in:elghDorhood told the police he be-
Lived the girl was of his nationality
de recalled q fellow countryman of his
eSmpialning of having heard nothing
81 ms daughter since she attended a
aa, AN picnic Sunday. Captain
m miir Carey and the police of the
;raolson Street stationsare investigat-
ing the case.
Inc oody was clothed in dark blue
astge SKIRT, pink crepe de chine waist
WIN WIN blue trimmings, black silk lace
ossoehihgs and black oxfords. She was
anGct I'VE feet four inches tall and
weighed about $50 pounds.