The Washington times., 1922-05-28
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she might have eloped from the institu-
tion with former employe OF it. 1t was
dreary country. Eight persons had been
missing from it within year or two.
Lillian White was defective, poor girl,
whose mother had died in an insane asy-
lum and whose father for many years
before his death was paralytic. She was
one of the seventeen children OF this pair.
fourteen Of whom still live.
She would have been forgotten but for
rich and influential persons living a com
paratively short distance from Leftwich
Village, in which is a State asylum. These
rich and influential persons-which include
Mrs. Hartman, widow of K. H. Hartman,
the railroad king; Mrs. Carl Rumsey. the
railroad kings daughter. and Mr.. and Mrs.
Frank Vanderlip, the retired banker and
his wifc--had appealed for help 10 the New
York police force. They told Commissioner
Enright that there was in that region a
large group Of backswoodsmen and their
families who we!e intermarrying to such
an extent that brothers married sisters.
He called in Mrs. Mary Hamilton, a
his staff. He told her about the condi-
tions in and about Leftwch Village
"Go up and see what you can do to
clear up the mysteries" he said
Mrs. Hamilton began with the heap OF
bones at the undertaken shop. She re.
called Captain Grant Williams and the
Dominic La Rosa case.
Mrs. Hamilton telephoned, asking Cap
tain Williams to join her with his pound
of plastilina, the small wooden spoon
and the metal-tipped hooks that consti.
tuted his box of scientific tools. He went
from his home at Patchogue, l.. l. The
undertakPrs shop became the Sc enc Of
quick and striking Transformation. A days
work accomplished the restoration Of the
head and shoulders to what seemed a sec.
ond Lillian White. roll Of newspapers,
tightly wrapped was slipped into the
skull. forming a support. The lower part
was thrust into a hole hastily bored in
{ soap box. Then Captain Williams dipped
his vaselined fingers into the plastilina.
He spread it thnly but evenly upon that
part of the face where the flesh is thin
nest. That is over the forehead. He had
thin delicatey tipped fingers, like those
OF a sculptor. But even sculptors fingers
may 20 astray.
When Captain Williams's trained eyes,
supplemented by his glasses, detected a
lump he smoothed it away by means OF
tiny bowled wooden spoon. He proceeded
to the other spot where the flesh was
thinnpst. the Cheokhones. and covered
them smoothly with plastilina. Next the
jawbone and the upper and lower lips
wcro formed. From the upper and neither
Jaws the white teeth protruded as they
had in life. The lips above and below
them we're long and thin. The plastilina
was more heavily massed upon the cheeks.
Captain Williams. not knowing whether
the victim Of the crime had been fat or
thin, filed the cheek space with an aver.
age amount OF the substance. They would
be such cheeks as person OF norma.
weight would have. They would be neither
thick nor thin.
His later work was to cover the bruised
skull with hair. Three distinct fractures
were shown. One at the top Of the
head One lower and on the same side
and ono toward the back OF the skull.
The eyes Of the police officer saw at once
that death had been dealt the girl by
cruel and repeated blows from heavy
instrument A stone. or hammer, might
have fallen upon her head, driven with
the force of haf.insane fury.
The story Of the finding Of the girls
hair is one Of the nearly incredible tales
which prove once again that truth is
stranger than fiction.
CAPTAIN Grant Williams takes up here
tho thread of the story:
THE body had lain there for seven
months. 1t was lying OH its side. One
side was imbedded deep in the soil and
rOtting leaves. That side retained some
OF it's lgamcnts and a few remnants OF
MUSCLES But the upper side had been
piclicd clean by the crows. Every shred
of flesh had been eaten from the face and
body bv the crows. But a curious thing
had happened to her hair. The muscles
beneath had gradually dried. The winds
had beaten at the flying hair and had
gradually loosened It from the drying
scalp.
FINALLY It had been lifted almost as
cleanly from the head as though the girl
had been scalped Those who found II
in the woods thought at first II was wig.
We found not only that II fitted per
fectlv, but that the small piece OF skin
adbering to II fitted exactly upon the spot
from which, the remaining portion OF dry