The New York herald., 1922-12-28
POLICE SAY BOY With
TOY GUN shot GIRL
Bullet Had Upward Course
After Striking Little
Theresa Mccarthy.
ANY<MOTIVE LACKING
So-Called Clews Prove to
Be Based Upon False
Impressions.
CHILDREN VIEW CORPSE
Mother Says Daughter Had No
Playmates Except Of Her
Own Sex.
CHILDREN VIEW CORPSE

Another child. probably a boy with
hew toy gun. shot and killed ten
>ear-old Theresa Mccarthy in her
home at 562 Morgan avenue, Brook
iyr. about noon on Tuesday in the
opinion Of detectives who spent yes
terday investigating the case and who
to-day will comb the neighborhood
for the youngster, who may have
killed the girl by accident.
Entire absence OF motive, an utter
lack of material clews, and the course
the bullet took through the heart and
into lung led Capt. Daniel Carey, in
charge of the Eleventh district de-
tectives. to the theory OF accidental
zilling by another child. Coinciden-
tally. several OF the apparently nnys-
terious features of the case were
eliminated, and the story OF the ''man
with a sailors hat' who was supposed
TO have followed Theresa on more
than one occasion was pronounced
bunk" by Carey.
Just where her Christmas tree had
stood only few hourse before in the
1ving room of the four room apart
fnent a white satin coffin containing
the body OF the little girl stood last
night Mrs. Pauline Mccarthy, the
mother. sat beside st and cried steadily.
children who had known Theresa some
small and some large. walked in and
through the living room in :. scared
sort of way and took last look at
the body OF their playmate. All day
long much the. same crowd of yourg-
sters had stood about the front OF the
house. II Capt. Carey's theory is cor
rect one of the boys In the crowd may
have been the one responsible for the
Death.
As soon as the police began T. careful
examination OF the room they found
that tho lock on the door was of the
patented spring variety and that the
fact that It was locked when Mrs. Nc
,,arthy arrived home was OF no sgnifi-
canoe whatever. The window in the
Kitchen, too. first reported to have been
opened about eight inches from the bot
tom, actually had been opened from the
;op, disposing OF the theory that the
person responsible possibly escaped that
way. The autopsy. performed by Medi-
cal Examiners Charles Norris and
Charles Wuest, showed that the bullet
That killed the girl was OF 30 caliber
and the course was eighty upward.
They contended. and Carey agreed that
this showed the bullet had been fired
by some one about the size Of the VIC
Tim and that II an adult had fired at
the girl the course of the bullet would
have been downward.
my investigation" said Capt. Carey
las. night, "leads me TO believe that
This little girl was killed By another
child, most likely a boy, who owned
toy gun and who became frightened
when the girl fell down, and ran away
Mrs. Mccarthy. who is wholly with
out any theory as TO what may have
happened. contends that Theresa had no
boy playmates who would have entered
the place. but says she sometimes let
little girl friends In. Theresa. she said,
had been given strict instructions
against letting boys into the apart
ment.
As far as the police were able TO
ascertain no lad living. nearby had been
given toy gun for Christmas ami
thus. while the theory now held ap-
pears the only tenable one. II may. be
some time before the police find the
youngster who was responsible.