The New York herald., 1922-05-04
Battered Skull, Hair and
Bones Are Reconstructed
to Identify Girl.
POLICE HAVE A SUSPICION
Sisters Of Lillian White Col
lapse When They See Plas-
ter Cast of Victim.

A skull, hank of hair and the
bones of a human skelton found Aprii
3 on mountain top near Willow
Grove, Rockland county, n. Y, and
reconstructed with modelling clay into
the semblance of living woman, were
identified last night as the BODY of
Lillian White, aged "a who disap-
peared from Letchworth Village Home
for Feeble Minded Girls on Septem-
ber l3. 1921. She is believed to have
been murdered.
Two sisters of the dead girl made
the identification. SO lifelike was the
face they confronted that they became
hysterical. Their recognition was in
stantaneous.
my God, it is Lillian. / can tell by
the face 1t is the face of my dead
sister"
Identified by Sister.
This was the cry OF Mrs. Rose Doran,
aged 3S, of 81 Troope street. Brooklyn.
Her own face. gray as death from the
shock bore a striking resemblance to
the grewsome clay model.
The other sister. Mrs. Pasuuale Copper
tino. aged 81, of 140s Bergen street.
Brooklyn. collapsed When she was re-
vived she swore vengeance On the girls
murderer.
The Identification took place in the
apartment of Mrs. Mary f. Hamilton.
policewon,ae attached 10 the Chief In
spector's office, at $50 West Fifteenth
street. For three days former Police
Capt. Grant Williams had worked on the
reconstruction. The successful result
ei his efforts will lead. it is believed.
to the arrest of Lillian's slayer.
Two boys. sons OF Haverstraw
farmer. found the skeleton on the sum-
NIT OF mountain near Willow Grove.
They thought the bones were those of
dog. Coroner William Stahlman of
Rockland county said the skeleton was
that of woman who had probably been
killed by a blow that fractured her
skull.
II is said to be the second time in
criminal history an unrecognizabIe skull
has been transformed INFO a semblance
of It's former shape. Six years ago
Capt Williams identified one of the
Black Hand victims Of the famous
murder farm in Brooklyn by this
method.
Small CIews to work On.
When Mrs Hamilton was assigned to
this case two weeks ago she had only
the battered skull and skeleton for a
clew She had been the first woman to
serve under Capt. Williams when he was
chief of the Missing Persons Bureau
under Arthur Woods. and she asked
him to try and help her with the identi-
fication. He volunteered his services
and Tuesday they took the result OF
their work to the Letchworth Village
Home near Haverstraw.
The reconstructed head was at once
recognized by DIR. Charles S. Little the
superintendent. and two OF the nurses,
as that Of Lillian White. They said she
had run away after being scolded and
punished for writing n letter to man.
The records of the institution showed
Lillian had been brought there from
Bedford reformatory
Lillian. Mrs. Hamilton said. was not
vicious. but had a violent temper. Her
physical characteristics corresponded
almost exactly with those deduced by
Capt. Williams from the reconstructed
head and bust.
Capt. william A. Jones OF the Haver-
straw police has good line on the man
he thinks killed his girl" said Mrs.
Hamilton. I'VE hope to bring him in
within the next day or So"
Mrs. Hamilton was head of the
women's Precinct until Commissioners
Enrlght appointed Mrs George l.. Loft
special deputy. She Is the first woman
appointed member Of the police force
and made o reputation in the Ruth
Cruger case. which resulted in the estab-
lishment of the missing parsons bureau.