Evening journal., 1922-12-01
BELIEVE KILLING
OF RECENT DATE


While playing along the tracks OF
the Baltimore and Ohio spur In the
rear OF the Delaware Engineering
Works. South Wilmington. yester-
day afternoon, boys found the badly
mutiiated body OF an Unidentified
white man lying in the weeds OF the
marshy land. Lying about three
feet from the body was found
bloodstained hatchet. evidently the
weapon with which the murder had
been committed. The dead mans
face was 80 badly battered that IL
was unrecognizabls. The eyes and
teeth were hacked out and a part of
the jaw missing. The body was
fully clothed except In places whore
thc cloihing had been burned
after having bsen oil soaked and
fred. Captain Of Detectives Benson
AZ noon today admitted that the
police have been unable 10 secure
any clue by which they might hope
TO ASCERTAIN the identity OF the
young man.
A possible clue 10 the Identity OF
the victim comes from Penn's Grove.
The police Of that town have asked
a representative OF the Journal TO
locate Louis Valero. an Italian bar
ber. who has been missing from the
shop operated by Comey Gambia, on
West Main street since last Sunday.
He left 10 visit Wilmington on sun
dsy and had not been seen o ieard
from since.
Coroner Bullock. who Is also con-
ducting an independent investigation.
said that ne IS Just as much IN the
dark as 10 the identity OF the mur-
dered man as any one. and that he
will not hold an inquest for the
present.
Captain Benson says he Is conf
dent the murder was committed
where the body was found. giving one
reason for that belief the finding oc
the bloody hatchet close by the body.
He does not think the man was muir
dered elsewhere and the body taken
10 the place where found. He says
hole in the mans chest seems 70 in
dicate that no was first shot. and the
blood stained hatchet that the muir
derer, finding his victim still living
after being shot completed the grue-
some task with the hstchet.
Near the body. which had evident
" been saturated with oil and set on
fire, we're found a hat purchased
from a Market street store. The
man wore a pair OF shoes bearing a
popular trade mark. on the cloth
ing was found tag showing that the
clothes had recently been cleaned by
a South Harrison street cleaner. De-
iectives interviewed all OF the per-
sons named but mons were able 10
shed any light on the mystery.
A blood stained vest, said TO have
been Of a different size than the
partially destroyed garment on the
dead man, was found a short dis
tance from where the body was
found and has been taken to the
detective bureau.
This vest. OF dark. striped ma
terial was almost cut in pieces. evi-
dently by a sharp knife. the buttons
torn of, and the garment sprinklsd
with fresh blood. The detectives are
Inclined 20 think this indicates that
the murdered man and another.
the owner OF the vest, had a fight
near where the body was found, and
that after finishing his victim with
the hatchet the murderer threw the
bloody. torn and cut garment away
In fear its discovery might connect
him with the crime.
The body at the morgue was view
ID by many persons this morning,
md while most OF them were direct
ID by curiosity. a number OF the
,allers said they were impelled 70
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