Evening star., 1937-05-17

STAR, WASHINGTO
been poured On her clothing and ig.
nited. An autopsy revealed she died
Of burns not more than six hours
before the body was found ut 2:30
pm. The boy, James, aged 5, was
nearby. He lay as if asleep. He also
had been cut and burned.
Owen Connklly, neighbor Of the
Tiernan family, said he last saw them
Saturday 1T about 4 or pm, when
. man with . big car" drove them
away.
When the little boy was found In
the woods he mumbled the name
George"
Frank J. Brennan, . brakeman on
the Long Island Railroad, said q wom-
an and two small children boarded
his train at Brooklyn on Saturday
and alighted at Brookhaven at 11:19
am. that day. He described the
woman as between IS and So
Mrs. T1ernan Is % years old She
IS described by police as a short,
good looking, blond woman.
Brakeman Spurs Hunt.
BROOKHAVEN, N. Y, May II F).
J. Brennan, q brakeman on
the Long Island Railroad, today said
q woman and two children, aged about
8 and 4, boarded his train at Brooklyn
Saturday morning and got Oh at
Brookhaven at 11:19 am. that day.
The body Of the girl, stabbed and
burned, and a boy, badly wounded and
burned, were found In the woods
here yesterday afternoon.
The brakeman said the only other
passengers alighting at Brookhaven
Station Saturday were Summer res
ident and his wife. Police sought the
couple for questioning.
He said the woman with the children
carried a box about "a inches square,
She was between As and so years old,
wore glasses, q black coat with white
neckpiece and black hat. He could
not remember the color of her hair.
The train was crowded, he said, and
the woman and the two children occu-
pied one seat. Brennan was ques-
toned on the train today by members
Of the Suffolk County district attor-
ney's of1lce.
The wounded boy Is in Fay Avenue
Hospital. Detective Bert de Armitt
and Sergt. Walter Weeks said they
had elected some clues from his in
coherent mumblings.
Autopsy Performed.
An autopsy performed on the body
Of the girl showed that she died of
burns on on the face. hands, abdomen
and legs, and that she had been dead
no more than six hours before the
body was found at 2:30 pm. yester-
day.
There was a jagged, superficial cut
extending from the left to right
mastoid bones. The operators found
no skull fracture and no criminal at
tack.
Raymond Cataldo Of Riverhead, who
thought the youngsters were his chill
dren, whom he had not seen for q
number Of years, later found that his
children were safe with their mother
in Brooklyn.
The girls body was found yesterday
afternoon in a thicket a hundred
yards east Of this South Shore Long
Island village. Her throat was slasheo
and her body was burned. Gasoline
had been poured on her clothing anc
ignited.
The little boy, who said he was
her brother. was found a few fee,
away. He lay as if asleep.
The Identification of the girl anc
boy was difficult police work.
Police said an effort apparentl,
had been made to kill them both
with a knife or ak, the slayer at.
tempting to cover up evidence by burn.
ing both bodies.
The girls body was found by 8
couple walking through the thicket
Investigators found the boy two hour.
later. Medical men believed the at.
tacks had been about IL hours before
The only clues the police had al
first were the feverish replies of tht
little boy to their many questions
but he was incoherent in many cases
Joe did It," the boy mumbled
'Mommy's hurt, too"
But later he said "Mommy hurt lie. ;
and then Joe bought US ice cream
and then hurt"
Where did you go after Dime,
today?" he was asked. In the woods, >
he replied. struggling with his words
The shoes OF both children had beer
removed, leading to the belief they
were taken away to hide possible
identification traces. Despite this ap-
parent precaution. the fact the bodie,
were not wholly burned caused police
to conjecture the slayer had left thu
scene in haste.
A butcher knife and a pair of scis.
sors, both bloodstained, and an un.
stained axe were found near where the
children were discovered. A bottle
partly filled with gasoline also lay
nearby.
Both children had blond hair anc
blue eyes and looked alike. Their
clothing was Of good quality, the girl,
pink dress, the boys sailor suit
with black top and blue trousers.