Year: 1873




A Strange Case OF Mistaken Identity.


A very remarkable case Of mistaken
identity has just been revealed in Brook
lyn. .'


The New York Herald of the 18th ult.,
says On the morning of the Sd of July the
body of man, about 30 years Of age, was
found in the water at the foot of Vandyke
street. The hand of the deceased was
firmly secured by a rope to satchel, and
the satchel was found to contain seven
large flat-irons. 1t was also discovered
that the deceased had a bullet-hole in his
head, and box of percussion caps and
nineteen pistols cartridges in the hip
pockets of his pants. Some believed that
the man had committed suicide, while
others were of the opinion that he had
met his death by foul play If he had
been murdered, it was argued, he would
have been robbed, but it was found on
searching his clothing that he had $21 in
his possession. Strange as it may appear,
there was nothing about the body except
the clothing which would lead to his iden-
tity. Coroner Jones being notified, caused
the body to be moved to the Brooklyn
Morgue, where it was reviewed by large
number Of persons who had missing
friends whose appearance corresponded
with that of the deceased.


Four days after the body had been
taken to the Morgue, a lady residing in
Grand street, q. D., whose son-in-law has
been missing for two or three weeks,
called at the morgue and positively rec
ognized the deceased as that of the miss
ing man Charles Diehl Diehl, she said,.
had married her daughter contrary to her
wishes, and they had not lived very hap
PLY together. He went off, she said in a.
fit of anger, and had in all probability
committed suicide. His wife knowing
his disposition better than her mother did,
said "No," Z" if that is the body of Char
ley he was murdered. He never committed
suicide, for it was not like him." The
uncle of Diehl also visited the morgue, as
as well as others who knew him, and they
all were firmly convinced that the unfortu-
nate young man had come to a sad end.
His family were thrown in great grief and
set to work at once to make preparation
for his funeral Diehl had been employed
as agent for the Atlantic Life insurance
Company in New York, and being pretty
well known in the vicinity in which he
resided, the funeral was largely attended.
The body was put in the family plot and
Mrs. Diehl mourned the loss of husband
to whom, with all his faults, she was
deeply attached, and dressed in the habili-
ments of widow Time wore on and
nothing occurred until yesterday to lead
her to suspect for moment that she was
not widow. f3. 5s.5


Yesterday to her unbounded astonish-
ment, she received letter from her hus-
at Key West. He wrote that he regretted
leaving her SO abruptly; regretted his
hasty temper; said he was well, and hoped
that nothing had occurred since his depart
ure from the city that might cause her any
uneasiness further than what she might
feel concerning her erring husband.


1t required considerable effort on the
part of Mrs. Diehl, to read the letter, for,
as may be imagined, she almost tainted.
She would have been more surprised had
her husband, whom she supposed dead and
buried in the family plot, walked in and
held out his hands TO her, but the letter
was nearly as great She had buried some
one for her husband--perhaps somebody
else's husband, and who could it be ? Who
the man is who was buried by Mrs. Diehl,
is mystery which will probably never be
solved, for now the remains have passed
beyond recognition. rrf,..ft Ito


C8~ Grin Dubois, resident Of San Jose,
California, had in his employ young Chi
naman cook. The Chinaman fell in love
with Dubois daughter, aged seventeen,
but tho young lady did not reciprocate the
passion. He obtained possession Of her
photograph, and she demanded its return.
Last week he gave the picture back TO her.
and in the same instant fired three shots
at her from revolver Her steel corsets
turned the bullets, and she escaped. The
Chinamau blew his own brains ont