Popular.com

September 7th, 1913.

The torso of a woman's body, which was found Friday afternoon on the shore of the Hudson River at Shadyside, New Jersey, is the mute evidence

of the murder of a woman about 25 years old, who was slain within the last five days, and then

mutilated. The finding of the torso was peculiar. It was first seen by Albert Ban, 11 years old, who lives on the shore of the river at Shadyside.

He noticed the odd-looking bundle floating near the pier in front of his home about 8 o'clock Friday morning and wondered what it was.

When he started to get it, his sister, Mary, 18 years old, told him to leave it alone.

He did.

Several hours later he again saw the bundle, this time it was nearer the shore.

Despite his sister's objections, he used a long stick and pulled the curious bundle ashore.

Both started back in terror when they saw the gruesome thing that they had pulled ashore.

They at once told John Flannery, a saloon keeper who lived nearby of their find.

He told the police of North Bergen.

An examination of the remains from which the head, arms, and legs had been cut,

revealed the fact that the woman had not been in the water more than four days,

that she had not been drowned because of the absence of water in her lungs,

that she was between the ages of 20 and 30 years, and that the severing of the limbs and head had been done by one expert in surgery. The nature of the

cuts showed that a long blade had been used. Three small birth marks on the right shoulder blade and a plain pillow made from ordinary

ticking on which was a tag in the name of a Newark manufacturer are the only clues to the identity

of the victim. The torso was found in the pillow which was stuffed with black feathers.

Around the bundle was a rope and a fine wire of the kind used by milliners. This apparent care in wrapping the remains leads the

North Bergen police to believe that a weight had been tied in but had fallen out. The police of North Bergen, in an effort to find

...