In the summer of 1907, New York City police were confronted with a chilling double murder mystery.
Two women had been found dead in different parts of the city on the same morning. One body was discovered in an areaway on East 90th Street, her throat marked by the grip of a killer’s fingers. The other was found inside a 22nd Street boarding house, a necktie knotted tightly around her neck.
At first, the cases seemed separate. But as detectives examined the bodies, a darker possibility emerged.
Both victims had been strangled. Both had been mutilated. And police began to fear that one person, driven by a brutal and deranged impulse, had murdered them both.
With only a vague description of a suspect and no clear trail to follow, officers cast a dragnet across the city, searching for the strangler before he could disappear into the streets of New York.
Seek Strangler of Two Women
NEW YORK. — At a late hour last night no arrests had been made in the cases of the two women who were strangled to death and whose bodies were discovered early yesterday. Detectives were unable to find any traces of the murderer.
The woman who was found dead with a necktie around her throat in a boarding house in 22nd Street has been identified under several names. It seems probable that she is Mrs. Sophia Kehrer, wife of Jacob Kehrer of Buffalo.
The police have found no clue to the identity of the body found in the area way in East 90th Street. It is believed the crimes were committed by the same person, as both bodies were mutilated in the same manner.
The bodies of the two women with the marks of the strangler on their throats caused the police to have cast a dragnet over the city to solve the double murder mystery.
The officers have a meager description of the suspect and are following that clue in the hope of securing more tangible evidence.
Finger Marks on Throat
One woman was found dead in an area way on East 90th Street. The marks of a thumb and forefinger were visible on her throat, and her face and neck were smeared with blood. She was about 27 years old. No one in the neighborhood heard sounds of struggle.
Victim in a Boarding House
The body of the other woman, also the victim of a strangler, was found in a 22nd Street boarding house. The woman came to the house with a man who gave his name as Davis. Her body was found in the room the couple had occupied. A necktie had been knotted tightly around her throat and she had been dead for several hours.
The blood vessels in the neck had been broken and the woman’s clothing was drenched in blood. No trace of the man has been found.
Both Bodies Mutilated
An examination of the bodies of the strangler victims disclosed the fact that both had been mutilated. This fact leads the police to believe that both murders were committed by a person or persons possessed of an insane desire to mutilate their victims.
Source: Iowa County Democrat. Mineral Point, Wis. August 1, 1907.
