STRANGE CRIMES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 260, 25 June 1932, Page 3

STRANGE CRIMES

JEALOUSY SUSPECTED CAUSE OF MYSTERIOUS DOUBLE MURDER. A young woman with her lips sealed by adhesive tape was found dying from head injuries on a vacant plot at Willston Park, Long Island, New York. A few feet away lay the body of a man who appeared to have worked free from his gag before being bludgeoned to death. This sinister discovery provided the starting point of the strangest murder mystery in the neighbourhood of New York since Starr Faithfull's body was washed ashore 011 Long Island last summer, and it was at first suggested by the district attorney in charge of the case that a woman was one of the murderers and that jealously was the motive. The woman victim, subsequently identified as Miss Rose Welk, a typist, aged 30, of Flushing, Long Island, was taken to hospital, and although the police kept vigil by her bedside, she died within an hour with_her story "untold. The dead man' was Edward Brinker, a salesman for a lighting company, aged 32, and living at Jackson Heights, New York. His wife was detained for questioning. She is a delicate woman, in her early twenties. Apparently the couple were taken in Brinkers' own car to Willston Park, gagged, dragged to the vacant plot, and there beaten to death, propbably by several persons. Brinker had put up a hard fight and incredible ferocity seems to have been used by the assailants. Ring Removed. Money in Brinker's pocket had not been touched, nor were his papers disturbed, but a ring had been removed violently from his finger. In contrast to this, however, jewellery on the womans' body had not been taken. The police ruled out robbery as a possible motive. Neighbours of the Brinkers at Jackson Heights describe them as a pleasant young couple, apparently enjoying a moderate income and paying their bills promptly. At Miss Welk's home, however, Brinker was regarded as a single man. She had lcnown him a year, it was said, and they were regarded as almost engagsd, and frequently had dinner v/ith the family. Brinker may have been forced to drive to the scene of the execution in his own car at the pistol point. Investigation by a Nassau County detective faiied to support the theory that jealousy was the motive of the murder and the district attorney confessed himself completely mystifted. Mrs. Brinker was not at home when detectives arrived at her apartment, but she returned at about noon, carrying several bundles. She appeared extremely puzzled at the presence of detectives and said she had been out all the morning trying to sell books to supplement her husband's earnings. Brinker, she added, had left home on one of his business trips. PoliceCaptain Burke said inquiries supported Mrs. Brinker's statements. She said she had not left the apartment all night and could not possibly have any cohectnion with the murder.