MONEY-LENDER'S FATE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 79, 29 April 1909, Page 4

MONEY-LENDER'S FATE

ASSAILANT'S EXPEDIENT TO OBTAIN DIAMOND KINO.

In terrible and mysterious circumstances Hermann Cohen, a German Jew, who carried on business as a money-len-der, was iound dying in his office in Harold street, Sunderland, lie oniv lived a few minutes after being discovered. Cohen, who was about 40 years of age, was a naturalised British subject, and had lived most of his life m Sunderland, where lie was much esteemed in the Jewish community, lie worked hard, had an extensive connection, and was visited in his little office by clients at all hours of the day and night.

Mr Conen used as an office the font room of the building. Next to it is the dining-room, and next to that again the kitchen. Any noise of a disuirbane; would thcrelore have to penetrate many wails before it could reach the oth r residents oi the house, who were at the time of the murder occupying the kitchen.

The house was occupied by Mr Solo men Yanikelowitz and Mr Cohen jointly. They are relatives, and all, including a child niece oi Mr Yamkelowitz, live together. Mr Vamkelowilz stales that o i the .Monday night there were the usual number of callers to make payments and to do other business, for Mr Cohen is not only a moneylender, but a dealer n drapery and clothing as well. According to Mr Yaiukelowitz, Mv Cohen was last seen alive some time after seven o'clock. He had been hi tin front room, and requiring some articl , he had gone to the kitfchen for it, returning afterwards to his office. ROBBERY THE MOTIVE. A little later the bell rang. Little notice was at lirst taken, for Mr Cohen was in the habit of answering the callers himself. Again the bell rang, and ..ir Yauikelowitz asked his wife to answer the door, as it was evident that Mr Cohen was not there. Mrs Yaiukelowitz answered, " Yes, he is in, becaus: he was through here just now."

On the bull ringing a third time, Mrs Y'amkolowilz, concluding that Mr (.'own must have gone out, mut to tlif uoor, and found someone there desiring o make a payment. This money was taken, and a return was made to the kitchen, wlK'rc tile receipt of the money was entered up hi the book, aad the book returned to tin; caller. Then a visit to the front room or office was necessary, and the murder was discovered, Mrs 'Yamkolowitz found Mr C'olicu lying in a pool of blood, face downwards, and horribly injured. Jus skull was fractured in no fewer than six places, and the little finger of his left hand had been cut off, obviously for the purpose of securing a valuable diamond ring which Mr Cohen wore. Mr Yamkolowitz says that about a quarter of an hour had elapsed between seeing Mr Cohen alive and finding him mortally injured. Seemingly the person who made the attack came in at the front door, which was kept, on " the sneck," and after the murder escaped oy the same entranc".

Xo one, so far as can lie ascertained, was seen to leave the house in a hurry, but the street is a lonely one, and the hurried exit of anyone in the dark might easily go unnoticed. The latch 0"f the front door was found to lie down after the accomplishment of the crime, wher - as in the ordinary way it was kept up. At first it was'thought that the murder might have been the result of a lit of fury of some client of Mr Cohen's, but the lo'ss of the ring and the disappearance of some .C 25 which the books showed Cohen had received point pretty conclusively to the fact that robbery win the motive of the crime. So savage and mysterious a crime in a quiet and extremely respectable rcsi-' dential quarter has caused the greatest excitement in the town. Supt. Hatley has devoted the whole of his detectiv stall to the investigation. MAX IN" iYOMAX'jS CLOTHE*.

The appearance of the skull wounds suggest that they were inflicted with some weighty instrument other than a hatchet, as was in some, quarters at first thought. The victim must have been rendered unconscious bv the iirst blow, for, alt Hough relatives of Mr Cohen were in another part of the house at the time, they heard no noise to excite suspicion that a brutal murder was in progress. A remarkable theory advanced is that a "woman" who called to see Mr Cohen was really a man in woman's clothes. Hut whether the crime was really committed by a client or a tramp is a matter about which th t . police are yet undecided. Mr Cohen was very generous—he gave liberally to Jewish charities—and this fact no doubt created a popular impression of considerable means. Most of his clients were work-ing-class people. -Call or write," said his advertisements. His friends say that he had not an enemy in the world. One suggestion made is that some tramp or desperate criminal looked through the blinds from the street into Mr Cohen's room, and saw him putting some money away. After watching the people going in at the door to make payments, and noting that the street dour was only on the latch, the man may have seized his opportunity to dash in, strike down the money-lender with a heavy stone or weight, and escape willi the money and the. diamond ring. Bearing on tile tramp theory, it is mentioned that onlv on the Sunday a tramp threate t a local resident ' with an open knife on the householder refusing to give him alms. I

The police have searched very thoroughly the gardens which front tiie house's of Harold street, in the hope of discovering anything in the way of weapons, or anything else that may have been thrown awav there by the murderer during his High!. These investigations, however, were fruitless. Jlujnr Kichardson took his famous bloodhounds to the scene of the murder, but tbev were of no use.