WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:10.880 Althuler got calm. 2 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:16.399 May twenty ninth, nineteen eleven, lying in the bath tub 3 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:22.280 of his flat. Henry Sheeb, thirty years old, five eighteen 4 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:27.879 East seventy eighth Street, was found dead this afternoon. It 5 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:31.359 is believed he had been dead at least three weeks. 6 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:37.439 The body was badly decomposed. Sheib and his wife lived 7 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:40.560 in the apartment, and about a month ago she went 8 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:45.399 to Cleveland, where his relatives live. Sheib was a chauffeur 9 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:48.640 and tenants in the house noticed him about several days 10 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:52.679 after his wife went away. As no rent had been 11 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:57.359 paid in the last month. Superintendent Daniel Smith this afternoon 12 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:01.840 decided to open the apartment using a pass key. He 13 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:06.359 opened the door and immediately noticed an odor. He went 14 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:09.000 through the rooms, and when he reached the bathroom, he 15 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:14.239 discovered the body. Policeman mal Day of the sixty seventh 16 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:19.359 Street station summoned doctor Brown of the emergency hospital, who 17 00:01:19.400 --> 00:01:22.439 said that the man had been dead at least three weeks. 18 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:27.439 The surgeon believed apoplexy was the cause of death. In 19 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:31.159 the bathtub was four inches of water, but the man's 20 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:35.000 face was not covered. It is supposed that he was 21 00:01:35.040 --> 00:02:05.519 stricken as he was about to take a bath. True 22 00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:11.759 crime historian presents Unsolved, a special edition of Yesterday's News 23 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:17.240 exploring one of history's most baffling mysteries. Episode three hundred 24 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:20.400 and sixty eight tells the sad story of a woman 25 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:24.479 found dead in a bathtub, her body so decomposed that 26 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:28.199 police first assumed that it is her husband because they 27 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:32.599 heard she is sick and convalescing somewhere. When the truth 28 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:36.400 is revealed and the husband found alive, he soon becomes 29 00:02:36.439 --> 00:02:41.919 a suspect as officials assume murder. But is the chauffeur, 30 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:46.800 murderer or the victim of police harassment. I'm true crime 31 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:50.879 historian Richard O. Jones, and for your puzzlement and indignation, 32 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:56.800 I give you an acid bath for the suffragist. The 33 00:02:56.840 --> 00:03:09.479 Lilian She mystery May thirtieth, nineteen eleven. The discovery of 34 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:12.919 a woman's body in a bathtub partly filled with a 35 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:18.240 quicklime or acid solution intended to destroy identification at number 36 00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:22.240 five eleven East seventy eighth Street is believed today by 37 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:26.759 the police to furnish another murder mystery. When the body 38 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:29.639 was found late yesterday by the man in charge of 39 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:33.759 the apartment, it was believed that Harry A. Sheeb, thirty 40 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:37.319 one years old, a chauffeur, and he was supposed to 41 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:42.199 have died from apoplexy. Today, Sheib is a prisoner at 42 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:46.800 police headquarters, suspected of knowing something about the strange disappearance 43 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:50.800 of his wife, Lilian, a suffragist worker and writer, and 44 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:53.960 the body found in the bathtub, which proved to be 45 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:58.879 a woman's and is believed to be hers. Although paying 46 00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:01.479 rent on the seventy eight eighth Street apartment until a 47 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:04.840 few days ago, Sheib has been living at number nine 48 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:09.039 ninety three Amsterdam Avenue. His wife has not been seen 49 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:13.719 since early in February. When arrested early today at one 50 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:17.759 hundred and tenth Street and Broadway, Shib denied his identity, 51 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:21.199 but finally admitted it, and when told at the East 52 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:24.680 sixty seventh Street police station that he was suspected of 53 00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:29.319 killing his wife, he turned pale and exclaimed to Lieutenant Breen, 54 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:33.600 my god, that isn't my wife. Up to that time 55 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:36.279 he had not been told anything about the finding of 56 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:40.839 the woman's body. It was Dan Smith, in charge of 57 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:44.360 the furnished apartment buildings at number five eleven East seventy 58 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:48.800 eighth Street, who found the body yesterday afternoon, after Sheb 59 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:52.920 had failed to pay the rent several days overdue. He 60 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:56.240 opened the door with his brass key, and the air 61 00:04:56.279 --> 00:04:59.560 that rushed out caused him hastily to close the door 62 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:04.879 again and run for a policeman. They climbed the fire escape, 63 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:09.079 opened the windows, and when it was possible, went into 64 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:14.560 the apartment. In the bath tub, faced downward was a 65 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.399 body that, at a rough estimate, had been there for 66 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:22.279 three or four weeks. Clinging to it were fragments of underclothes. 67 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:26.600 One leg was sticking out of the tub. There were 68 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:28.839 three or four inches of liquid in the tub, and 69 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:33.439 doctor Brown, who was called from the Presbyterian Hospital, thought 70 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:38.600 it was water, although it seared the hands. Watchman Smith, 71 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:41.680 who was a sort of supervisor with the authority of 72 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:45.480 the usual janitor, had been told that missus Sheeb was 73 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:49.959 in Cleveland, Ohio, and it was concluded the unrecognizable mass 74 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:53.480 of flesh was the remains of Sheeb, who had died 75 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:57.040 from apoplexy when preparing to take a bath, and it 76 00:05:57.079 --> 00:06:02.040 was so reported by the police. The strange burning effect 77 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:05.199 of the fluid was explained after the body had been 78 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:08.560 removed to the Morgue on the order of Cordner Holzausen. 79 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:11.800 The Morgue attendant said the body was not only that 80 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:15.040 of a woman instead of a man, but that it 81 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:17.879 had been immersed in a solution of quicklime or some 82 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:22.560 acid for the purpose of destroying it or preventing identification. 83 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:28.120 The police at once got busy. They found in the 84 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:32.879 rooms a large quantity of suffragist writings, evidently the handiwork 85 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:38.199 of Missus Sheeb. Copy paper with completed and uncompleted articles 86 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:41.879 was everywhere, but no woman's clothing could be found anywhere. 87 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:45.759 Detectives Owen and mc mahon were assigned to the case 88 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:48.519 and found on a slip of paper the address of 89 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:53.160 a Broadway garage and began questioning persons living in the house. 90 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:58.240 Smith told them that last February Sheeb, who had been 91 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:01.279 living in an apartment twenty three with the wife, told 92 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.839 him Missus Sheeb had gone to Cleveland to visit his 93 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:07.920 relatives and might not be back for some time. Sheeb 94 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:10.959 said he would live elsewhere during her absence, but would 95 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:14.000 keep the apartment in return every week and pay the rent. 96 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:17.680 For several weeks. He came regularly and paid or sent 97 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:22.800 the money by messenger recently. According to Smith, Sheb came 98 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:25.399 with the rent and said, in case I should get 99 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:27.959 a few days shy with the rent, don't get uneasy 100 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:30.759 and go into my place. I'll be around all right 101 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:35.480 and make good, so don't go inside. The rule in 102 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:38.040 the furnished apartment house is that the rent must be 103 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:42.079 paid every week. Smith said he became suspicious at the 104 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:46.319 way Sheb talked, although he couldn't tell why. At any rate, 105 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:50.120 when the rent due last Thursday was not forthcoming and 106 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:53.399 nothing was seen of Sheeb, Smith decided to take a 107 00:07:53.399 --> 00:07:59.160 look inside. With the result already detailed, the detectives got 108 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:01.879 a photograph of Sheb and started out to look for 109 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:05.120 the man whose obituary was in all the afternoon papers. 110 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:08.040 They learned at the garage that he drove a car 111 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:11.480 for George Wyeth of number twenty eight eighty one Broadway, 112 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:16.360 a wealthy man interested in an accounting machine. At the 113 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:20.040 garage where mister Wyeth keeps his machine, they learned that 114 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:23.000 the chauffeur had it out and remained in hiding in 115 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:27.480 the neighborhood until after one o'clock this morning, when Sheb 116 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:30.600 drove up. They put him under arrest, telling him he 117 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:34.919 was wanted for not having a chauffeur's license. She denied 118 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:38.519 his identity, saying his name was Smith, but when taken 119 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:42.200 to the garage, the employees there said, that's sheb all right. 120 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:47.399 He was then confronted with photographs of himself and admitted 121 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:52.360 his identity. When asked why he denied it, he jauntily replied, oh, 122 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:56.000 John D. Rockefeller himself would deny his identity if anyone 123 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:58.480 came along and ask him questions, and he didn't know 124 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:02.200 their business of people do it. It was learned at 125 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:05.480 the East sixty seventh Street station, according to the police, 126 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:09.360 that she really has no license and that it had 127 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:13.399 escaped the notice of authorities. Although he was recently arrested 128 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:17.360 and fined for having a smoking car, the prisoner thought 129 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:20.600 he was under arrest for the simple misdemeanor until the 130 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:24.039 police suddenly told him of their suspicions, and then he exclaimed, 131 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:27.639 my god, that's not my wife. Although the police say 132 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:30.720 nothing had been told him of the finding of the body, 133 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:35.080 sheb seemed very cock sure. At first. He did a 134 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:40.200 lot of talking and several times contradicted himself, but nothing 135 00:09:40.279 --> 00:09:43.320 he said, according to the police, threw any light on 136 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.200 the whereabouts of his wife, nor could they get from 137 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:49.120 many information that might lead to the discovery of her 138 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:54.120 whereabouts if alive. Sheib told the police that his wife 139 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:58.399 was miss Lillian Glover, an orphan of Holyoake, mass When 140 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:01.919 he married her five years ago in New Jersey, she 141 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:05.639 was then twenty years old. He seemed to have only 142 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:08.840 a vague idea as to their relatives and where they lived. 143 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:12.759 She did a lot of writing on suffragist matters, he said, 144 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:15.039 but he didn't know what she did with her articles 145 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:17.879 and never knew her to get any pay for them. 146 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:21.720 He said she was intensely jealous of him and imagined 147 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:24.000 he was trying to flirt with every woman he passed 148 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:29.240 on the street. Often, he asserted, his wife had tantrums, 149 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:32.879 enraged and ranted and left the house. Usually it was 150 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:36.120 always because of her jealousy, and she did not remain 151 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:39.840 away long. Last summer, he got a position driving a 152 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:43.639 car for a man living in Amityville, Long Island. She 153 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:46.240 left him soon afterward and came back to New York, 154 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:48.759 telling him that she would live with him when he 155 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:52.080 returned to the city to work. It was then he 156 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:54.679 gave up the Amityville Place and went to work for 157 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:58.120 mister Wyeth. They went to live in the East seventy 158 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:02.519 eighth Street apartment February second, He said he went home 159 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:04.559 and found a note with a key to the apartment 160 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:08.600 lying on the dresser. The note and his wife's handwriting, said, 161 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:11.360 I can't stand this any longer. There's no use in 162 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:16.039 your looking for me. I'm gone. He said he expected 163 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.879 she would return sooner or later, and told it around 164 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.440 she had gone away on a visit. He explained his 165 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:23.919 paying the rent for two places by saying he knew 166 00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:26.600 he would feel lonesome living in the east side apartment 167 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.960 and rented a room on the west side, nearer his work. 168 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:33.840 He admitted keeping up two apartments was a drain on 169 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:37.720 his resources. He said that he was the only person 170 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:39.960 who had a key to the apartment so far as 171 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:42.879 he knew, although his wife might have had a duplicate 172 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:46.480 made before she left hers for him with the note. 173 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:49.159 He declared he had not heard from his wife since 174 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.360 February second, when she disappeared, and said he had not 175 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:55.200 been in the flat for a month, but intended to 176 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:57.480 go there last night and pay the rent and find 177 00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:00.879 out if his wife had been about. Told the police 178 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:04.039 he had no idea who the woman could be, but 179 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:07.279 he did not believe it was his wife. He did 180 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:09.639 not know any woman could have gone into the flat, 181 00:12:09.720 --> 00:12:12.480 he said, and the woman's identity was as much a 182 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:17.120 mystery to him as to anyone else. The police confess 183 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:20.279 there are many puzzling features about the case, not the 184 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:23.120 least of which is what became of the woman's clothes. 185 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:26.600 The detectives found a few little odds and ends of 186 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:29.679 clothing about the place, but nothing that the person, in 187 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:33.320 their opinion, could have worn to the house alive. The 188 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:36.879 solution in the bathtub had so eaten away the underclothes 189 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:41.559 worn by the woman. They offered no clue whatever. Today, 190 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:44.559 a dentist who did some work on Missus Sheeb's teeth 191 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:47.080 will go to the Morgue and try to identify the body. 192 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:51.679 The detectives regard the outcome of this examination as the 193 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:56.480 most important thing in the case just now. Superintendent Armstrong 194 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:58.639 of the Morgue said today that the body was in 195 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:02.399 such condition from chemicals it would require an autopsy to 196 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:06.440 determine positively, so far as the officials are concerned, whether 197 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:09.480 it is that of a man or a woman. It 198 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:12.039 is a small body, however, and there seems to be 199 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:14.240 no doubt in the mind of the coroner that it 200 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:17.720 is a woman. Sheib said his wife was a small 201 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:23.480 woman and never weighed more than one hundred and four pounds. 202 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:30.960 Henry A. Sheeb, held by police on suspicion of having 203 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:35.080 caused the death of his wife Lilian, made the astonishing 204 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:39.440 declaration to Deputy Commissioner Dougherty this afternoon that he wrote 205 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:43.840 a letter addressed to himself and signed Anna, which intimated 206 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:50.240 intimate relations with that fictitious person. Shib's statement was made 207 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:52.960 in the course of a long examination to which he 208 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:57.840 was subjected at police headquarters. The detectives were very anxious 209 00:13:57.879 --> 00:14:01.559 to learn the whereabouts of Anna, and persistently quized him 210 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:06.600 on that point, said Scheib, I wrote that letter myself. 211 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:08.600 I was going to show it to my wife when 212 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:11.399 she came back, to prove that other women liked me. 213 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:15.519 Sheb was given a pen and ink and a sheet 214 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:18.799 of paper in order to write the Anna letter. From dictation. 215 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.720 He turned out an exact facsimile of the letter, which 216 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:26.080 was found in his room after his arrest. In the 217 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:31.000 letter were references to Sheeb's wife. The suspect was under 218 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:34.879 the probe of Dougherty and Inspector Russell for several hours. 219 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:37.799 He admitted that he had made a mistake in giving 220 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:41.559 the name of his wife. His latest story is that 221 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:45.639 she was Lily in Lover, not lilyan Glover. He declared. 222 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:51.120 She came from a small town near Holyoake, mass Link 223 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:54.759 by link, a convincing chain of circumstantial evidence is being 224 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:58.879 forged round Sheb. It has been established to a certainty 225 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:01.919 that even if he didn't know of his wife's whereabouts 226 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:05.759 as he claims, he lied systematically on the point after 227 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:11.480 she disappeared. As recently as last Wednesday, she voluntarily stated 228 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:15.360 to missus John Wyeth, wife of his employer, that his 229 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:19.879 wife was in Chicago with his mother, living in Llewellen Avenue, 230 00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:25.159 said Sheb. She is out of the hospital and doing fine. 231 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:28.360 About a week previously, she but asked for and had 232 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:31.519 been granted, a short leave of absence. He said he 233 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:33.679 wanted to put his wife on a train and send 234 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:37.240 her to Chicago. She had been, he said, in a 235 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:42.639 hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts. Mister Wyeth recalls that during the 236 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:46.879 spring Sheb made several requests for advances on his salary 237 00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:50.080 owing to the heavy expense of taking care of his 238 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:55.200 sick wife. While she was representing to his employer and 239 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:58.519 Missus Wyeth that his wife was alive, her body was 240 00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:01.399 in the bathtub of the East seventy eighth Street flat, 241 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:06.159 the rent of which Sheb was paying. Missus Wyeth says 242 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:08.559 that one day last winter, when she was about to 243 00:16:08.679 --> 00:16:11.879 enter her car, a small, sick looking little woman with 244 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:15.600 light blue eyes walked up and spoke to Sheb. This 245 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:19.000 is my wife, missus Wyeth remembers Sheb to have said, 246 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:22.360 and she's not filling well, if you wouldn't mind, I 247 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:24.279 would like to take her up to one hundred forty 248 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.960 eighth Street, where we live in the car, Missus Wyeth 249 00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:31.320 had no objections. Sheb took the little woman up to 250 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:34.720 one hundred and forty eighth Street. Some time after that, 251 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:38.080 Sheb informed his employer that he had sent his wife 252 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:41.799 to a hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts, so she could be 253 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:46.080 near her parents. Since his arrest, he has told police 254 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:50.080 his wife was an orphan when he married her. The 255 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.759 detectives attach a lot of importance to Sheeb's admission made 256 00:16:53.799 --> 00:16:57.279 to the coroner into various police officials that he was 257 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:01.679 in the flat last on April fifteenth, Two weeks before that, 258 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:04.799 a family living in the flat above was driven out 259 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:08.960 by an undesirable odor. The coroner's experts say the body 260 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:13.400 was in the bathroom at least three months. The police 261 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:18.200 today began a systematic inquiry into Sheeb's past. He has 262 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:21.920 admitted that he came here from Chicago. When asked if 263 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:23.960 he had ever been arrested there, he said he had 264 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:27.799 not been, but when told his picture and measurements were 265 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:30.039 to be sent to the police there just the same, 266 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:34.200 he is alleged to have exclaimed, well, you'll probably find 267 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:37.160 that I've not been an ider down angel in Chicago. 268 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:40.680 Just because my wife was found dead in the bathtub 269 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:45.119 is no reason I set fire to Dreamland Park. They 270 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:47.359 do not know whether he was trying to be witty 271 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:50.119 or was so rattled he didn't know what he was saying. 272 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:54.599 They are investigating a rumor that his real name as Wells, 273 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:59.599 and that his home is in Sacramento, California. Headquarters men, 274 00:17:59.720 --> 00:18:02.519 on the strength of a letter found in Sheeb's possession, 275 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:06.279 visited Miss ethel Mullen at the home of her parents 276 00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:11.440 six thirty five ninth Avenue. Miss Mullan said she and 277 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:15.480 her friend, Miss May Flannery met Sheb about four months 278 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:18.480 ago through another girl whose name they declined to give. 279 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:22.519 He had been attentive but always brought them home early. 280 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:26.240 She said he had never said anything about being married. 281 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:30.359 The last time they saw him was last Wednesday. Miss 282 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:35.079 Mullan's mother corroborated her. May Flannery was found today by 283 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:38.240 an Evening World reporter at number four fifty West fifty 284 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:41.799 eighth Street, where she lives with her aunt, missus Jackson. 285 00:18:43.079 --> 00:18:47.440 May is seventeen years old, small, dark and attractive. She's 286 00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:51.720 employed as a clerk in a Broadway department store. Quote. 287 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:55.200 Ethel Mullen and I met Sheb early in April. We 288 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:58.000 were walking in sixty third Street when he spoke to us. 289 00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:00.559 We told him we didn't know him, and he said 290 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.279 it was all right and we could call up the 291 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.400 garage and ask all about him. He invited us to 292 00:19:05.400 --> 00:19:07.880 get into his car and took us to number six 293 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:10.960 thirty five ninth Avenue, where we both lived at the time. 294 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:14.039 I never liked Sheeb, but I did like to ride 295 00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:16.960 in his automobile. Ethel and I went out in the 296 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:19.680 car with him four or five times, and once he 297 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:23.200 took us to see Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. We used 298 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:25.720 to ride up to the Bronx or Westchester, and he 299 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:28.680 brought us home early. He passed with us as a 300 00:19:28.680 --> 00:19:31.640 single man, but he never said or did anything that 301 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:34.559 was not proper. Of course, we never had an idea 302 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:39.160 that he had a wife. A letter that is puzzling 303 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:41.759 the police since they found it in a bureau drawer 304 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:45.359 in Sheeb's room is a badly worn one addressed to 305 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:49.359 William Allen from H. S. Allen, his brother at avalon 306 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:53.839 Catalina Island. It was dated March twenty second, nineteen eleven, 307 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:58.000 inclosing forty dollars sent in response to a telegram for 308 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:03.400 money said at the Samadi Garage. A William Allen had 309 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:06.759 worked there but recently dropped out of sight. No one 310 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:11.119 knew how Sheb came into possession of the letter. The 311 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.519 most important clues found since the discovery of the body 312 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:18.960 of missus Sheeb has been discovered by newspaper reporters doctor 313 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:22.720 Lehane and Detective McMahon. Also found in the kitchen of 314 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.079 the flat a copy of the Sunday World of March 315 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:28.680 twenty sixth. In the bathroom were found two pieces of 316 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:33.559 Sunday World's magazine section dated April second. These discoveries make 317 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:36.400 it certain that someone who had easy access to the 318 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:39.759 Sheb apartment had been there at least twice since the 319 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:42.519 death of Missus Sheeb, and while the body lay in 320 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:46.279 the bathtub for doctor Lehne is convinced that at least 321 00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:51.720 four months have elapsed since Missus Sheeb died. The pieces 322 00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:54.759 of the Sunday World so close to the body were 323 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:58.000 first pointed out to the police by a reporter. 324 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:14.640 To avoid future commercial interruptions, visit us at www dot 325 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:19.880 patreon dot com slash true Crime Historian. For as little 326 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.839 as a dollar a week, you can enjoy full access 327 00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:27.839 to the true crime historian Dusty Vault, exclusive episodes, and 328 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:34.039 whatever personal services you require. That's www dot patreon dot 329 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:36.839 com slash true Crime Historian. 330 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:48.680 June first, nineteen eleven, Henry A. Sheeb, after a day 331 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:52.440 of strenuous defenses the various charges on which he was 332 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:57.400 arrested and rearrested, was discharged by Magistrate O'Connor on the 333 00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:00.920 West Side Court this afternoon on a charge that he 334 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:05.440 had in his possession a sixty dollars per overcoat belonging 335 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:09.680 to his employer, John Wyeth, of twenty eight eighty one Broadway. 336 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:14.039 Earlier in the day, Sheeb had obtained a few minutes 337 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:16.519 of liberty when the justice who issued a rid of 338 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:21.240 habeas corpus in his favor yesterday set him free. He 339 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:25.279 was immediately re arrested by Detective Gloucester on two charges, 340 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:29.559 one of operating an automobile without a license and the 341 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:34.480 other charge involving the overcoat. Gloucester arraigned him on the 342 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:39.319 first automobile charge. Magistrate O'Connor heard the evidence and imposed 343 00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:42.559 a fine of ten dollars. Then Glocester made a short 344 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:47.440 affidavit on the overcoat charge. Magistrate O'Connor tried that case 345 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:51.000 at once and obtained an admission from the detective that 346 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:53.680 the overcoat had not really been found in the possession 347 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:59.079 of Sheb, but in the possession of a man named Allan. Discharged, 348 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:02.880 said Drade O'Connor, and there only remained for Sheb to 349 00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:06.279 pay the fine of ten dollars, but he didn't have it, 350 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:08.920 nor did his lawyer, and he was held in the 351 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:11.960 pen while his lawyer went out to get it during 352 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:15.279 the interim Assistant District Attorney Wilmot, who was present to 353 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:19.359 press the various charges, said that the moment the fine 354 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:23.160 was paid, Sheb would be re arrested on another charge. 355 00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:26.920 After the fine was paid, Sheb was arrested for the 356 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:31.119 third time. Sib got his first court hearing before Justice 357 00:23:31.160 --> 00:23:35.480 Bishoff of the Supreme Court. A great crowd thronged the 358 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:40.319 court room in Corridor E O Town. A Chicago lawyer 359 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:43.640 who had known Sheb for many years and volunteered to 360 00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:47.559 defend him, was in court, as was Alexander Carlin, who 361 00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:51.920 has been retained by Sheb. District Attorney Whitman and Assistant 362 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:55.240 District Attorney Strong were on hand to represent the state. 363 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:59.000 Mister Carlin asked for the release of Sheb on the 364 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:01.880 ground that he was in without warrant of law by 365 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:06.720 a coroner's commitment for forty eight hours. Justice Bischoff wanted 366 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:09.680 to know if any information had been filed against the prisoner, 367 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:14.519 replied mister Carlin, none, whatever. The only charge against him 368 00:24:14.599 --> 00:24:18.359 is that he is a suspicious person. Mister Strong argued 369 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:21.160 that inasmuch as Sheb is suspected of the murder of 370 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:24.880 his wife, the coroner was justified in holding him in 371 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:28.680 the absence of a formal charge. He said. He understood 372 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:30.880 the coroner has a right to commit a suspect to 373 00:24:30.920 --> 00:24:36.279 imprisonment for forty eight hours, said Justice Bischoff. There is 374 00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:41.240 no law to warrant any such procedure, explained mister Strong. 375 00:24:41.880 --> 00:24:44.079 At the time this man was arrested, we had to 376 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:47.359 hold him in order to prevent his escape from our jurisdiction. 377 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:50.920 But we had no time to file information. The case 378 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:55.519 had to be investigated, said Justice Bischoff. From the letters 379 00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:58.480 before me, I can gather nothing to justify the detention 380 00:24:58.599 --> 00:25:01.240 of this man. I have no right to assume that 381 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:03.880 you will be able to gather legal evidence upon which 382 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:07.359 he may be held. Put in mister Carlin, as an 383 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:10.039 officer of the court, I promised to produce the prisoner 384 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:14.519 at the Coroner's court this afternoon. Not heeding mister Carlin's 385 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:18.720 volunteered pledge, Justice Bischoff said, all I can do is 386 00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:24.519 sustain the writ the prisoner's discharged. She laboring under great excitement, 387 00:25:24.920 --> 00:25:27.119 hurried through the crowd from the court room, with his 388 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:30.519 lawyers on either side of him. Just outside the door, 389 00:25:30.599 --> 00:25:33.039 a husky looking man with a square jaw and a 390 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:36.119 police look grabbed hold of Sheb and yanked him to 391 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:40.319 one side. Here, what are you doing, cried mister Town, 392 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:44.160 who is a noted lawyer in Chicago and unfamiliar with 393 00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:48.279 the appearance of New York policemen. The police looking man, 394 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:52.000 who proved to be Central Office Detective McMahon, said, it 395 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:55.319 means this man is under arrest. I have here a 396 00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:59.680 warrant sworn out by John Wyeth charging him with grand larcening. 397 00:26:00.359 --> 00:26:03.200 Mister Town and mister Carlin grabbed hold of Sheb, and 398 00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:06.880 the detective held on too. The crowd surged about, and 399 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:09.079 there was a lot of excitement in the corridor and 400 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:13.079 in the court room. Mister Town appealed to District Attorney Whitman. 401 00:26:13.599 --> 00:26:16.640