THE RUSSELL STREET CRIME.
The next morning a rumour crept through the city that a murder had
been committed in a house in Russell Street, and many people proceeded
to the spot indicated to find out if it were true. They discovered
that for once rumour had not lied, and Lazarus, the pawnbroker, one of
the best known characters in the city, had been found dead in his bed
with his throat cut. The house being guarded by the police, who were
very reticent, no distinct information could be gained, and it was not
until _The Penny Whistle_ came out at four o'clock that the true facts
of the crime were ascertained. A general rush was made by the public
for copies of the paper, and by nightfall nothing was talked of
throughout Melbourne but the Russell Street crime. The version given
by _The Penny Whistle_, which was written by a highly imaginative
reporter, was as follows, and headed by attractive titles:--
TERRIBLE CRIME IN RUSSELL STREET
_Lazarus has passed in his Checks_.
An Unknown Assassin
is
In Our Midst.
It is often said that truth is stranger than fiction, and we have now
an excellent illustration of this proverb. A crime has been committed
before which the marvellous romances of Gaboriau sink into
insignificance, and the guilty wretch who has stained his soul with
murder is still at large. The bare facts of the case are as follows:--
Early this morning it was noticed by a policeman that the shop of
Lazarus, a well-known pawnbroker, was not opened, and knowing the
methodical habits of the old man, the policeman was much surprised.
However, thinking that Lazarus might have overslept himself, he passed
on, and had gone but a few yards when a boy called Isaiah Jacobs
rushed into the street from an alley which led to the back of the
house. The lad was much terrified, and it was with considerable
difficulty that the policeman elicited from him the following story:--
He had come to his work as usual at eight o'clock, and went round to
the back door in order to get into the house. This door was generally
open, and Lazarus waiting for him, but on this morning it was closed,
and although the boy knocked several times, no response was made. He
then noticed that the window which is on the left-hand side of the
door going in, was wide open, and becoming impatient, he climbed up to
it, and looked in to see if the old man was asleep. To his
consternation he saw Lazarus lying on the floor in a pool of blood,
and, seized with a sudden terror, he dropped from the window and
rushed into the street.
On hearing this, the policeman sent him for Sergeant Mansard, who soon
arrived on the scene, with several other members of the force. They
went round to the back and found the door closed and the window open
as the boy had described. Having tried the door and found it locked,
the police burst it open, and entered the house to view a scene which
baffles description.
The murdered man was lying nearly nude in the middle of the room in a
pool of blood. His throat was cut from ear to ear, and, judging from
the bruises and cuts on his hands and arms, there must have been a
terrible struggle before the murderer accomplished his act. The
bed-clothes, all stained with blood, were lying half on the bed and
half on the floor, so that it is surmised that the deceased must have
been attacked while asleep, and woke suddenly to fight for his life.
A large iron safe which stood near the head of the bed was wide open,
the keys being in the lock, and all the drawers pulled out. A lot of
papers which had evidently been in the safe were lying on the floor,
but in spite of a rigid examination, no money could be found, so it is
presumed that the murder was effected for the sake of robbery. On one
sheet of the bed were several stains of blood, as if the assassin had
wiped his hands thereon, but the weapon with which the crime was
committed cannot be found. A door looking into the shop was closed and
bolted, so the murderer must have made his entry through the window,
and, departing the same way, forgot to close it.
The body of the deceased has been removed to the Morgue, and an
inquest will be held to-day. The case has been placed in the hands of
Detective Naball, who is now on the spot taking such notes as he deems
necessary for the elucidation of this terrible mystery.
Hereunder will be found a plan of the room in which the murder was
committed, and also the alley leading to the street. We wish our
readers to take particular note of this, as we wish to give our theory
as to the way in which the murderer went about his diabolical work.
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RUSSELL STREET
---------------------------------|--------|---------------------
SHOP | ALLEY |
________________A________________| |
==| | C | |
FIREPLACE |_____ B | |
==| ____| F |
| G ____ |____ |
|________________| E |
| D |
|_________________________________________|
[Illustration: Diagram of Pawn Shop]
A. Door leading into shop--found bolted.
B. Bed with clothes in disorder.
C. Safe found open, with all valuables abstracted.
D. Window found open by which assassin probably entered.
E. Door leading to alley--found locked.
F. Alley leading to street, by which entrance was gained to back of
house.
G. Place where body of murdered man was discovered.
In the first place, there is no doubt that the motive of the crime was
robbery, as is proved by the open safe rifled of its contents. The
murderer evidently knew that Lazarus slept in the back room and had
the keys of the safe--as we have since ascertained--under his pillow.
He must also have known the position of the safe and bed, for had he
groped about for them, he would have awakened the old man, who would
have instantly have given the alarm.
The window D is about five feet from the ground, and was fastened with
an ordinary catch, as it never seemed to have entered the old man's
head that an attempt would be made to rob him.
Our theory is that the murderer is a man who knew the deceased, and
had been frequently in the back room, so as to assure himself of the
position of things. Last night he must have entered the alley--at what
hour we are not prepared to say, as the time of the murder can only be
determined by medical evidence--and opened the window by slipping the
blade of his knife between the upper and lower parts, and pushing back
the latch.
He then climbed softly into the room, and going straight to the bed,
found the deceased asleep. Very likely he did not intend to kill him
had he slept on, but in trying to abstract the keys from under the
pillow, Lazarus must have sprung up and tried to give the alarm.
Instantly the murderer's clutch was on his throat; but the old man,
struggling off the bed, fought with terrible strength for his life.
The struggle took them into the centre of the room, and there Lazarus,
becoming exhausted, must have fallen, and the murderer, with
diabolical coolness, must have cut his throat, so as to effectually
silence him.
Then, taking the keys from under the pillow, he must have opened the
safe, taken what he wished, and made his escape through the window,
and from thence into the street. Probably no one was about, and he
could slink away unperceived, for, had he met any one, his clothes,
spotted with the blood of his victim, would have attracted attention.
We conclude he must have had a dark lantern in order to see the
contents of the safe, but, as none has been found, he must have taken
it with him, together with the knife with which the crime was
committed.
This is all we can learn at the present time, but whether any sounds
of a struggle were heard, can only be discovered from the witnesses at
the inquest to-morrow.
Of one thing we are certain, the murderer cannot escape, as his
blood-stained clothes must necessarily have been noticed by even the
most casual observer.
We will issue a special edition of _The Penny Whistle_ to-morrow, with
a full account of the inquest and the witnesses examined thereat.