An Austrian Jack the Ripper.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 3676, 28 February 1899, Page 3

An Austrian Jack the Ripper.

murder in ' 27 Vienna was horrified by Um murder during the . previous night of a woman belonging to the ciass which furnished the victims in London for “Jack the Ripper,” the police opinion beingrthat it was the work of a butcher.' On Dec. >ll, says the correspondent of the “Times,” another crime of a similar dcsriptioa-wit«-committed in v r.'d l of the town. Fortunately, ...iteWas this time followed by tho capture of the guiiiy party. Tho victim'‘named Spilka, 02 years of age,’rented a small ground floor room,- to - which a kitchen was attached opening on the courtyard of a large tcaer ment house in .the Landstrasse., JCliere, was a curtain between her room arid the kitchen, which was occupied by another, woman named Dittmann. 1 - r-Dittmuirn - went home, accompanied by a stranger. As she entered* a: young man withov.c-a hat raised the.curtain separating.Spilka’s room from,the •kitchen.’' Being" the surprised look ‘of Dittmann, he exclaimed ■that he had left his hat.behind, and; s >izr ing it, rushed out of the house. As he haxibloodstains on his face Dittmann: raised, the alarm 1 ,. and, yunning after him ,‘to'. the street, cried Murder ! ”-at.- the top, of her voice, the man.by whom she was accompanied joining in thS„ chase. Tho whole house was at once aroutud, and i ne murderer was captured withjjft a short distance of the scene >of nis, crime, i el was surrounded by ,a. crowd of some ..VO. people,- who beat himunmercifully. . He,, simulated unconsciousness,- and after bef ing given into custody, was conveyed to 'the headquarters of-the-■ volunteer .-‘A.iv.bulanoo society, The doctor on duty declared that. Hjkyas merely shamming in-; consciousness"He remained there under the surveillance of the police until era risr-: ferrod in the same condition >o the prison hospital. Te murderer .is a young man of about 20, named Simon uchostowitz. of Hungarian nationality, and according to the papers found-on his'person he is oy trade a pork butcher.’ He has two knives of different sizes about him,-one of which was bloodstained. His victim,: who was found half dressed in a pool of blood wit h her face* towards the floor, had Leon strangled and then stabbed in the ne-k tho jugular vein being severed. It is assuriicd that the murderer was inctempted in his work by, the arrival, of -he woman Dittmann, and was thus prevented from otherwise mutilating Uso body. . > _ ■ v . . According to his own version he-.u :>■> the worse for drink and had a, s quarrel with the-woman, who had aggravated him He admitted having stabbed her, but without intending to kill her., He stonily denied being the author of tho previ'-xis crime, /and inquiry proved that -ho bad nothing to do with the atrocity of Dec ;if.