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Carrie Brown : Murder In The East River Hotel
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DIR Return to: 1901-1902
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#Post#: 2105--------------------------------------------------
The Coleman Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: September 6, 2023, 5:55 pm
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Transcribed as it was written.
Francis F. Coleman
In the matter of the application for a pardon for Amer Ben Ali,
alias "Frenchy"
Francis F. Coleman, being duly sworn, says: I reside at 1340
Fifty-fifth Street, Brooklyn, New York; At the time that
"Frenchy" was on trial in this city, I was at the State Camp at
Peekskill, New York reporting for the Sun newspaper: while
there, before the trial had made any material progress, Dr.
William T. Jenkins, then a Coroner's Physician, visited the
camp. He and I were upon friendly terms. He sent for me and said
that as the coroner's physician who had performed the official
autopsy upon the body of "Shakespeare" certain facts came to his
knowledge which he believed would certainly clear "Frenchy" of
the charge of murder. He said that he could not very well under
the circumstances afford to volunteer his testimony to these
facts, but that he was willing to testify to them if he were
placed upon the witness stand and the matter brought out in the
course of his examination. These material facts were that he
had found undigested food in the stomach of "Shakespeare" and
that as an expert he was willing to testify that this food could
not have been there for more than one hour and a half and still
been in the condition in which he found it.
Other experts, he said, would bear him out on his conclusions.
The bearing of this condition of affairs upon the guilt or
innocence of "Frenchy" he said was because of the fact as known,
that "Shakespeare" had eaten food of this character only a short
time before she entered the East River Hotel with a man who was
not "Frenchy" and that "Frenchy" had not entered the hotel
until several hours later. The only reasonable conclusion to be
drawn therefore from the presence of this food in
"Shakespeare's" stomach was that she was dead hours before
"Frenchy" entered the hotel. In accordance with a suggestion
made by Dr. Jenkins, I at once wrote and posted a letter to
Frederick House, counsel for "Frenchy", laying before him the
statement of Dr. Jenkins as above set forth, and suggesting that
he bring out these facts in his cross-examination of Dr.Jenkins
when the latter should be put on the witness stand to testify as
to the autopsy. I watched the accounts of the trial thereafter,
as printed in the newspapers, to see if Mr. House followed this
suggestion, but I did not discover that he did so. About two
years ago I met Mr. House at Wendell's place at Fort George, New
York City, and referring to this matter, asked him if he had
received my letter above referred to. He admitted he had
received it and that he had not attempted to bring out the above
facts at the trial.
Sworn to on April 8, 1901
This is from 'The East River Ripper', page 209:
HTML https://i.imgur.com/6qWaeVJ.jpg
In total agreement with Prof. Dekle. Brown's last known meal was
when Alice Sullivan treated her on Water Street in the afternoon
at around 4:30 ( see below). That's a good 6 hours or more
before she would be murdered...far longer than the time Coleman
claimed Jenkins told him in his affidavit.
House said that he never received any information from the
unnamed affiant (Coleman)
New York Tribune
June 3, 1901
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HTML https://i.imgur.com/DV9xcii.jpg
Alice Sullivan on the last meal from the trial ( Transcribed by
the indefatigable Mike Banks)
Q. Did you see the woman “Shakespeare” that day? ( April 23rd)
A. Yes, sir; I saw her between half past three and five; it was
about half past four when I saw her coming
down Oak Street.
Q. Half past four.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you join her?
A. Yes, sir; I walked with her.
Q. You walked with her. Now, don’t say what was said. Where did
you go with her?
Objected to as Immaterial, irrelevant and incompetent.
Objection overruled. Exception.
Q. Where did you go?
A. Down Oak Street to James, and then down Water Street to the
grocery store.
Page 17
Q. Did you go in there?
A. Yes, sir,
Same objection, same ruling, except on.
Q. What did you do in there?
Same objection, same ruling, exception.
Q. Did you have anything to eat with her in there?
A. Yes, sir.
The Court: There was something said on cross-examination by Mr.
Friend as to what
the contents of this woman’s stomach were. This examination may
have something or other to do
with it for all I know.
Mr. Wellman: This is what it has a connection with.
The Court: There was something brought out here by Dr. Jenkins
as to the contents of this
woman’s stomach; this may have something to do with it.
Objection overruled. Exception.
Q. Did you ever see her eat in there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did she eat?
A. Some cold cabbage, cut off, and a piece of bread, fried bread
and corned beef.
Q. Anything else?
A. Yes, sir. She told me she had not eaten anything for three or
Page 18
four days, and I asked her if she would like to have a sandwich
———
This conversation is objected to.
The Court: Yes, strike out the conversation.
Q. What else did you eat?
A. A cheese sandwich.
Q. How many?
Objected to.
Q. One cheese sandwich, some cabbage —— what kind of cabbage?
A. Cold cut up cabbage and white vinegar.
Q. And what else?
A. A piece of pickle.
Q. Any meat?
A. No, sir; only corned beef that was on bread.
By the Court:
Q. Where was this, what street?
A. Water Street, I don’t know the number.
#Post#: 2106--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Coleman Affidavit
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: September 6, 2023, 7:31 pm
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This section is out of whack, as well.
The bearing of this condition of affairs upon the guilt or
innocence of "Frenchy" he said was because of the fact as known,
that "Shakespeare" had eaten food of this character only a short
time before she entered the East River Hotel with a man (1) who
was not "Frenchy" and that "Frenchy" had not entered the hotel
until several hours later(2)
As posted earlier, Brown ate with Alice Sullivan who was hardly
a man.
C. Kniclo and Brown go to Room 31 at 10-10:30 p.m., according to
Miniter
Ali goes to Room 33 at 11:00 p.m., according to Fitzgerald.
Approximately an hour or less after Brown entered with C.Kniclo
is hardly 'several hours later'.
The more these affidavits get examined, the more you realize
that 132 years after the murder, we know more than most of the
people who were there in the frigging building at the
time.....unless these mistakes were part of some calculated
effort to get Ali out at all costs.
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