Murder of Two Jews Again Stirs Community in Constantinople

(J. T. A. Mail Service)

Not long after the sensational murder of the Jewish girl, Elsa Niego, in Constantinople which stirred the Jewish population, two Jewish peddlars, Abram Ben Yakar and Isaac Eskojido, disappeared and after a police search their bodies were found in Aynal i Tchesme quarter and two young Turks and a Turkish girl were arrested on a charge of murder. The trial was concluded yesterday. The Public Prosecutor in his closing speech demanded that all three prisoners should be sentenced to death. The Court decideed to reserve judgment.

One of the prisoners named Chevki, boasted during the police investigations that he had murdered the two Jews and that if he had not been arrested he would have killed a few more Jews.

Abram Ben Yakar left his home one morning to peddle his goods in the usual way. He had with him a stock of haberdashery worth about $30. He failed to return that night, and the police and his family searched for him without success. About ten days afterwards the second Jewish peddlar, Isaac Eskojido, disappeared under similar circumstances, and in his case, too, the police were unable to find any clue. His son, Bohor Eskojido, decided to continue the search. He discovered that his father had last been seen entering a house in the Meblevi Hane Street in the Aynal i Tchesme quarter. He found that a third Jewish peddlar named Jacob Behar had been called to this house but recalling the disappearance of Ben Yakar and Eskojido he had refused to go inside. The police entered the house and carried out a search, discovering a number of articles belonging to the stock of the missing peddlars. A further search was made and the clothing of one of the missing men was found in a cupboard. At the back of the house was a well covered over with tinplate. The police let down a man who found the bodies at the bottom of the well.

The girl, whose name is Emine is thirteen years of age and Shevki’s sister had, it was brought out, acted as the decoy. She stood at the door and asked the peddlars to come inside so that she could select some purchases. When they came in Shevki and his friend Tewfik fell upon them from behind and killed them.

Tewfik pleaded that he had not taken any part in the murder and had only looked on. Emine said that she had called the peddlars into the house in order to make purchases from them, and she had had no suspicion of her brother’s intention. He had compelled her to keep silence by threatening to kill her if she told what had happened. The Public Prosecutor pointed out, however this might have been the case in the first murder, but could not have been in the second case.