THE WORLD, EVENING EDITION
NOVEMBER 19, 1897
Vera Schulz, 22 years old, shot herself in the temple with her brother’s revolver early this morning around four o’clock at her home at 64 Sheriff Street. Neighborhood boys admired her as the “jammiest bit of jam,” modern slang for a beautiful woman.
She kept house for her brother, Karl, and worked nights as a Linotype compositor for a German newspaper, saving money to bring their dear old mother and father over from Russia. Once wealthy furriers to Russian czars, the family was expelled from St. Petersburg at the ascension of Nicholas II, famous for his desire to remove Jewish influence from the monarchy. Vera and Karl were dispatched to America to make their own way.
Karl Schulz had been employed as a compositor, but a vodka habit had recently relieved him of his job and allowed Vera to acquire it. On Saturday, Vera told her brother she had given up her position and would be moving to Detroit, Michigan. She gave no reason, only that she had to go, nor would she listen to any arguments against it. It was after this declaration that Karl noticed odd behavior in his sister, going out alone in the evenings and coming home quite late. And late last night, around four o’clock, Karl heard her come home. Several minutes later, he was startled awake again by the slamming of the door to the bedroom.
It was only upon blearily reawakening around seven o’clock that Karl remembered his sister’s room did not have a door.
Hereupon he discovered the beautiful young woman dead upon the bed, having dispatched a bullet through her left temple. She was to leave for Detroit today. Neighborhood rumor suggests a row with her beau may have altered plans against her will.
On the table next to the bed was found a letter which the girl had written to her brother, and which undoubtedly contains answers to this tragic riddle.
The letter was sealed. Mr. Schulz would not open the letter until the arrival of the coroner, and the coroner had not arrived up to noon when this report was filed.