A Case for the Grand Jury.

New York, 1895

Coroner Nutt of Jamaica regards public office as a private trust, and is conducting official business in a manner that seems to merit the attention of the grand jury. A fortnight or so ago a man was found dead at Cypress Hills, his body being found by two boys. He died from a gun shot wound. Coroner Nutt had the body removed to Ruoff's morgue at Ozone Park, and made all the arrangements for an inquest. The body was fully identified at the morgue, and relatives had it buried in Cypress Hills Cemetery. The inquest should have been concluded at one sitting, but Coronet Nutt is stringing it out for his own profit — a fact which we call to the attention of the board of Supervisors. Another reason for keeping the inquest open is a desire on the Coroner's part to suppress the name of the deceased. At the inquest last Friday night Coronet Nutt did not offer a particle of testimony to prove the identity of the deceased, though himself knowing the man's name and all about him, and he wanted the jury to find a verdict that the deceased was unknown. This the jury flatly refused to do, and very properly, for such a verdict would involve perjury. There is no sense in keeping the man's identity a secret. While he probably committed suicide, there is a possibility that a crime was committed, and, if so, the Coroner would be aiding the criminals to escape by his secrecy and by trying to induce the jury to render a false verdict. A coroner who does as Mr. Nutt has done in this else deserves the severest censure and is unfit for his office.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, June 14, 1895, p. 4.