Aug. 28, 1963 - Two young women, one the daughter of a writer and the other of a prominent surgeon, were found stabbed to death today in their apartment at 57 East 88th Street in New York City. The victims were Janice Wylie, 21-year-old editorial employee of Newsweek magazine, and 23-year-old Emily Hoffert, who was to start teaching in Valley Stream, L.I., next month. Three bloodstained kitchen knives were found in the five-room apartment, which the girls shared with 23-year-old Patricia Tolles (pictured). The suite had been ransacked. The bodies were found on a bedroom floor by Janice’s father, advertising executive and author Max Wylie, and by Miss Tolles, the third roommate. The dead girl’s uncle is Philip Wylie, the well-known writer. Miss Tolles apparently survived because she had left for her job at Time magazine early, while the two victims were dressing. No check was made by Newsweek on Miss Wylie’s failure to come to work because she had told associates she planned to take part in today’s Washington march. Miss Hoffert still was on summer vacation, and there was no reason for anyone to check on her whereabouts. At 6:30 p.m., Miss Tolles came home from work to find the apartment disordered. In distress, she phoned Janice’s father. Mr. Wylie rushed over, opened the door of one of the two bedrooms, and cried out in anguish. On the floor, between a bed and the window, lay the bodies of his daughter and Miss Hoffert. Both had been bound, hand and foot, with strips of torn sheeting. Both had been slashed again and again. A phone call from Miss Tolles brought detectives and uniformed police in numbers. Mr. Wylie had been too distraught to make the call. Apparently, the murders took place between 7 and 8 a.m. Occupants of the apartments near the victims’ suite told police they had heard no noise or commotion.
Comments