Harry Olshan, 50, a dealer in precious metals and gems, was found clubbed to death in his locked office on the seventh floor of the Wiss Building at 6:30 P.M. that day by the night watchman. Olshan had been dead about four hours.
There was no evidence of robbery, or violent struggle.
Eight months previously–October 29, 1951–Olshan had been severely beaten in the same office. According to relatives and office tenants in the Wiss Building, Olshan had lived in the shadow of deadly fear from the time of the beating until the nightmare he never revealed finally came true in his brutal murder.
After that earlier beating, Olshan spent several days in City Hospital. He refused to talk to police about his assailant. On his return, he had extra locks and a bar put on the outer office door. He refused to allow the cleaning staff to enter his office and cleaned the place himself. He admitted no customer unless he knew him.
There was speculation that the beating resulted from Olshan's refusal to co-operate with diamond smugglers.
The killer used a foot-long steel mandrel to bash in Olshan's skull. Mandrels are tools used by jewelers to measure, size and repair rings. The killer did not touch the $72 in cash in Olshan's pockets. He made no attempt to force a safe containing $3,500 in small bills. He did pause long enough, however, to place a brown suit coat over the head of his recumbent victim.