Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-01
LIZZIE REYN0LDS'S STORY.
She Ascribes Her Troubles to a
Jealous Woman.
The Consequences of Fascinating a
Married Man.
1t Was II Case of Spoons, But Not or the
Souvenir Kind-The Defendant
Tells Her Side of
the Story.

There have been 30 many different
stories told in regard to the case OF the
United States against Lizzie Reynolds,
charged with impersonating another at
the general postoffice delivery in this
city, that HERALD reporter yesterday
took the trouble Of attempting to put a
few OF them together. The result is q
Kaleidoscope bit of patchwork that
would discount crazy quilt.
The United States attorneys Office
states its case about as follows: A res
taurant waiter girl complained to them
that she mad knowledge of two letters
being sent to her containing money
which she never received. One was
from some place in the south, contain.
ing $40, and the other was from Barstow
with $5 enclosed. These letters were
not received by the Miss Lizzie Rey-
nolds who is the waiter girl, but were
handed out to another woman who gave
her name as Miss Lizzie (or Elizabeth)
M. Reynolds. The matter was
placed in the hands of M. F.
Flint, detective inspector in the
postoffice department, who wrote
decoy letter, dated and postmarked at
town In Louisiana, in which small
sum OF money was placed, with instruc-
tons to purchase souvenir spoon and
signed Martin. The letter made allu-
slons to persons and things, according
to Mr.. Flint's statement, which could
be of interest to and be understood by,
the waiter girl only, and by which it
would be impossible for any other per-
son to be innocently deceived. This
decoy letter found it's way in the course
of events into the hands of the Miss
Lizzie M. Reynolds now under arrest,
who appropriated the contents and des-
troyed the letter and envelope. She
had been spotted when she appeared at
the several delivery windows, and was
duly arrested. Upon the preliminary
examination, Friday morning, Lizzie
Reynolds did not appear, as she had
that day gone to work at the Hotel
Green in Pasadena. 1t was upon the
testimony of Inspector Flint and other
postoffice clerks that the second Lizzie
was held to answer before the United
States grand jury. This is the case
from the standpoint of the majesty of
CQo law.
The fair defendant, however, tells a
different story, and according to her tale
of woe she is the victim of dire and
deep conspiracy, the motive for which |
can be found in the line that "heil hath |
no fury like woman scorned."
Miss Lizzie No. 2 is rather pleasant |
looking demi-brunette, with slight ten
dencies toward embonpoint, and with
total ohconpo rs that -: oe
and freshness which would indicate ig.
norance of contact with the cruel world. !
She is also rather of the melting tenn
perament and seems to have her lach-
rymal ducts under educated control.
Her story, as told to the HERALD re-
porter, was that her present troubles
arose through the jealousy of another
woman, that other woman was not the |
waiter girl mentioned above, but a
married woman whose name she
says is Mrs. Reynolds. a resident of
San Francisco, and whose hus-
band persisted in his attentions
to the fair defendant. These atten-
tions, she claims, continued until the
jealous wrath of Mrs. Reynolds fell
upon the devoted head of Miss Rey-
nolds. The latter says she received
numerous letters from the former of
threatening nature, some anonymous
and some otherwise, one of them VOW
ing vengeance, swift and sure.
A short time ago Miss Lizzie came
down to the southern citrus belt to visit
relatives living in San Bernardino
county. Mr.. Reynolds followed her,
and met her here. Then she received
the first letter from the postoffice which
might have been intended for some
other person. 1t contained request to
"meet me in front of the Richmond
house at $780," and was signed
"Charlie." She opened and read it in
the park. and Immediately tore it up.
She says she knew no "Charlie," but
thinking afterward that it might be
decoy from Mrs. Reynolds, che induced
the husband to be at the Richmond
house at the appointed time, but moth
ing came of it.
Then came the genuine decoy letter,
which was loaded, and which got in its
deadly work. Miss Lizzie says she re-
ceived it in the cleaning; received it
with her veil down, and without her
eyeglasses, and she asserts her sight is
slightly defective. Under these circum-
stances, and not being accustomed to
receiving letters from outside the state,
she did not closely notice the postmark
upon the envelope nor the superscrip.
tion to the letter. She had an acquaint-
ance named Martin in San Francisco,
who knew of her fondness for souvenir
spoons. Furthermore, if the letter and
its contents were not intended for her,
she had no idea to whom they could be
long.
Immediately upon her arrest she con-
nected the whole affair with the woman