The herald., 1893-02-03
MORE ABOUT BENTlEY'S CASE,
His Love Letters Were Written
by a Young Woman.
She Read All the Answers from
LOvesick Widows and Maids.
The Prisoner Is Simple Minded Per-
son, Who Never Acted Except at
the Prompting of Some
Superior Mind.

hoHiy Dcuticy, Cu4IBeU Will Jut
murder of Mrs. Nordholt, was taken
before Justice Seaman yesterday and
arralgned for trial. The case was set for
next Monday morning at 80 o'clock.
The two women who claim that they
were engaged to Bently will probably
be forced to testify, and state how they
become engaged to man already mar
ried whether it was affection for Bent
ley, or whether they were after his prop
erty, which is indicated by their mutual
claims of $4,000 each, for virgin affection
tampered with. One of these claimants
has, it is believed, record in San Fran
cisco, which will make spicy reading.
She came to this city under an assumed
name.
The public administrator was yester-
day granted letters of administration
over the Nordholt-Bentley estate.
In every tragedy there is an under
plot; and there is also a comedy ele-
ment. Frequently the heavy villain is
only the fgurehead, and where there
are not arch-conspirators, he at least
has co-conspirators. Henry VIII and
Bluebeard possessed the requisite vii
lainy to dispatch their wives without
promptings from others; but, it is not
believed that the Los Angeles Blue.
beard, Bentley, possessed the criminal
courage to do the deed without prompt
ing. nor the despicable shrewdness to
devise the plan. He has always been
regarded by those who have known him
for years, and his recent acts bear out
the supposition, that he is simple,
foolish fellow. His simple mind ran to
money and to the marrying of wealthy
women.
He lived in Tucson, Ariz., several
years and was there employed to take
charge of the court house grounds at
$50 month. He lived very penurious-
ly. He was never known to do anything
of Importance unless first advised by
superior mind. He is one of those
simple-minded persons who float upon
life's current, drifting with the tide un-
less advised by some one-always let
ting others do their thinking.
Coming to Los Angeles his mind
seemed to have taken change, and
he became marriage mad" The
mania possessed him; but it was not
the love of woman for her beauty and
affections, it was her money that he was
after. He soon became acquainted with
young lady, to whom he unbosomed
his mental mania. She wss rather
pretty, but he wanted some one whose
face was not her only fortune. Not be-
ing able to write or to speak English
well enough for this code of courtship
made easy, he induced this young lady
to act as his private secre-
tary, matrimonial bureau and
press agent. She states that she did
this for amusement only" which is no
doubt correct. At his dictation she
wrote letters to certain eligible widowe,
who possessed from one brick building
to block or more !; also, to youLg ladies
with "great expectations" when papa"
should cross the divide and leave to
them his hard-earned savings of a life
time.
1t will no doubt be interesting to sew
eral wealthy widows and heiresses to
learn that the letters of burning love,
undving Affection" and all that kind of
stuff, was written by young lady, and
that their answers of ''unaltersble de-
votion," of 'itrue heart yesrning for
reciprocity" and for a ''love that can be
trusted" were also read and laughed at
by this young lady who acted as mar
riage burea for Bentley.
Knowing her own sex better than does
man, che knew just what to write.
Bentley had great many acquaint-
ances in Arizona. When they visited
the Angelic city, noted for its pretty
women and seductive climate, and
CHANGED to meet Bentley, the first
friendly request would naturally be /:
"Bentley, introduce us to some nice
ladies'; we want to get married"
As life, especially unmarried life, on
the Arizona desert is barren waste,
and as Bentley had on his list nearly all
kinds and styles OF available femininity,
he was very popular with his Arizona
friends. His collection embraced all
styles, ranging from the 1.-the, willowy
brunette with the dreamy eyes to the
petite Spanish lady with dark, flashing
eyes and an affection as hot as chile
peppers.
But underneath this comedy element
was the deeply laid plot of the drama.
Bentley must very suddenly have be-
come possessed of shrewdness extra
ordinary for such a shallowminded per-
son to have conceived the plot and exc
cuted it 80 skillfully.
1t has been shown that whenever he
talked he made blunder.
Conspirators of a criminal cast are
very secretive.
There are several gangs of fortune
hunters in Los Angeles, and they are of
the conspirator class; who resort to all
possible means to get introduced to
wealthy unmarried ladles-seeking only
their fortunes.
There is also another class who live
upon the frailties of humanity-the
blindness of indiscreet lovers. Some of
these chevaliers d'industrie are merely
well l.dressed cappers and confidence
men, who pose at the swell hotels and
resorts as men of wealth from the east.
The other class. like those depicted in
the Mysteries of Paris, profess other oc-
cupations merely as blind.
There has been too much of that kind
of business in Los Angeles. These
"gangs" should be dispersed.