Evening star., 1896-03-25
LATE NEWS BY WIRE
Langdon Gave Up His Attempt to
Commit Suicide.
THEORY As TO THE MGRATH TRAGEDY
important Statement by the COL
ored Servant.
SHE HEARD A S SCR E A M

PHILADELPHIA. March 25.-There is
little doubt today that Annie McGrath, the
girl who was found dead at 1926 Girard
evenue on Monday night, was killed as the
result of plan for the death of both, with
Samuel P Langdon, the wealthy coal opera
ter, whose mistress she was. The evidence
points to the theory that Langdon took her
life and then attempted to commit suicide.
but forsook this purpose and fled.
He is still a prisoner in the cell room of
the city hall, where he will probably be
kept until the chemical analysis of the
girls stomach is completed. The wet towel
which lay over the girls face when the
body found Is in the possession of the
detective department., but its condition is
kept a profound secret. The most incrim-
hating fact, however, is that the girls
lips and almost the entire interior of the
mouth were burned and discolored, as if by
acid poison. while Langdon's tongue, from
tip to palate, Is a series of ulcers and
mucous patches, which, according to his
pwn statement, were not there before Mon
idy. This condition is almost exactly SIM
liar to that existing in the girls mouth,
except that iE the latter it is more agsra-
waited
When arrested yesterday I.angdon COM
planned of being ILL., and shortly afterward
vomited copiously. He told Police Surgeon
Andrews that his tongue and throat were
liberated from excessive smoking. but that
he had not before been troubled by such an
affection.
The surgeon found the throat in good
condition, and says that smoking does not
produce such an liberation as in this case.
The mouth looked if it had been burned
by an irritant. such as ether chloroform.
The condition might have been produced by
a mineral acid in small quantity. 1t was
clearly recent.
The authorities refuse to say whether or
not the towel shows any spots. but they
a. hlr DOR off, n IrryOs, in thn
ROOM This may be explained by the fact
that both ether and chloroform evaporate
rapidly. and under the lapse Of some Hours
would leave no odor. One of the first re-
suits of ether, said the doctor. is stimula-
ton y person just put under it's influence
iSht become excited and scream loudly.
1t is almost certain that the common
wealth holds this theory of the case.
Detective Frank Geyer, who unraveled
the Holmes murders. is the case, and
when asked for his opinion, said: People
don't scream unless placed in a perilous
position Only one theory can be held. The
s1ri IS dead. and the man is alive and
locked up
The statements made by Bertha Stewart.
the colored servant employed by the cou-
pie. clearly show important facts She
was the last person. with the exception of
LIZ nsdon. who saw the girl alive. This
about 3:3O o'clock Sunday afternoon
Mrs. Langdon.'' as she was known came
down stairs and told the servant to prepare
diner. She then returned to the bed
room where her supposed husband had
been with her There was no further sign
from the upper part of the house until
about $50 O'Clock, when she heard a pierc-
ing scream She hurried upstairs and
the door slightly and told her that her
mistress was suffering from a bilious at
tack, to which she was subject. Through
the aperture the servant saw her mistress
lying on the bed, with the towel on her
face She was motionless and may have
been dead at that time. Langdon had evil
IDENTITY been lying on the floor.
AT > O'Clock he came down alone to din
ner and told the girl not to disturb her
mistress. who was not we'll. He gave her
the keys of the house and left saying he
was going to New York That night the
body was discovered.
The girls relatives deny that she was
ever subject to bilious attacks.
Tuesday morning the Stewart girl re-
had been mailed after he left the house
the night before and instructed her If her
mistress was no better by Tuesday, to
no,ify her father, Henry McGrath, 2O1S
Grdtz street.
Bertha Stewart made the further state
ment today that on Monday morning she
went up to awake Langdon. but could
not arouse him. She heard him breathing
stertorously-almost snoring. She made
another attempt later in the day, with a
similar result.
Special Murder Investigator Barlow of
the district attorneys office was closeted
with the detectives for time today The
father of the dead girl told Coroner Ash
prldge today that his daughter had de-
ceiVed MIN. Her excuse for absences of
three and four days at time were that
she had been visiting friends and this was
accepted without question.
No time has been set for the Inquest The
girls body has been removed to her fathers
nome. and will be quietly buried in d day
or two.
Detective Geyer positively contradicts the
statement that Langdon Is divorced from
his wife ~