The San Francisco call., 1897-03-26
So Captain l. w. Lees
Most Emphatically
Declares.
Says He Ran the Story Down
Several Months
Ago
He Resents the InSinuation Directed
Against the Unhappy Minnie
Williams.

Considerable amusement was created in
police circles yesterday over the reappear-
ance in one o. the dailies of the old yarn
that Theodore Durrant, the convicted
murderer of Blanche Lamont, was also the
slayer of Eugene Ware. the hapIess drug
clerk who was butchered two years ago
in the st. Nicholas pharmacy.
This time a mrs. Norman Shaver ap-
pears in the role of accuser. Many others
have suffered this same nightmare before,
and they caused Captain Lees and his ret
inue of Hawkshaws no end of torment
and wild-goose chasing.
But Mrs. Shaver's rather overdue vision
is destined to create no excitement among
the bluecoats whatever. The story is
taken as joke. particularly in view of
the fact that the new accuser, in relating
her tale. confesses that she has absolutely
no evidence of its truth and acknowledges
that she can 60 no further than to sus-
pect
ATS all rot" was the blunt manner in
which Captain Lees replied to g. question
yesterday, regarding the merits of the
story. Il don't know this Mrs. Shaver"
he continu ued. land would not like to say
any thing that could be construed as being
SrespecIlul. DuI IL Is Hi uonSeuses
neverthe less. Had she possessed any
information as to the identity of Wares
| murderer, she would have come forward
| long ago and consulted with the police.
| ran ina. Durrant story down long ago,
| and l know what l am talking about when
say there is nothing in it.
''In the first place Durrant and Ware
| were not acquainted. as Mrs. Shayer's
story would imply. At leas could never
|
other, and l worked that theory out very
thoroughly.
Il do not propose to pay any attention
to this new-or rather. old-story at all.
| 1t would be but waste of time and
energy, especially after the ground has all
| been worked over before. Besides all this
| Mrs. Shaver does not really say anything.
ALI one can make out of her statement is
that she thinks or believes Durrant had
something to do with Wares murder, and
| bases these suspicious upon some alleged
| strange actions and moody spells on the
| part of Minnie Williams. / tell you there
| is nothing in it"
Captain Lees also took exception to the
ins nuation that Minnie Williams was
rather too well acquainted with Ware to
suit Durrant, and that the latter was
| prompted to murder the crippled drug
clerk by a jealous heart. The veteran
| crimir catcher says he Investigated the
| murdered girls character thoroughly, and
satisfied himself that a purer and more
| respectable little lady did not exist in San
| Francisco. He pronounces the innuendo
cruel and heartless.
''The jealou " theory is as ridiculous as
the rest OF the story" said the captain.
Ware was dead and buried before Dur
rant and Minnie became acquain ied
Ware was murdered in Dece m Der, 1894,
and Miss Williams lost her life in April
1895. She met and became acquainted
with Durrant only q month before he
butchered her in that church library. So,
you see, that explodes that jealousy
| theory"
Mrs Shaver herself seems to be rather
sorry she spoke. She adheres to her sus-
picions, however, but says her remarks
and statements have been exaggerated.
The lady says she has absolutely no tangi-
BILE evidence showing tnat Durrant slew
| Ware, but she always imagined that Min
| ME Williams knew something of the de-
tails or thought she did. That is all there
| is TO it.
! Durrant takes the whole thing as good
| joke. Why, of course" he said yester-
day, II murdered every body. It's a won
| der somebody doesn't charge me with in
| stigatlng the Armenian massacres. These
| stories make me laugh. Why / never
knew Ware in my life, much less pos
sessed a desire to slay him"
| Durrant added that in his opinion Mrs.
Shaver's tale was but revamp OF the old
story alleged 10 have been started by Sis
ter Julia. She was alleged to have said
that she saw Durrant at the st. Nicholas
Pharmacy on that fatal night, and he
story travelled everywhere. But when
brought back TO its legged source the
story was fatty denied by Sister Julia,
and that put an end to it.