The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-12-01
Eve Tragedy at a Suburban
Home.
wIFH coNFEssEs TO THE SHOOTING.
ae Is Known--She Is Very Sick and Can Make No State
ant In Regard to the Affair-- Details as Gathered
by Reporter for The Post,

nnally eliminating In the death Of Smith
n. Z: Boyce was tried for the killing OF
smith, but was honorablv acquitted. this
case being tried In the criminal district
court here She next married Or. Lank-
ford. and the result OF that union is mar
rated In story above.
i The events leading UP to the TRACED,
may probably never be known. They ars
the secrets of the family. the condolences
OF the home. and unless there be one oil
Two confdants to whom the troubles OF
the matrimonial voyage have been told
the details are in the sacred keeping oil
her who survives him who has passed
across the dark river That something in,
terfered with the happiness of the home
1 events have proved TO be the case, but
what that something was can to certain
extent be but conjecture. DR.. and Mrs
Landlord came TO Houston Wednesday.
They had business affairs to transact,
/ and spent the day in the city. The doctor
Timed at one of the local restaurants with
d CONFIDENTIAL friend, and together they
| discussed domestic affairs. Dr. and Mrs.
Landlord met in the office OF that friend
!
I discussed. but what those matters were
I nave not been diyulged, and may never
/ De. AT any rate, an agreement was
! reached that Thanksgiving Day they were
| 10 dine together and that it should be the
last time; that from the last day OF No
vember they were TO part, and proceed
| 1ngS in divorce We're to be instituted. This
mich Mrs. Landlord told Sheriff Archie
Anderson at the jail yesterday. They re
turned home late in the evening Mrs.
Landlord has been In bad health Tor some
time and when she reached home she i'm
mediately retired TO her apartments and
her evening meal was served in her room
DIR, Landlord supped in the dining room
with his brother in law, Mr.. r. P. Boyce.
and Mrs. Landlords two Children. After
supper. as the story goes, he went to his
vines apartments aud Mr.. Boyce took the
little boy and his own baby and Went to
another room. The story as related
states that Mr., Boyce was reading when
the shots were fred. The testimony adj
duced at the inquest does not show mo-
tive or a cause for the quarrel between
the husband and wife. The statements Of
Mr.. Boyce and Mrs. Landlord do not show
this. but there is some evidence of a
documentary nature which indicate that
probably jealousy brought up the disagree
ment. Two letters were found on the bed,
In the room where the shooting took placs
They had remained there since the night
before. and probably they We're being dis
cussed when the tragedy was enacted.
The letters were evidently addressed to
one and the same person, although to one
the address says Miss - -" while
the other Is to Mrs, -" the SAME
Christian name being used in both of
them.
The letter was unsigned They vert
each written upon single sheet of thin
tablet paper, and each bore date OF
Houston. November r." The year had
been written on the sheets, but had been
carefully torn off. Just above the heading
of the letter is written in lead pencil.
Written by fool to fool" They refer
to his approaching marriage. If these are
copies OF letters written by Dr. Landlord
to some one before his marriage. the date
would probably be November, 1897, as that
was the last year In which he was unmar-
ried in November. What connection thesn
letters have with the tragedy can be but
surmise unless Mrs. Landlord chooses to
tell. The presence of them on the bed.
the fact that they are fully two years old,
and the tragedy directly following. indi-
Gates Gliding through jealousy which
might have brought on the differences be-
tween them.
The shooting commenced in The apart
ments of DR.. and Mrs Landlord These
were on the second floor of the building
on the west side. From one side, north
was door leading into narrow hallway,
almost adjoining the room in which MI
r. P. Boyce was reading. A door in the
east side of the room leads to the bath
room, and door from the bath room leads
north to narrow gallery, the flight OF
stairs TO the back gallery being right at
the bath room door. The gallery up
stairs and down stairs has lattice work
about II. In the west side of the apart
ments of Dr. and Mrs, Landlord We're two
windows. under the window toward the
north sat trunk. and handsome iroL
frame bed stood near this window. IL IL
presumed that Or. Landlord was in the
vicinity of the trunk when the shooting
tooA place. The trunk has bioou STAINS
upon IT., Snd the drops OF blood foiioWed
led from there to the bath room, thraugh
that small apartment TO the narrow gal
lefy. down the back stairs, to the poiht
where the body was found. In the wlnuow
under which was the trunk. was ouiie,
hole, and on the casing OF tho othsr WIN
dow was a deep indentation, caused by
bullet. In tine gauze door Leading from
the bath room to the gallery was puiel
hule and followed 1t showed where the
Ieaden missile had plowed its way through
the wall OF the front room on the east
side of the house. had passed into the
room and struck the he'd 1t was fired
from the bath room. the ganze door being
powder burned. 1t was fired as the de-
ceased started down the stairs. but missed
him. II struck the bed upon which VI.
K p Boyce was reading at the time OF
the shooting. The bullet was found lying
on the floor in the room When the shoot
ing commenced DIR. Landlord evidently
sought safety in flight, and ran through
the bath room to the back stairs and en-
deavored to pass down them. but he evil
IDENTIFY became weak from loss of blood
and fell head first to the floor beneath. as
his face was badly bruised and SCARED.
Reaching the foot OF the stairs he evil
IDENTIFY started again to run, managing 10
got hut few feet away. as he was found
lying IN the passageway between re-
frigerator and the lattice work. He was
lying there when the officers arrived,
pillow having been placed under his head
but this is explained by Mr.. Boyce In his
testimony.
The testimony developed at the inquest
will show other facts. II was taken by
Justice r.. A, Milan OF precinct No. 2,
WIN resides al Harrisburg and il rs fol-