The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1900-12-19
FEEBLE LIGHT ON THE DOUBLE TRAGEDY
Mystery of the Deaths of Clara Schneider and Frank Bennett
Still Dark-They Lie Side by Side

boy meant. from his eccentric appear
ance. Mrs. Neumann spoke of having
found white silk handkerchief under
the unconscious girls bed on the morn
ing of her DEATH the handkerchief be-
ing marked with the initial B. This
she had turned over to the authorities
as evidence, together with another note
which had been found among the girls
papers and effects. Following is copy
of the note, which is in the same hand
writing as the other notes given in
evidence and identified as Benefits.
Camp Mckinley, Oct. 2sth, 1900.
Dear Friend: Send me twenty dol
| lers by this Boy. l cant well go to
town to Day and l kneed that much
more. In making up lone to a party
| hear-will telephone to you again this
eavening for want to talk to you.
FRANK.
| On the back of the envelope contain
4 ing the note was marked in pencil a
memorandum, Frank, $40, Oct 29."
Mrs. Neumann had never known of
Clara's going out at night. though it
would have been an easy matter for
her to have done SO without detection,
as her room was an outside one, and
the family retired early She had en-
lployed Miss Schneider through pity,
the girl having been discharged from
the Waikiki Inn under suspicion of hav-
ing taken some jewelry from a guest,
land being unable to secure a place.
| On the day of Miss Schneider's death
Mrs. Neumann had invited a party of
friends to dinner it being her huS-
bands birthday, and she was compell-
led to send her guests downtown to a
restaurant for dinner, with her hus-
band, who was also kept in ignorance
Iof the girls death. She did not wish to
lspoil his birthday. and simply told him
THAT Clara was Ill.
! WE'RE THEY SPIES?
Mrs. Neumann also advanced some
testimony that adds further mystery
to the mesh of inexplicable circum-
lstances and evidence already given. On
the day of Clara Schneider's death two
soldiers We're seen lurking about the
beach in front of the Neumann house.
II first noticed them,'' said Mrs. Neu
mann, about O'Clock. My little girl
lcalled my attention to them. Mama.
!. said she, what are those two soldiers
tdoing down there? They keep watch
ling the house and poking around with
/ their sticks in the rocks. They have
been there doing that all the afternoon.
Are they watching US? / looked down
: towards the beach and the two soldiers
: We're there, pretending to be fishing.
: but they could not be doing that. They
: had long sticks and were poking about
among the rocks. but they kept looking
r towards the house all the time. They
: stayed there quite a while, and l was
= nervous anyway. I thought / would
: go down there and ask them what they
wanted, and l started down, but they
1 walked on and went away. Next morn
ing two men came through the grounds.
5 j watched them quite a while, then /
! called to them, and they did not an
= swer though they must have heard me-
I ran down towards the beach mean
. ing to insist on an explanation of their
4 actions, but when they saw me coming
: they started off. and left me. They
t passed right close by me, and would
not look in my direction, although l
/. called out repeatedly. loud enough to
: be heard twice the distance. They dis
o appeared up the road, and / did not see
o them any more
o The servants testimony also corrob-
t GRATED this evidence, and the soldiers
: undoubtedly We're there for some pur-
: pose. What it could have been is a
matter of conjecture. Whether they
came from morbid curiosity, or knew
Y something about the case through
r casualty, or were sent by Bennett, is
! a piece of information that will prob
I" ably never be given to the public Their
: presence on the Neumann premises
simply adds another thread to the tan
l. gled woof that began with the poisoning
n OF the unfortunate girl
OPINION OF PHYSICIANS
y DIR. Walter Hoffman, was the first
ing of the inquest, but as he denied al
knowledge of the case, it was decides
- that the subpoena made out for hin
= was mistake, and he was excused
TO DR.. ST d. G. Walters was next call
n ed. He stated that in answer to a tele.
y phone message from Mrs. Neumann h
he had gone, on the morning of December
n 18th, to the house where Miss Schneider
1t died. at about 7:45 in the morning Or
IN arriving there he found Miss Schneider
lie unconscious and in a dying condition
is Upon examination he decided that 4
ID was case Of morphine poisoning, ant
administered all the remedies usual il
s. such cases, but without avail The cir
IL was lying on the bed fully dressed. an,
id she remained unconscious until abou
r. o'clock in the afternoon, when she ex
r pired. He called in DR. Herbert VIII.
ID agreed with him that it was case o
y morphine poisoning, Enthusiastically an
=. without doubt. They held a post
Id mortem examination and found all tn
Or organs of the body in a normal an
s. healthy condition In the stomach
as they found evidence that the girl ha'
n swallowed at least two grains of NOR
IN phine, which is fatal dose. As a pc
g culiar fact in connection with the case
he DR.. Walters mentioned that there na'
a. been absolutely no response to the pow
I'D erfuI remedies he had applied IN tn
he effort to resuscitate her, except sllgn
he movement Of one of the great toes. n
20 had watched the pupil of the eve close
IT " after injecting atropine- In sucl
ad cases the pupil of the eye is seen to oil
e. late but no such response was opSerN
re ed.
ng There is absolutely no doubt" Dr
ut Walters stated, that Miss Schneider
in death was directly due to morphin
e poisoning, and the amount of the dru
which she swallowed, DR. Herbert an
n myself estimated to be about tw
1t grains"
az CHEMIST SHOREY'S EVIDENCE.
!. - Chemist Shorev testified he examine
- the stomach of Clara Schneider. as ais
- a portion Of the liver and some bfoof