The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-12-19
COHEN ON THE WARPATH.BENNETT LED DUAL LFE.AI
HE WAS A VERY HEAVY
DRINKER.
Tried on One Occasion to Commit
Suicide in the Ocean View Villa.
Other Testimony.

Other Testimony.
The coroner and a jury are still at
work seeking to unravel the mystery
surrounding the deaths of Miss Schnei-
der and Scout Bennett. a number of
| threads of evidence have been discov-
cred but they have not been followed to
| definite conclusions. There seems to
| have been no particular effort made to
! trace Benefits movements on the night
proceeding Miss Schneiders death,
though his personality and clothing
were so striking that 1t would seem as
though his movements al any given
time could be traced with comparative
ease Many of the most famous GRIM
nal cases of late years on the mainland
have been worked out to demonstrated
conclusions from beginnings that were
much less promising or readily worked
| out than the circumstances which sur
round this mystery. In the Durrant
case for instance, the police accounted
/ for almost every movement of Dur
! rants time from some days before the
| murder until some days afterwards.
| During the course of the inquest yes
! terday Mrs. Paul Neumann mentioned
| having noticed some white powder on
the shawl which was found around the
! head of Miss Schneider. 1t was thought
| that this powder might prove to be
morphine so 1t was given to Dr. Shorey
| the government chemist, for analysis.
/ He inspected the powder today under
| miScrosCoDe and also made chemical
| tests of it. He discovered that the stuff
was not morphine at all, but contained
some lime. He accounted for it's pre-
sence by saying that perhaps the wo-
man brushed against white wash and
some Of the stuff had stuck to her
! shawl.
Another fact concerning the habits
| n Sphnpi1Ap u-hi oh lnY r.,
have been of peculiar disposition, has
| been learned of her residence at the
! Waikiki Inn. 1t was her custom al
most every night to put a little shawl
about her head and go to Kapiolani
park about 10 o'clock and sit on the
! benches until as late as o'clock in the
mornings. Then after returning to the
Inn she would go in the ocean to bathe
She complained of being unable to sleep
Kaai lone of the members of Captain
Berger's band remembers having seen
her sitting alone In the park at late
hours of the night.
Inquiry at all of the drug stores in
the city failed to find any trace of Ben
nett or Miss Schneider having secured
mornhine. On the contrary the state
ment was made at every place that
none Of the poison was sold to either of
them and it would have been impossi-
BILE for them to have secured the drug
without physicians prescription and
such authorization had not been pre-
sented.
Where and by whom the drug could
have been secured is another import
ant feature of the case 1t was said
at all the stores that people desiring
to use morphine can secure it in guam
tity by sending to the Coast and re-
ceiving it by mail. If Bennett used
morphine constantly as Ottmann tes-
titled he did, 1t is likely that the scout
must have either gotten it surrepti-
tiOusly from the coast or else at the
! government dispensary at Camp Nc
Ktnle-- 1t is stated positively that the
drug was not secured by him at the
post. 1t is of course possible that the
: woman may have sent for the drug but
! If Bennett used morphine steadily it is
} far more likely that the poison was Sc
/ cured by her from him
The inquest into tho death of Miss
: Clara Schneider was begun yesterday
, and will be concluded today. A num-
Der of witnesses We're examined but
only one of them was able to throw
any additional light upon the habits
l of Bennett This was w. j. Ottmanr
the proprietor of the Ocean View villa
+. on the Waikiki road. According tC
Ottmann, Bennett was not only 8
heavy drinker but a continual one anG
he and Ottmann have visited salooT
3. after saloon together.
l Bennett was a very quiet man anC
$ seldom talked of his private affairs
s He did tell the witness that he haC
s an income of 500 from the govern
L ment and S191 more a month from
e property in the east. Bennett used t
d come to the resort of the witness
= number Of times and on many occa
e SiOns Ottmann had seen the scOu
= greatly under the influence of liquor
s Bennett seldom showed the effects o
f the liquor to a casual observer how
l.. -s..ga i
= gether many times. The deceased haC
i at one time sent dozen bottles of win,
Y to the Ocean Villa and had drank then
= there. Bennett did not pay his visits
p occasionally to the Ocean View, bu
went there almost every night.
Il So far as the scout gambling was con
h ceTned, Ottmann did not know positive
f ly of any such habit, but he was sur
f that Bennett did bet money on tn
t horse races. Once somebody tried L
e induce Bennett to play poker at tn
g Ottmann place but the scout had re
fused. He had told Ottmann of play
e ing in the Hawaiian hotel.
o Bennett used to complain of pains Il
e his head, caused by an old wound. H
e told Ottmann that he was in the habi
= of using morphine and whiskey t
allay his suffering. Just where he Sc
cured the morphine Bennett did no
n say but he stated that the whiske
y was SuDDllGu dl lHt army pOSl. l. II
n pain annoyed Bennett so much tina
le the witness thought ii had affected hi
k brain. On several occasions Bennett
would order coffee and a sandwich a
the resort of Ottmann and after paI
taking of it go away and return fe'
p minutes later and again ask for coffe,
lie He would be informed that he had a.
Ig ready swallowed the drink whereupo
lie in a surprised sort of way reply tha
le he had.
IF On the night Of November 5, Benne
1t was considerably under the infiuenC
* of liquor and attempted TO deliver a
l. address at Prince David's luau. III
a scout was jeered by the crowd and tn
a seemed to cut to him to the quick, Il
e. he was very depressed over the occu
Dt renee and talked to Ottmann of wan
Up ing to quit living, Bennett declare
that he had lived long enough an!
how. Ottmann feared that the ma