The times., 1901-05-21

Parrin;;. My acquaintance. with Ayers
was slight, very slight |, OF course:
;ghom in the hotel did not somebody
| talk?" Witness stated that she had
| talked with Mrs. Bonine about Ayers;
| about his dancing; about his ambitions
! The witness said she had never seen Mr.
J Ayers in Mrs Bonines room nor had she
! seen Mrs. Bonine In his room. The wit
riding with Ayers. She last saw him the
! Saturday before his death. Mrs. Welck
! stated that she is employed in the Census
| Office She had met Ayers on several oc-
casions when returning 10 the Kenmore.
| They usually met in judiciary Square
THAT ANONYMOUS LETTER.
The last time she met him there she
, probably had a half hours conversation
with him. She stopped him and asked for
the address of a friend. She was about
/ to pass on when Ayers stopped and, knit
ting his brows, asked her If she knew any
one who was sufficiently interested in him
ITO write anonymous letters about him.
! She told him that she knew nothing about
! it. Ayers was quite vindictive in his
! manner and was much excited. The wit
! ness said she understood that the letters
/ were being sent to a gentleman, with the
! purpose Of injuring Ayers. The gentle
man might have been his Representative
! In Congress, she thought. lie asked her
! the direct question:
Have you a married woman in your
mind in this connection. and the witness
told him that she had rot She told him
that when he learned more about the mat
ter he would tell her According TO the
| witness Ayers replied:
The end will be in the courts He
raised his hat and they parted.
| The witness first heard of Ayers death
during the lunch hour at the Census Of
fee, when she was tell by one of her
feilow-cierks Of the finulng of the body.
| She exclaimed:
Poor little boy, knew he was in trou-
BILE"
Emma Brown. colored, told the jury
| that she was nurse and had been en-
ployed at the Kenmore Hotel. She said
she knew the Hopkins family and also
| Mrs. Mooney. She said she nursed Mrs.
HimrOd. The witness said she saw Ayers
ana Mrs. Bonine come out Of room to-
gether Sunday morning three weeks ago
at 10 o'clock. Ayers was partially dressed,
she said, being without his outer shirt
| The witness failed to identify the fan
| found in the room of Ayers after the
| tragedy. She also stated she had not
| heard from anybody that Mrs. Bonine
had previously been seen in the room of
! Ayers
Mary Grayson, colored, next told what
she knew about the tragedy. She said she
! went out to Takoma Park Hotel about
month ago Il am a chambermaid, said
witness. Il knew Ayers; had talked with
him on one occasion. while | was clean
ing up his room. / do not know whether
Ayers was intimate with any of the wo-
men in his room or &c
MRS. BONlNE IN AYERS ROOM
She had seen Mrs. Bonine in his room on
one occasion when the witness was clean
ing it. When Ayers came in the witness
told him she would soon be through her
work in his room. and he took off his coat
and started to wash his face While 50
doing Mrs. Bonine came in without
knocking. and Ayers, looking up, de
manded to know what a mallet was to-
ing on his table. Mrs. Bonine replied
~ Let md 4 al
Il want you to go out OF here and stay
cut"
Mrs. Bonine pleaded, but left the room.
After the witness left the room Mrs.
Honine called her TO one side and eXplaiu-
ed that Ayers was angry with her be-
cause he thought she had told the people
in the house that he had been drinking,
but that she had not done so. Mrs. Bo-
nine also told the witness not to say any
thing about the matter The witness
thought she referred TO her not speaking
to Ayers about it. The mallet referred to
had been taken into the room by Mrs. Bo-
nine to assist in knocking apart the iron
bed which she was helping to clean.
The witness said she never saw the re-
voiver with which Ayers was killed. She
had never seen pistol in either Mrs Bo-
mines room or in that of Ayers She also
had never seen the fan which was found
beside the dead body At this point a re-
cess of one hour was taken until 1:30
i o'clock.
After recess the enquiry was resumed
! IL was then 1870 o'clock Mrs. Sallie NJ
Seymour took the stand and was exam
I ined by the Coroner. Mrs. Seymour said
she knew Ayers quite well. Now / live
at the Takoma Hotel" said Witness
Prior TO last Friday. however, I resided
! at the KenIpeFe. l did dance with Ayers
| on several occasions stated the witness
Il was awakened once late Tuesday
night last, and asked my husband what
| the noise was that / had heard said
/ witness Nothing more developed, and l
soon went TO sleep again"
/ The witness said Miss Minas first told
her at the breakfast table the next MORN
/ ing that she heard three shots during the
| night. and that she also heard groans.
The witness had known Ayers several
months
leave the hotel, and that he had an enemy
| in the house. This was while Mrs. Sey-
mour was dancing with Ayers Tuesday
night. The witness said Ayers stated TO
her that he had not told the Wariield fam
ily that he was about to leave the hotel.
Mrs. Seymour said she had not noticed
any particular intimacy between Ayers
and anyone in the hotel.
MRS. PICKERELL's TESTIMONY.
Mrs Helen Liley PickereH followed
Mrs. Seymour She stated that she had
lived at the Kenmore since October IL
She played the piano for the dancing last
Tuesday night. About three gentlemen
and fve ladies participated in the dance
Ayers danced with Mrs. Gardner and
Jane Gardner, Mrs. Seymour, and, she
The witness said her own room was on
the third floor of the Kenmore annex. She
understood that Ayers had had a misun-
derstandng with Mrs. Bonine and Miss
Minas about pedro party. she thought.
He made up with Miss Minas. but she
had never heard of any reconcilition with
Mrs. Bonine
| Mrs. Pickerell said she retired about II
o'clock. She was slightly acquainted with
MIR. Cane, she said. but had never gone
to a dance or entertalnmFnt of any kind
with any gentleman in the house. The
night before the murder Miss Minas gave
a card party in her room. Mrs. Bonine
was the only lady in the house present,
the witness understood, and she had been
called in a substitute. Tho witness
| stated, in response to question, that
I her husband was found dead on Kalora-
ma Heights after having been drinking.
Her relations with him were pleasant al
though as a drinking man, he was fire.
quently away from home. She lived at
one time on G Street northeast and after
ward lighthouse at 6I5 / Street north
east.
The witness declared that she first heard
of the tragedy while at the breakfast ta-
BILE when Miss Minas came to her and said
that something terrible had happened. The
witness thought she meant that Miss
Hopkins. who had been SICK. was dead.
and exclaimed:
Mercy, you don't tell me that Laura
Miss Niinas replied that it was worse
than that, and then stated:
Dan found Mr.. Ayers in his room with
his brains blown out
ONE OF AYERS FRIENDS
The next witness was J. b. Wiggans
who lives at the Kenmore Mr.. Wfggans
I hap