The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-05-21
MRS. BONNIE
 SHOT AYERS COnfeSSeS She Killed the Census Office Clerk. DETAILS OF THE TRAGEDY Says Dead Man Lured Her in- to His Room. Threatened to Kin Her Unless She Submitted to His Wishes and Pistol Was Discharged Dur
 ing the Struggle.
DETAILS OF THE TRAGEDY

Washington, May 20.-The mystery
 attending the killing of James sey-
 mour Ayres, a Census Office clerk, in
 the Kenmore Hotel early last Wednes- | day morning, and which, because of the peculiar circumstances attending 1t,
 has aroused Washington more than any l tragedy in several years, was solved
 today by a voluntary confession from Mrs. Lulu I. Bonine, a married wo-
 man and guest of the house, that
 three shots which ended Ayres life had
 been fired in struggle between herself and Aryes.
 Mrs. Bonine. whose husband is a drummer for the wholesale drug house
 of De Welt & Co.,. of Chicago, ex-
 plained her presence In Ayres room at o'clock in the morning by saying that he had come to her room complaining Of chill and asking for medicine. and had induced her to follow him to his room to talk over some matters of dif- ference there had been between them. Sne said she dressed herself in a wrap- per and went to his room. He had preceded her and when she opened the door and walked in he quickly closed IL ana informed her he had enticed her to the room for his own purposes and said 1f she did not submit to his wishes he would kill her. Ayres, she said, was undressed and had a revolver in his hand and in struggle for its pos- session which ensued immediately after she entered 1t was discharged three times, the shots striking Ayres at each discharge, the last one proving fatal. The Mysterious Murder.
 The tragedy which resulted in Ayres's death was discovered at half past o'clock last Wednesday morning when his dead body was discovered in his room at the Kenmore, a small family hotel, not far from the capitol. Sui eide was the first theory advanced, but statements from. two witnesses that on the night of the murder they had seen Q woman descending fire escape leading from in front of Ayres's room and disappear into the parlor of the house ended this theory and the killing quickly developed into a mysterious and sensational affair that baffled the police until today. The police were hampered in their efforts to find the person who did the killing from the fact that it was eight hours after the crime s2s committed before it was re- ported.
 The whole detective force was put to work on the case and gradually facts developed which pointed to Mrs. Bonine as guest of the hotel With whom Ayres had been on very friendly terms, and with whom he had a falling out. Saturday the coroner began his in- quest, summoning guests and employees ot the hotel, expects and others, but no substantial clue was found to con- meet any person specifically with the tragedy. The inquest was resumed to- day, and had developed nothing di- rectly bearing on the tragedy, except that Mrs. Bonine was in Ayres' room, when it was suddenly adjourned on information that the District Attorney and others were wanted at police head quarters to hear statement made by Mrs. Bonine.
 Mrs. Bonine's Confession.
 Mrs. Bonine's confession was entire ly voluntary. A few minutes past 3 o'clock this afternoon she telephoned for Major Sylvester, Chief of Police, saying that she was coming to his of- flee, and she appeared there a few minutes afterwards. When she reach ed the office, she said sine had a state ment. she wished to make. She was immediately turned over to Detective Horne, who aook her confession. She said that she was in Ayres' room with him when the killing took place, and that the shooting was the result of his own misconduct. She said Ayres had drawn the pistol upon her for the pur- pose of making her respond to an inn proper proposal which he had made to her. At the commencement of the affair." she said, he had come to her room in the Kenmore Hotel about 2 o'clock Wednesday morning, and upon the pretense of being i'll. had gained admission to her room. He complained of feeling as if ne were going to have a chill, and asked her to give him a preventive. She had given him, she said, a medicine which she had in her room. and he had then referred to some differences which they had had in the past, and had asked her to come to his room, where they might quietly talk the matter over and come to an amica- ble understanding. She had agreed to go to the room, and he left her room. preceding her to his own. When Ayres called at her room he was entirely dressed, but when she entered his room as per agreement, she found him stand ing behind the door undressed, except as to his undershirt; and with a revol- yer in his hand. He then told her that he had enticed her to the room for his own purposes, and that if she did not submit to his wisher he would kill her. l
 Mrs. Borine says that she imme- diately grasped the revolver and in the | struggle which ensued it was discharg- | ed three different times, striking him | at each discharge, the last shot prov ing fatal. She says that the cries for | help which Miss Minas heard were all | her as were also the sobbing which Miss Minas described.
 Mrs. Bonine says that after the shooting she passed through the window of Ayres's room onto and down the fire escape ladder and entered the parlor window of the second floor, passed through the parlor and up the stairway of the hotel to her own room on the fourth floor. She then wash ed her hands. undressed and retired.
 Mrs. Bonine was entirely self-pos- sessed when she made her confession. She iA apparentlY about 22 years of |