The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-24
A MILLIONAIRE KILLED
A. DEAN COOPER MURDERED IN
 PLAYHOUSE
William strother Negro Attendant is Accused of the Crime-St. Louis Has Big
 Sensation.

St. Louis, Jan. 2.-A. Dean Cooper, the millionaire treasurer of the Graham Pa per Company, died today as the result of an assault in which his skull. was fractured while in the cooling room of the Vista Turkish bath house. at Grand and Franklin Avenues. last night.
 William Strother, the negro attendant at the bath house, who was on duty last night, and who notifed Mir. Cooper's fam ily shortly after midnight of the assault, is held as a prisoner at the police station A diamond ring valued at g, 800, and a diamond pin worn by MT. Cooper when he entered the bath were found in the basement of the bath house this morning. They had been concealed under the floor ing in a crevice above the top of a 5oist. A sledge hammer bearing fresh blood stains was found in the basement soon after tho police had been summoned to the scene of the assault
 The hammer was one which had been used about the basement for breaking up coal.
 Strother told the police that two women and a man had called to see MT. Coop shortly after Il o'clock last night. They came In carriage and were preceded by boy with a note. The colored man satd he had admitted them to the cooling room and had returned to the basement.
 
 parted ts
 strokher also said two colored women, Josie Houston and Fiorepce Banks. had visited him in the basement earlier last right.
 Erastus Fountain, janitor of the Vista Block. says that the two women were in Strother's company at 9:3O o'clock when he made his last visit to the prem ises.
 A few minutes after midnight Theodore Cooper known as ''Tod" Cooper. son of A. Dean Cooper, answered the door bell at tho family residence, 3713 Washington Boulevard. Strother was at the door.
 Your fathers been hurt" said the ne- gro to younk Cooper. He's over at the bath house now.''
 Without stopping to question the man closely Cooper hurried <o the Vista block In the cooling room of the bath house pertinent. he found his father covered by sheet.
 Doctors were immediately called and the police notified. The latter discovered the blood-stained hammer. Young Cooper told the police that the ring usually worn by his father was missing and they made another search, finding the ring and pin in the cellar as already stated.
 For some time the physicians worked over MT. Cooper, who did not regain consciousness. They decided to perform an operation and remove the pieces of
 
 that were pressing on the injured mans brain.
 This was successfully performed, but MT! Cooper did not regain consciousness and died at 10 o'clock this morning Strother stoItly maintains his innocence. Tod Cooper stated to the police tha, his father had practically closed deal for the sale of the bath house property and that the transfer was to have been made today, but did not state the name of the prospective purchaser.
 Developments in connection with the murder as the day progressed were sen- sational in the extreme. It became known that Strother was in need of money, $500 or more. to reclaim his home from mort gage sale. Strother. however. meets this with the statement that MT. Cooper, whom he had known and served Tor d long time, had promised to save his home for him. He also claims that Mir. Cooper had promised him that in the event of the sale of the bath house, he (Strother) should be taken care of either by being retained in his position or by being given another. Questioned as to why Mir. Cooper should thus make pro- vision for him, the negro told sensa- tional story of the alleged true charac- ter of the place of which he had been trusted custodian and the story was in some degree corroborated by a state ment from the police that they had been making secret estigation and were going to raid and close up the place.
 Strother stoutly mairtain d hls inno- cence. but the police are entirely conti- dent that they have the right man in custody.