The Minneapolis journal., 1903-03-21
THE BURDlCK
MURDER CASE
Details Of the Last Meeting Between
Burdick and Pennell Are
Made Public. u
Burdick Declared That Pennell
Promised to Leave Buffalo,
but Broke His Word.
Mrs. Burdick's Testimony at the In
quest Next Week Will Be KIT
Interesting. .
Now York Sun Special Service.

Buffalo, N. Y, March 21.-Details of the
last known meeting between Edwin L.
Burdick and Arthur B. Pennell have been
obtained by the authorities. They have
found a witness who was present at this
meeting and from him they have heard a
narration of all that occurred at the con-
ference Of the two men who had been
shadowing each other for year. The
third person was friend of Burdick
Pennell wanted to see Burdick and sent
to him to ask for a talk. Burdick's advis-
ers told him not to see Pcnnell alone, and
above all, not to permit Pennell to call
upon him alone at his home. Although
Burdick considered Pennell coward, ac-
cording to Charles S. Park, he followed
his friends advice and sent word to Pen
nell that a third person named by himself
must be present at any conference they
might have. Pennel accepted the condi-
tions and the conference was held.
Mrs. Burdick was the topic. There
were no threats of bodily violence at this
meeting. The conference was held late
in December. On the third of the month
Burdick had ordered his wife from his
house and told her never to come back.
She went to Niagara Falls and Pennell
went there and saw her. She went to
New York and Pennell saw her there. 1t
was while she was in exile that Pennell
demanded an interview with Burdick. At
first the demand was refused for Bur
dick told his friends that the lawyer was
not a. man OF his word. He told them that
when he first sent his wife from him in
the summer Of 1901 Pennell after a con-
ference with her had come to him and
pleaded that she be taken back.
"Pennell promised me at that time
said BurdiclS to his friends, that he would
leave Buffalo and efface himself from our
lives 1 took him at his word and he
broke it, Why should 1 listen to him
now?'
Burdick's friends say that instead Of
effacing himself from Burdicks life, Pen
nell started his detective work on a more
extensive scale as soon as Mrs. Burdick
was replaced in her home. Burdick
learned that he was being shadowed, but
not until the detectives had been after
him for months; then he learned that
Pennell continued to see Mrs. Burdick, and
he began to trail Pennell. This went on
lorea&loItes time and finally the men had
a stormy interview early in last October.
Burdick told Pennell that before he was
through with the matter, Pennell would
be the laughing stock of the community.
that he would brand him as me-break-
er and. that the gushing letters written by
him to Mrs. Burdick would be given to
| the world to sneer at.
Pennell, according to Burdick's friends,
said that such course would drive him
| crazy and he besought Burdick to recon-
slider promising a second time to leave
| Buffalo and make his home in another
| state ~
Perhaps Burdick accepted this promise.
| At any rate he told his friends afterwerd
| that it was kept as the first promise
| had been kept, and so he was going ahead
| to complete his case. Then he ordered his
| wife out of the house and sued her for
divorce. Mrs. Pennell appeared as a
peacemaker about that time, but her let
tiers to Burdick had no effect. 1t was too
! late he said, to accomplish anything.
He told his friends that he was going
| to show Pennen UP and Pennell hearing
| of this sought the December interview.
1t was held in an office adjoining the law
offices of Parker & Miller, Burdicks at
torneys. Pennell talked of the action for
divorce and Of the exile of Mrs. Burdick,
| of her unha ppiness at being unable to see
| her children and came to the point Of
| asking whether some settlement under
Standing could not be made, but Burdick
was adamant. He refused to take back
his wife or to pin further faith in any
promise Of Pennell. After the failure of
his meeting with Burdic]x, Pennell went
east in January and again went east in
February. The Friday before Burdick was
murdered he saw Mrs. Burdick and had
a long talk with her, as he admitted to
the authorities before he was killed The
day before Burdick was murdered he came
HOHle buIulch mednWl1Ic naQ gone
ahead with his action for divorce and
Mrs. Burdick had started a counter suit,
naming Mrs. Warren of Cleveland and
Jane Doe as the correspondents. This
counter suit did not seem to swerve Bur-
dick from his intention to punish his wife
and Pennell. All this information the
authorities have gathered preliminary to
the continuation of the inquest. What
Mrs. Burdick will have to say about it
when she takes the stand OH Monday re-
mains to be heard. The facts seem to
tindicate one thing emphaticaly and that is
that Burdick did not volutarily receive
Pennell at his house the night of the
murder And SO the question is unsolved
If Pennell went TO the BurdicK house thai
night, who let him in? -.-.-..% t:zs-.s Il ]
Several bogus interviews have repre-
sented Mrs. Burdick as. saying that she
would declare at the inquest that she be-
lieved Pennell to be innocent f r. =.
According to her lawyers, Mrs. Bur
dick has not expressed opinion on the
matter. A. A. Hartzell said o-day:
"All have said is this: That the Pen
nell tragedy has a very important bearing
in the consideration Of the Burdick mur:
der"