Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-28
THE BURD|Ck MURDER
The Police Think They Have
a Clew.
HAIR IN MANS HAND
HACKMAN MAY BE AN IMPORT
ANT WITNESS.
He Drove q Man to Point Near the
Burdick House Thurs
day Night.
HAIR IN MANS HAND

BUFFALO, N. T., February 2S.-Mrs
Burdick, the widow of Edwin L. Burdick.
who was murdered at his home THURSDAY
night arrived here today from Atlantic
City. The police have found the hackman
who drove an as yet unidentified man to
within a few doors of the Burdick residence
about midnight on Thursday night. They
regard this as valuable clue.
Another clue in the hands OF the authori-
ties Is atuft Of hair. which was found on
the person Of Mr.. Burdick. 1t Is not OF his
hair, but whether belonging to a man or
to a woman the police do not say. 1t Is Oh
a color and texture that will be easy TO
match with the hair from which 1t was
torn.
In the room in which the murdered man
was found the police also found a paper
which had been sent to Mr.. Burdick pv
Cleveland woman, containing story OF the
granting Of a divorce from her husoano
The police learned that the woman was IN
Cleveland Thursday night, and that her
former husband Is working In New YORK OF
some other eastern city.
It was learned today that Mr.. Burdick.
whose business took him on frequent trips
out of the city, knew he had been Swallowed
for some time when out Of town. This sys-
tenn Of espionage, he had said, had been IL
effect for some time, and the inference IS
that 1t was to obtain evidence, II posslnl d
for counter charges in the divorce proceed
ings which had been begun by MIS-. bur
dick.
sers pockets of Mr.. Burdicks clothing
loaded revolver was found. It had not
been used.
When Last Seen Alive.
-. r,.,. 1901. last .aan olive T,h,,rsdav
night at 1920 o'clock, when he babe the
other members Of the household good night,
and started for his room, apparently with
the intention of retiring for the night. Fri
day morning his body. clad in an under
shirt, was found lying ON a couch in
small room Oft the lower hall used by Mr..
Burdick as smoking room. The body was
covered with a rug and number OF sofa
pillows The couch. was saturated with
blood and the walls and floor OF the little
den were despatched with brains and blood
The head had been crushed with some
blunt instrument
Chief of Detectives Cusack took charge
of the case. A thorough examination OF
the house and its occupants was made.
Nothing Of value was missing. The outside
door was locked and the spring lock was
in It's place when the servants got up this
morning. The inner door was ajar. A
kitchen window was partly raised. but there
were no marks on the snow outside, or
upon the window sill to indicate that any
one had entered there. All the other win
dows and doors Of the house were securely
fastened. That shattered the theory OF an
unknown intruder. IS 80
Some interesting discoveries were made
in other parts Of the house. To begin with,
no weapon could be found anywhere. The
body was clad only in an undershirt At
the foot of the couch were found the
drawers and stockings. The trousers and
other articles Of clothing which Mr.. Bur-
dick had worn were in his bedroom ON the
floor above. The bed had not been occupied.
On the table in the smoking room the de-
tectives found q bottle partly filed with
whisky and the remains Of light lunch.
Members of the family declare that Mr..
Burdick never partook OF the food OF which
the lunch was composed and never drank
liquor while eating In this connection
Chief Cusack gave out the following state
ment: -, H.
Statement Of Chief Cusack.
From what Investigations I have made
I would conclude that Mr.. Burdick was
called down stairs by ring or knock
at the door after he was ready for bed,
for he was clad only in his Undertaking.
He evidently admitted some one he knew
well and took the visitor into the den for
a talk, and to partake Of the luncheon
found there.
There are some signs of q struggle
The fact that two Of the fingers Of Mr.
Burdick's left hand were broken indicates
that he put up his hand to ward off a
blow which he saw coming. The body was
covered with rug and several pillows,
so that nothing could be seen but the
blood which flowed from under the pile.
Mr.. Burdick were delivered seems to pre-
clude the possibility that a woman de-
livered them"
Mrs. Burdick, the murdered mans wife,
left home two months ago. with the in
tention, 1t is said OF not returning. On
December proceedings for divorce were
filed in the county clerks office by Mr..
Burdick. It Is understood that Mrs. Bur-
dick went to Atlantic City. What con-
nection Burdicks domestic trouble may
have had with the crime, the police do
not presume to say.
The Burdick family after Mrs. Burdick's
disappearance. included Burdick's mother,
Mrs. Hull, and three daughters. One Of
the daughters, Marion, Is a bright little
girl who distinguished herself last sum-
mer by guiding her fathers runaway au-
tomobile through the streets Of this city
and running 1t against brick wall in the
automobile station on Utica street, rather
than risk injuring any one in an inevita-
BILE collision. Marion Is the oldest child,
being about sixteen years old.
Last Seen by His Daughter.
So far as known. the daughter Marion
was the last person in the house to see
her father alive. Marion says that she
saw her father apparently on his way to
the cellar about 1890 o'clock last evening.
to attend to the furnace. 1t was Mr.. Bur-
dicks custom to look at the furnace per-
sonally, because he did not like to intrust
the servants with this task, although the
servants looked after the furnace in the
day time.
Mrs. Hull has lived with her daughter
ever since her husband, James D. Hull,
died several years ago. In Mrs. Burdick's
absence Mrs. Hull took general charge Of
tho affairs If house