The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-03-25
NO INKLING OF MURDERER.
MRS. BURDICK PROCESSES AB-
SoLUTE IGNORANCE.

&ucas
tiOns-Dsnies That She Gave PennelI
Her Key to the Front Door of ths
Burdick House-says Mrs. PenneII
and Burdick Were Very Friendly
Latter Would Have Admitted Her to
the House at Night without Any Fear
She Was Familiar with the Dining
Room and Den-Burdick Children om
the Stand.
Buffalo, N. Y, March 24-"Have you
received any information as to who
killed your husband?"
mo SIRE
"You swear you have no knowledge
or information as to who killed him?'
81 do"
The above questions were addressed
to Mrs. Alice Hull Burdick this after
noon at the inquest into the death of
her husband by District Attorney
Coatsworth. The answers were return
ed by Mrs. Burdick in a calm, clear
voice. The questions came abruptly
while the district attorney was draw
ing information from Mrs. Burdick
about her relations with Arthur r.
Pennell. She had denied that Pennell
took her key to the front door of the
Burdick home while they were in New
York together and had several dupli-
Gates made of it. The district attorney
put the question regarding the key to
Mrs. Burdick in a number of different
forms but the answers were always
emphatic denials that she or Pennell
had ever ordered duplicate keys made
or that the key had left her possession
during her last exile from home.
Mrs. Burdick was calmer and more
collected while testifying to-day than
she was yesterday. She left the stand
at Ais.
To complete the examination of every
one who was known to have been in
the Burdick home on the night of Feb
ruary 26th when Edwin L. Burdick was
murdered, the district attorney to-day
called to the stand the two youngest
Burdick children, Carol and Alice, aged
respectively thirteen and ten years.
The district attorney spoke kindly to
the children but questioned them close
ly about the events that occurred at
their home on the night before and the
morning after the murder of their ia
ther. The children displayed no more
sign of emotion than did their grand
mother, or mother, or older sister while
talking about the terrible death of
their father. Their recollection Of the
happenings at the time of the tragedy
were rather hazy and 81 don't remen-
ber'' was usually the answer they gave
when the district attorney pressed them
closely on any point.
Mrs. Burdick's testimony covered the
week in which Burdlck was murdered
and the name of Arthur r. Penne'!
was constantly upon her lips. She
trusted him implicitly in everything
The district attorney read number Of
letters written to Mrs. Burdick by Pen
nell in which he said life was not
worth living without her and that
death would not be unwelcome. She
knew nothing of document found in
her safety deposit vault bonding Pen-
nell to pay her $4,000 in the event of
his being unable to marry her. Al
though it was among Mrs. Burdiclt's
private papers in the vault she claimed
to have been ignorant of it's existence.
Mrs. Burdick declared that the last
time she saw Pennell was on the Tues
day before the murder. He left her
that night in Atlantic City, arriving in
Buffalo Wednesday. She was informed
of Mr.. Burdick's death by a n ass lge
from Mrs. Hull on the following Friday
and fastened to Buffalo. She reached
her home Saturday morning. A brief
note of sympathy from Pennell came
to the house that day. She never
heard from him or saw him between
that time and the day he was killed by
his automobile plunging into the stone
quarry.
Before leaving the stand Mrs. Rur-
dick took occasion to say in reply to
questions from her attorney that moth
ing improper Or immoral had occur ed
between her and Pennell At the same
time she said her husband was fond OF
the society os other women and for
some reason not quite clear said that
Mrs. Pennell was quite familiar with
the dining room and "den' in the Bur
dick home
Decidedly the most interesting testi-
mony given to-day by Mrs. Burdick
was that in the afternoon when the
prosecuting attorney led up to the mur-
der of her husband. Mr.. Coatsworth at
the opening of the afternoon session
showed Mrs. Burdick a letter written
from the Waldorf Astoria to Mr.. Bur-
dick by Mrs. Pennell on December 22nd,
1902 In it Mrs. Pennell asked Mr.. Bur-
dick if he was absolutely crazy in TAX
ing the burden of pressing the divorce
proceedings. She called attention to
the fact that Pennell did not value life
too highly and intimated that he might
commit suicide and take Mrs. Burdick
with him.
In a letter written December 2S, 1902,
by Mrs. Burdick to Mr.. Burdick she
told him she intended to go to Atlantic
City. The letter also contained a yelled
threat at suicide. She had never talked
with Pennell about putting himself out |
of the way or about committing suicide |
herself. In antoher letter written by |
Pennell to Mrs. Burdick from Portland, |
Me, he addressed her as Dearest AL |
lie, the night is beautiful and as look |
up at the moon I try to put my |
thoughts away. I love you and must /
have you but fate Is ineXora BILE unless |