Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-03-25
NO LIGHT ON KILLING
Mrs. Burdick Denies Knowl-
 edge of Husbands Slayer.
CHILDREN TESTIFY WITHOUT EMOTION

I'm Testimony of Widow Coverfng
 Week I'm Which Murder Was Com-
 mitted, She Denies That Pen-
 nell Had Her House Key. f
 BUFFALO, March 25.-"Have you received any information as to who killed your husband?'
 'sNo, sir.'
 ''You swear you have no knowledge or information as to who killed him p
 ''I do.''
 The above questions were addressed to Mrs. Alice Hull Burdick yesterday afternoon at the inquest into the death of her husband by District Attorney Coatsworth. The answers were re- turned by Mrs Burdick in a calm. clear voice. The questions came ab- ruptly while the district attorney was drawing from Mrs. Burdick informa- tion about her relations with Arthur R. Pennell. She had denied that Pen nell took her key to the front door of the Burdick home while they were in New York together and had several duplicates made of it. The district at torney put the question regarding the key to Mrs. Burdick in 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. She left the stand at 4:15.
 To complete the examination of ev- cry one who was in the Burdick home on the night of Feb. 28, when Edwin l.. Burdick was murdered, the district attorney 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 closely about the events that oc- cured at their home on the night be- fore and the morning after the murder of their father. The children displayed no more sign of emotion than did their grandmother or mother or elder sister while talking about the terrible death of their father Their recollection of the happenings at the time of the tragedy were rather hay, and T don't remember" 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 Burdick was murdered, and the name of Arthur R. Pennell was constantly upon her lips. She trusted him implicitly in everything. The dis trict attorney read number of letters written to Mrs. .Burdick by Pennell in wl1i1h 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 Pennell to pay her $25,- GOO in the event of his being unable to marry her. Although it was among Mrs. Burdick's private papers in the vault she claimed to have been igno- rant 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 MT. Burdick's death by message from Mrs. Hull on the following Fri day and hastened 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. Bur- dick took occasion to say in reply to questions from her attorney that noth- ing improper or immoral had occurred between her and Pennell. At the same time she said her husband was fond of the society of 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. s|
 Palma Urges Ratification.