The Penn's Grove record., 1903-03-13
DASHED OVER 4 PRECIPICE
Pencil, Who Held the Key to the
Burdick Case, Killed.
WAS IN AUTO WITH HIS WIFE


WAS IN AUTO WITH HIS WIFE
TIE Lawyer Had an Important T-eIenhon.
Talk Before No Started ON nj. rst.,
Rlde-sentiment General That tn. A.
cident Cleans UP the Murder Mxsterv
He May De . Suicide.
Buffalo, N. Y.-Horror piled on horror.
again shakes the whole social structure
of the city, and the shadow of relcnt.
less fate enshrouds once light-hearted
butterflies of the Elmwood set, for the
savage murder of Edwin L. Burdick.
in his home, is followed by the shock.
ing death of Arthur r. Pencil. whom
he had made correspondent in his sniff
for divorce, and who, if he would.
many believe, could have pointed the
finger of justice straight at the mur.
derer.
Pencil was dashed over a prec:nice
il an automobile with his wife a little
after 6 o'clock p. Il. He was killed in
stantly, and Mrs. Pencil was taken
terribly injured to the Sisters HOSPITAL.
Their fate is as mysterious as that Of
the rich merchant with which for ten
horrible Gays Pencil has been in
volyed. None a say whether it was
accident or design that sent the vehicle
plunging over the crest of a thirty-foot
~embankment. Only two young men
saw the tragedy.
The two boys who saw the ira gedy
said that Pencil was driving his ma
chine at a fairly rapid rate when his
hat blew off and the automobile
swerved and disappeared with its bur-
den into the bowl of limestone n few
feet from the road. Unless Mrs. Pen
nell RECEIVERS enough to tell her story.
no one may ever learn Pencils last
words and impulses, or ever know
whether the machine or it's driver was
responsible for the plunge.
Sensational in the highest degree is
the fact that only an hour before start
ing on the fatal ride Pencil held an
anxious conversation over the tele-
phone with a friend; that the informa-
ton given to him by that friend made
a strong impression upon him-indeed.
plainly weighed heavily on his mind
and that the subject Of that talk was
the midnight murder of his former
friend, Edwin L.. Burdick. That was
the last conversation he held with any
one, unless, perhaps. his wife, for sixty
minutes later the lifeless BODY of Ar
thur r. Pencil successful LAWYER.
brilliant society man and favorite with
women-was lifted from a pile Of
jagged rocks at the bottom of the
quarry.
The Gehnes quarry, into which the
couple took their fatal plunge. has a
frontage on the south side Of Kensing-
ton avenue of about 600 feet. The line
is irregular, so that while, in a general
way. it parallels the street. the distance
between it and the street .curbing va
ries ut different points.
1t is asserted without qualification by
those who mistake deductions for facts
that it is known Pennell, who is an ex-
pert automobilist. did not lose control
of his automobile, but Intentionally
steered it toward the brink over which
it is believed he found surcease from
t~orturing thoughts. These say Pen
nell killed himself deliberately, as the
murderer had slain Burdick, and that
in his mad egotism he never paused to
reflect he wa taking his faithful wife
with him to eternity.
Mrs Pencil has been loyal to her
husband and throughout his trying ex-
periences during the past ten days she
frequently said her faith in him was
mistaken. and that she would stick to
him to the end.
Pencil carried life insurance policies
~aggregating 100000. 1t is said that a
large part Of this insurance was taken
out recently. and some of it may be-
come invalidated because of the strange
circumstances surrounding the law
yer's death.
Mr.. Pencil was named as cO-respon-
dent in the suit for divorce brought by
Mr.. Burdick. He had been a friend of
Mr.. Burdick until two years ago. but
objections were finally made to his at
tentions to Mrs. Burdick. He was sup
ported by his wife, however. in the as
sertion that he had merely acted as
Mrs. Burdick's legal adviser in her
troubles with her husband.
After the discovery Of the murder
Mr.. Pencil was closely questioned by
the police. He was in the city on the
Right of the murder, but fully satisfied
the police as to his movements. He
was not under surveillance.
There were Evidences, however. that
suspicion had been turned from women
in the case, and that there was a dispo-
sition to look for a man as the murder
er. There were several pointed refer
ences to the divorce suit in newspaper
articles, indicating that there was a
new disposition to look into this feature
of the case.
In this connection a statement was
printed over the signature of Mr.. Pen
nell. 1t was in the form of a letter
which he sent to a friend at Pottsville,
Pa. and read:
In the mass Of s~ensationalism which
has followed the affair (the murder OF
Burdick) the truth was utterly lost. |
had no connection with the crime. MY
name was brought in through the Oh
vorce proceedings which were pending.
There was no truth in the charges in
those proceedings. They were abso-
lutely denied under oath by the defend
ant md myself. 1t vas dragged in out
OF vindictiveness, because my wife and
myself had taken the part of the wife
against the husband, and she had come
to me for legal advice and protection
Sentence on Lady Abbess.