The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-03-06
BELIEVE WoMAN DID -.
ouHa'o's Mysterious Murder Continues
to Attract Attention

mystery" GU d
~ may be said, however. the ofic;,,.
ss'.i incline to believe the murderer is
a woman. The lady who is said to have
peeh IN conversation with Burdick over
.he on the afternoon preced-
ing MS death, 1t has been learned wa
MRS. Seth I. Paine, who visited the dis.
eriet attorneys office yesterday. TODAY
M admitted calling UP Burdick. and
ADDED: 1t was in response to q te,e-
phone message from him the night be-
oue ana related exclusively to social
alaIs. u a no relation to any ap-
ponu.Aient with him at any time"
Burdick's will has beer found and il
is said cuts off Mrs. Burdick entirely
an real and personal property going to
his three children.
MIS-. Burdtck n Mrs. Hull. her
Inotner, were examined at considerable
length at a police station, where they
Sere upon their return from
Sanastota, where they had attended
the FUNERAL Of the murdered man.
Mrs. Burdick's Story.
Mrs. Hull was first questioned by
District Attorney Coatsworth and As
sistant superintendent of Detectives
Cusack. She said she knew nothing of
What had happened until she was called
by the domestic in the morning. She
heard no sounds in the night, heard
nothing of any voice whatever and
aWoke IN The morning ignorant Of any
tragedy in the house. She denied posi-,
lively that her relations with Mr.. Bur-
dick We're unfriendly and alphabetically
declared she believed no one in the
household had anything to do with the
crime or knew ne ~ until ,,0rx{or
Mrs. Burdick was next questioned at
length as to what she could offer to
throw light on the possible identity of
the murderer, after which both women
Went back to the Ashland avenue home.
The district attorney said after they
had gone: w examined Mrs. Hull
and Mrs. Burdick for the purpose of
completing h examination of all those
present in the house on the night the
murder occurred and to ascertain from
Mrs. Burdick, if possible, who, in her
Judgment, might have been actuated to
commit such a crime"
The great question that the author
tiles are first trying to determine is
whether the murderer Of Mr.. Burdick is
a man or a woman. Until they satisfy
themselves on that score the police will
be, to a great extent, in the dark.
There are theories which make it ap-
pear more plausible that a woman COM
mitted the crime. Others go to show
that the murderer was just as prob.
ably a man.
A Woman Under Suspicion.
The heads of the detective and police
| force have been closely questioning a
| woman in connection with the murder.
| She is not under arrest, but it is stated
that an arrest may follow. The woman
has figured in the case heretofore. The
finding Of a steel tipped golf stick with
which it is almost certain Burdick was
killed, and the fact thai the bone in
| Burdick's skull Is remarkably thin,
makes it more reasonable to suppose
that the blows upon Burdick's head
| could have been delivered by a woman.
The clue furnished by Patrolman
Meyers also strengthens the story that
the midnight visitor at the Burdick
home was a woman. He first saw a
| woman when he turned the corner of
Bryant and Ashland avenue at ITO
o'clock. She was walking on the east
side Of Ashland avenue toward Bryant
street. Her way led her from the Bur-
dick house.
While the police have found letters in
Burdick's house threatening that unless
he ceased his attentions to a woman
whose name the police will not divulge
drastic measures would be resorted to,
they nave been unable in their inves-
legations to get evidence upon which
to base a tangible suspicion. Mrs. J.
B. Warren of Cleveland, O., is still a
/, central figure in the inquiry which the
detectives and district attorney are
making. Burdick befriended her at the
time she vas defending proceedings for
divorce. It is admitted that he was
anxious to marry her. 1t is further de-
clared that one of the letters found in
Burdick's desk has particular reference
-. - T1.r, . NJ rVn1 1C
Warren denies all knowledge of the
mysterious crime, and her former hus-
band, who is in St. Louis, stated that
he had been, in the west and has heard
of he Buffalo crime only through the
newspapers.
Helps the Woman Theory.
There are more points to strengthen
the theory that he murderer was g
woman than that a man committed thu
crime. The question of the lunch, Whicr
was found partly eaten, on the desk ii
the den" enters into the case to 6
marked degree. Mrs. Hull, Burdick's
mother-in-law, who has spent much O.
her time with the Burdicks since thei1
marriage, more than fifteen years ago
in a statement made to the district at.
tornev, says that the murdered man die
not eat pastry or crackers or cheese
the three elements which went to make
IN the lunch. Mr.. Cusack avs tina
practically proves that the lunch wa:
procured by Burdick for some othel
person. All the articles of food found
on the desk We're from the Burdlcl
home, The servants have old the au'
thorities that. The supposition is tina
the lunch was procured after the Wis
itor came. Again comes the question
as to the visitors sex.
The lunch was dainty, there was III
tie Of it and only a trife had peel
eaten. A knife which had evidenti
been used to cut the cheese was rest
ing upon the plate and at the top OF tn
] desk. That fact, while perhaps OF N
very great Importance, goes TO prov
that there was no great struggle IN tn
room. The knife was resting agalns
the edge Of the plate in such a wa!
mat a very slight jar of the desk woule
have caused it to fan.
Although the police will not say SO
onenly. half a dozen of the detective
on the case are doing nothing eXcep
+ trying to learn of some woman VINO l
7 likely to have gone to the Burdicl
: home to see the murdered mar afte
! the others Of the family had retlred. l
10 believed they have not been success