Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-04-11
LOOK FOR B|)RD|Ck GLEN
Budalo's District Attorney Says the
Charges Against Pencil Point
to Him as Murderer.
WILL SEEK LIGHT on The SUBJECT.
Lawyer Regards Opening of the Mys-
terry More Important Than Proof
OF Suicide-Statement Written Be-
fore the AutOm obile Accident to Be
Produced at 1nques1-

Buffalo, n. Y, Apri2 '9.-The inquest
into the death of Arthur K. Pennell,
which is scheduled to begin next Fri
day before Judge Murphy will be
more in the nature OF a reopening of
the inquiry into the Burdick murder
mystery than to determine whether
Pencils death was due to accident
or deliberate suicide. District Attor-
hey COatswOrth has announced that
he will subpoena j. Frederick Pen
nell, administrator of the Pennell
estate and brother Of the dead man;
Thomas Penney, attorney for the
estate, and Wallace Thayer, who was
Pencils confidential friend and adj
wiser for years.
Il intend at the Pennell inquest to
virtually reopen the Burdick inquest.
During that inquiry l shall endeavor,
with the consent of the court, to
bring out as much information as
possible tending to clear up the Bur-
dick mystery. l believe that the evil
dence brought out on the Pencil
inquest will be of value as bearing
on the murder" said District Attor-
ney Coatsworth
Known to District Attorney.
District Attorney Coatsworth said
that he had known of the alleged
swindling operations of Arthur R..
Pencil for week. Il was in
fOrmed.' he said. that Pencil had
been inducing his wife's family and
friends in Wayne to allow him TO in
vest their money for them. I was
also Informed that he gave them
fake mortgages on property and
kept up the interest payments in Or
der to cover up his dishonest trans
actions. I have not investigated the
report in detail, but it came to me
on such good authority that I am sat
1sfied of it's general TRUTH"
"Will you go into the matter Of
Pencils operations at the inquest 90
he was asked.
VIII Apply Probe.
I'm one sense replied the district
attorney. But as general propo-
sition his swindling operations have
no particular connection with the
Burdick and Pencil inquests. In
another sense I shall go into the
private affairs of PenneH.
my policy in the Pennell inquest
will be to bring to light every scin-
tilla of evidence which will or may
throw light on the murder of Edwin
L. Burdick. The inquest will not be
in reality to determine how Arthur
r. Pencil came to his death. 1t is
not of any great Importance to know
whether he committed suicide or not
but it is of the utmost Importance
to discover the murderer of F. L.
Burdick''
May Never he Known.
Mr.. Coatsworth said that it proba-
bly, would not be possible at the
Pencil inquest to bring out the
story of Pencils alleged defalca-
tions. ''It could hardly be claimed
that they have any material bearing
on the case" said Mr. Coatsworth.
''It is possible the story of Pencils
dishonesty will never be made known
in an official way
The long statement written by Ar.
thur R. Pennell on the day before his
death will be produced at the inquest
next Friday. The authorities can
lay their hands upon it at any mo.
ment they desire. In this statement
Pencil declared that he had no hand
in the murder of Edwin L. Burdick,
that an unknown woman was in Bur-
dicks den on the night of February
26, and that Burdick was murdered
by that woman.