The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-06-25
THRILLING TRAGEDY AT
 ELEVENTH STORY WINDOW
MAN SHOOTS YOUNG WOMAN AND
 THEN DROPS OUT.

Faiied-0nce Succeeded in Getting Part of Her Body 0uf-He is Almost
 Instantly RfEIed--story of Intimacy.
 Detroit, June 24.-A small private office in a suite on the eleventh floor
 of the Chamber of Commerce building.
 at the corner of Griswold and State streets, was to-day the scene of most
 thrilling tragedy, when Charles A
 Swayse an insurance agent, fought
 with Miss Fife Alvord for several nlin- utes in an attempt to throw her out of
 the window, then shot her twice and plunged himself from the window to the brick pavement of State street, being
 almost instantly killed.
 Miss Alvord was shot twice in the neck and badly beaten about the head and face, but her physician tonight said that she is not dangerously hurt
 Every bone in Swayse's body below his neck was broken by his fall of 165 feet. Despite the terrific fall, 8 faint flicker of life remained when he was picked up, but it went out as his broken body was being carried into the lobby of the building.
 Back of the tragedy lies a tole of in timacy between Miss Alvord and Swayse, who was fifty-one years old. married and the father of two young daughters
 Both Miss Alvord and Swayse were for several years, prior to November, 1902, employed at the House of Correc- ton here, Swayse as deputy superinten- dent and the woman as matron. In a letter found on Swayse's body he charged that the woman tempted him while they were at the House of Cor rection and he fell. Their intimacy re- suited, Superintendent Mcdonnell, of the institution, says in neglect of their work and both were discharged. Swayse then entered the employ of the life irl- surance company in whose offices the tragedy occurred. Miss Alvord entered the employ of a sewing machine conn pany To-day she drove up in an au- i tomobile to the Chamber of Commerce building with J. D. Terry, also ernploy- led by the sewing machine company. She went up to the insurance office on the eleventh floor, where she and iSwayse entered a small private office at the front of the building, Swayse docking the door after them Angry words were heard, then struggle and Iscrean1s. Next several shots were fired land employees of the office broke in the Idoor. The wornan's screams were heard on the street and her companion, Terry. hurried up in the elevator and was the first man to rush into the room. Miss Alvord lay on the floor, her clothing torn, blood running from the bullet wounds in her neck and her hair dis heveled The window was open and l through it could be seen Swayse's face
 above the window ledge, to which he was clinging with his hands Then the hands slipped across the ledge and Swayse went hurling down through the l air to his death.
 l It is not clear whether or not s sSwsayse deliberately climbed out on the ledge to commit suicide or crawled out and dropped his legs and body over in an tattempt to work his way down the front of the building and escape into. an office on the floor below.
 l Miss Alberta Burns, employed in a building a block below the Chamber of
 Commerce building, saw the desperate struggle between the couple from her loffice window. SWayse, she says, made two attempts to throw the woman from l the window. Once he lifted her by her feet and succeeded in getting part of her body through the window, when she
 broke away from him. Then he grab bed her about the waist and again tried l to throw her to the street. Again she broke away. Then he attacked the woman and pounded her about the head, finally drawing his revolver and shooting her. Swayse then crawled up-l on the window and, Miss Burns says, 1 let his body down until his feet seemed l to rest on something, probably a nar- row ledge few feet below the window.
 Here he hung for few seconds. Then his head fell back, his hands lost their
 grip and he whirled through the air out of Miss Burns range of vision.
 l The Chamber of Commerce is in the
 business portion of, the city, and hun
 dreds of people on the street heard
 Miss Alvord's cries for help and saw
 Swayse's body strike the pavement.
 There is some element of mystery in
 the case. At Miss Alvord's boarding house it is stated that she and J. D.
 Terry are married. This Miss Alvord
 denied to a physician who attended her. l One of the letters found on Swayse
 was addressed to Mrs. A. E. Seeney, of ESaginaW, Mich, warning her not to let
 her son marry Miss Alvord, whom
 Swayse bitterly excoriated in the letter,
 charging her with wreclzing his home.
 At Miss Alvord's boarding house it was
 stated that Swayse had been threaten
 ing her for some time, and that she
 went to his office to-day to tell him
 that she was married and to finally break with him. It is also stated that
 Swayse threatened to write to her
 sweetheart in the west, supposed to be
 George Seeney, and tell him of their
 intimacy, and that she went to his of
 flee to-day to defy him to do it. A
 letter to Swayse's wife was found, the
 contents of which have not yet been l learned.
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