The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-04-03
TWO WIDOWS WAR
At BIER OF SUICIDE
Each Claims Body. Two Under.
takers Called and One
Sues Coroner

| Sdiuc " a CiiIldx IN the Undertaking
establishment of P. B. Mcdonald, 374
Seventh avenue, whittier Coroner
Scholer went to take the body by
force in behalf of the first wife, Mrs.
Josie Warren of Pequannock. n. ].
When the coroner got there he found
that the body had been buried by the
second wife, Mrs. Rose Warren, in
Mount Olivet cemetery. Maspeth-
Then, Ii is said. he called the under
taker body snatcher" and a liar"
| threatened to strike him and called
David r. Cohen, McDonald's counsel,
"a liar" and threatened him with his
| fists.
The coroner had brought with him
| two policemen in uniform and one in
| citizens clothes, who were to take the
body by force IL they could get it no
other way. Their presence prevented
fisticuffs. When the coroner found
that the body had been buried he was
beside himself with rage. He left,
threatening to have the undertaken ar
| rested. but not until he had served
| upon him subpoena to appear Friday
! morning at 10 o'clock, when the cor
| oner declares he will cause trouble for
everyone who had anything to do with
the affair.
Coroner Is Sued
In the meantime Mr.. Mcdonald has
ordered his counsel to begin suit
against the coroner. charging SANDER.
He has summoned as witnesses all the
newspaper men who were present He
also has ordered suit brought against
Manager Radcliffe of the Merritt Bur-
1al company, at Nineteenth street and
Eighth avenue, alleging that he attack
ed Mcdonald when he went there to-
get the body of the suicide on the order
of the second wife.
At the time of the fracas at Nc
Donald's place 1t was swarmed with
newspaper men and policemen. All the
trouble was because the dead man had
married two women without letting
either know about the other wife.
Mrs. Josie Warren has five children,
who she declares are the dead mans.
Mrs. Rose Warren, who lives in this
city, has no children. She declares
that she had to leave her husband be-
cause of i'll treatment. and that he had
attempted to take his life twice before
last Friday, once by laudanum and
next by gas. Each time she resusci-
tated him. helped him with money and
tried to reform him. He drank excess
sively.
Certificates Produced
In defense of the charge made by
the relatives of the Pequannock widow,
Mrs. Rose Warren exhibited a GER
tificate showing that she had married
Dorus w. Warren at the Knox Memo
rial church March 81, 1908, Rev. Ed
ward G. w. Meury performing the GER
emony, and Charles and Mary Swenson
witnessing IL.
The case is replete with the claims
and counter claims of the contending
parties. Briefly told. the facts are
these:
Dorus w. Warren was a collector,
with the Metropolitan Life insurance
company of this city. When the body
was found in the room Warren had oc-
cupied two weeks. Louis JEFFERSON. an
assistant superintendent of the Metro
politan company, ordered il removed to
the Merritt company's place before the
arrival of the coroner. 1t is charged
that he took Warren's books of ac-
counts, and the police are looking for
insurance policies alleged to have dis
appeared from the dead mans effects.
Word of Warren's suicide was sent
to Mrs. Rose Warren. She had paid
his room rent and supplied him with
money when he needed il after ex-
cessive drinking.
No. 2 Gets Body
She ordered Undertaken Mcdonald
to take the body. saying she would be
responsible for the bill. Some of War
ren's friends had learned of his death.
and had notified Walter Jones of the
Jones Construction company. said to
be related by marriage. Jones notified
some one, who in turn informed Mrs
Warren of Pequannock that her hus-
band, from whom she had been sepa-
rated several years, was dead
When Mcdonald got the order for
the body he went to Merritts estab-
lishment and was told that he could
not have it. He took Mrs. Rose Warren
TO the coroner's office and Coroner
Brown ordered the body turned over
to the woman or the man she selected.
MnT rt-,~
back TO the Merritt Office he was at
tackled by Supt. Radcliffe. This Mr.
Radcliffe denies. Mcdonald took the
body Friday night.
Saturday William Jones, who said
he was secretary TO Justice Leventritt
of the supreme court. called at Nc
DonaldS place with woman who said
she was the widow. Then several other
men called, among them one Koenig.
who said that he was brother-in-law
of Warren. Mcdonald said he would
give up the body If Mrs. Josie Warren
proved satisfactorily she was the
widow.
Only Small Insurance
Saturday afternoon and again Sun
day the New Jersey widow sent agents
TO the second Mrs. Warren, who de-
clared that she would not give up the
body until the other woman proved her
prior claim. McDonald's counsel finally
told him that he would be justified in
burying the body, which ne did.
Friends of the New Jersey woman
went 10 Coroner Scholer's house. and he
told them that he would get the body
at once. He telephoned to the police
to tell Mrs. Rose Warren that she must
call at his house at once. She refused,
and had the funeral yesterday morn
ing.
The New Jersey people made a final
~ oil 20 c..
Warren swearing that she was the
wife, and the coroner, not knowing that
the matter had been settled legally by
Coroner Brown when he issued the
burial permit, went to the undertaking
shop TO hold an autopsy and take the
body. But the body was gone.
Warren died leaving life insurance
policy for $3.50, the second Mrs. Warren
being the beneficiary