The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-05-19
MORPHINE AFTER EL0PEMENT,
MAN AND WOMAN TOOK IT-ONLY
THE MAN DEAD.

Both Deserted Families In F10rida-kepler
Sought by Police for FOrEery-Was
Hopeless and Penniless- M NIif.
ler's Escape From W. Hooper Young.
Herbert l.. Kepler, who had run away with
another mans wife, deserving his own
family, and who had passed bad checks
with as much dexterity as he showed years
ago in playing tennis killed himself Wednes-
day night in Suessens Raines law hotel at
99l Sixth avenue, at the corner Of West
Fifty-sixth street, beside his companion in
elopement, Mrs. Dona Miller. He was
broke, and he knew the police were after
him, and that his father. a physician in
Deland, Fla, would not forgive him or his
crime against tho family.
From a letter which the suicide left
for his father, it is evident that he expected
the woman to die with him. Il hope we will
not be separated in death. We have loved
each other SO much in life" the note read.
Mrs. Miller did take some morphine as
Coroners Scholer and Golclenkranz dis
covered when they examined her. but as
she probably was used to the drug, it af-
fected her very little If she had made a
bargain to kill herself with Kepler she
didn't keep it. AS for him, he took enough
morphine to kill half a dozen men.
1t is not the first time that Dona Miller
has been concerned in New York tragedy.
as Coroner Scholer discovered when he told
her yesterday afternoon that she must go
to the House of Detention for day or 80.
Great God, don't send me there" said
the woman. i know what it is to stay
there"
When were you there?' asked the Cor
oner who supposed that Mrs. Miller was a
Southerner.
Three years ago. as a witness in the Will
liam Hooper Young case. she replied.
Then it was recalled that after the arrest
Of Young for the murder Of Mrs. Pulitzer,
Dona Miller told the District Attorney that
she had known Young for ten years and that
on the night before he killed Mrs. Pulitzer
he tried to induce her TO 60 to his apart
rntnt in the Clarence. She believed that if
she had gone she would ha We been the victim
Young. who was a morphine fend. behaved
so strangely that he frightened the Miller
woman and she would not go with him.
Mrs. Miller was detained as witness. but
was not called to the stand asl Dung pleaded
guilty to murder in the second degree.
Mrs. Miller said yesterday that she met
kepler four years ago, when she and her
husband lived at Fan Claire, Wis. Kerler
was hurt while working in a lumber camp.
and she helped nurse him in the hospital.
While there, she says, Kerler tried to get
her to elope with him. but she refused and
shortly afterward went with her husband
to Deland Fla, where they made their
home.
Kepler turned up there, as the manager
Of an orange plantation. His father lives
The homes Of the Keple and the Millers
were near each other and Kepler renewed
his attentions to the amateur nurse Of the
lumber camp. Miller got tired of the affair
and went away. kepler did not desert his
own wife at on G:s; but s2ntinued his atten en-
came to New York. She was all the time in
love with Kepler, and month ago she went
South and lie left his family and went to her.
They were in Western cities for while,
but Kepler could not find work that suited
ago they went to live at Suessen's.
Dona Miller told Coroner Soholer that
she learned, after fleeing with kepler.
that he used morphine. She said also that
before leaving Florida he had forged his
DR.. Kepler offered to make them good
the hank officials refused to he pacifed
and had detectives on the sons trail. spler
repented having run away. and wrote to
his father asking him If be could safely
go home. He got no satisfactory reply:
in New York but bis nephew Jack Lyman,
cashier of the bar at the Hotel Cadillac,
gave him enough to pay his room rent
at SUI ssen's and to buy morphine.
Kepler gave up the struggle Wednesday
night. It is supposed that he and the
woman agreed to take enough morphine
to kill them. The last Of his money went
to buy fat bottle of the stuff and he carried
out his part Of the job. About o'clock
yesterday morning the woman aroused
the housckeeper Mrs. Smith. and asked
her to wake up the proprietor as Kerler
was very "il.H Mrs. Smith refused and
than Mrs. Miller, who was known at the
hotel as Mrs. Kepler, confessed that Kepler
was dead.
While the porter was going for police
man Mrs. Miller drove to the Cadillac and
told Lyman of Kepler 3 death. Then she
returned to Suessen's. and Policeman
Byrnee took her to the West Forty-seventh
street station. She said she was born in
Central America and was 81 years old,
but she looks much older Size is dark.
rather un,idy in appearance and not at a i
beautiful. Kepler, she said was IS years
old. He was educated at the University
Of Wisconsin and was an athlete, winning
the tennis championship Of the South
after he went to Florida.
When Mrs. Miller was arraigned in the
West Side police court Magistrate Wahle
remanded her to the Coroners' Office with
hold an inquest to-day and the woman
will be asked whether there was an
agreement on double suicide.
Kepler left note for Raymond. thank
ing him for the loans. Raymond used to
play tennis with him. Raymond said
yesterday that Mrs. Miller's husband was a
dentist.