Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-07
FINDING OF SKELETON
POLICE THINK WOMAN DIED OF
NATURAL CAUSES.

day of the finding of the skeleton of Mrs.
Martha Clements, colored. in a room IN
the old building on the Lyons estate. near
Rock creek, he thought that the woman
had possibly been murdered and her body
| left there. An investigation made by De-
| tective Hartigan and the police of the third
and tenth precincts soon satisfied him. how
ever, that the woman had died from natural
causes.
Nothing was found in the room which
would tend to indicate that Mrs. Clements.
who was sixty-two years of age. had been
assaulted An overturned chair near her
body indicated to the police that the woman
was seated upon Ii when she was taken I'll
and that the chair overturned when she
fell. Mrs Clements. her friends say, was
afflicted with heart trouble, and they think
that her death was due to that cause. Rela-
tives were surprised when they learned of
the finding of her skeleton, as they were
under the impression that she had gone TO
visit her mother, who Is said to be nearly
Mrs. Clements was last heard from in De-
cember, 1905, and it Is thought she died
prior to Christmas. Although the demise
occurred more than four months ago. and
pied. 1t was not until yesterday morning
that an unpleasant odor was detected.
Meant to Visit Pennsylvania
William Ashton, colored, rents the struc-
ture and conducts a truck garden upon the
premises. He sIblet a room to Mrs Glenn
ents about the middle Of October and saw
but little Of her during the time she was
alive. Shortly before the time Of her death
Mrs. Clements told friends that she was
going to Chambersburg to visit her mother,
and when she was missed they naturally
supposed she had proceeded to Pennsyl
vania. Her daughter, Mary Mann, lives
only a few hundred feet from the Lyons
property. but she attached no Importance to
the fact that her mother had not called to
say farewell to her before going away.
She did not go to the room to make an in
vestigation, feeling satisfied that her mother
was In Chambersburg.
Mrs. Ashton wife of the man who rents
the Lyons property, was passing through
the hall yesterday when she detected an un-
pleasant odor. Thinking the cause was in
the room that Mrs. Clements had rented
Mrs. Ashton notified her husband and the
latter discovered the skeleton on the floor
when he looked through the transom Po-
lfceman~Rollins of the third precinct was
summoned and he forced open the door.
Later Detective Hartigan and Sergeant
Bremmerman of the tenth precinct went to
the house and made an investigation When
they reached the room they found that rats
had gnawed at the body until scarcely any
flesh remained. Coroner hewitt viewed
what was left of the body and had it re-
moved to the morgue. The coroner made
an investigation but failed to find anything
that would indicate that Martha Clements
had been victim of foul play.
Pocket Inside Dat.
1t was stated by Mrs Mann, daughter of
the deceased, that her mother had a small
bank account, but the bank book was not
found In the room yesterday. 1t may be
there, however, for the room Is well filled
with articles of furniture and other things.
A photograph was taken of the scene by
the police photographer, and a further In
vestigation is being made of the woman's
death by the police. The only thing that
excited suspicion of foul play was one of
the pockets of the woman's dress inside
out
The police found a leather belt about the
waist of the skeleton, and attached to it
was a handbag, In which Mrs. Clements
kept her cash and other articles of value.
Tied in handkerchief was $780, while in
a pocketbook was cents. Capt Board
man sent a message to William F. Swami,
a stepson of the deceased, telling him of
the finding of the body. He responded
through the chief of the Chambersburg po-
lice department and gave the address OF
Mrs. Mann. Detectives Hartigan and Baur
are making a further investigation of the
case today, and unless something is found
to indicate foul play the coroner will prob
ably give a certificate of death from natural
causes