The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-09-20
HINT OF ALETTER
Jerome Curry May Have Planned
Murder of Wife.
RumOr That Written Statement
Has Been Found.
CORONER WON'T TALK.
Inquest Held Today and Bodies
Sent TO Topeka.
Stories Of Trouble Between
Couple at Excelsior Springs.
CORONER WON'T TALK.


q Jerome Curry and his wife, Mary L.
Curry, have been embaIned. and viii
De sent to Topeka today. Curry's body
IS at Enlow's undertaking rooms, and
that Of his wife is at Prather & Hig-
bees. Large crowds surround these two
places almost constantly, trying to gain
admittance and see the bodies of the
murderer and his victim
1t is likely that no further examina-
tlon by the corner viii be made. Coroner
COX, VINO lives at. Liberty, happened to
be at Excelsior Springs for the purpose
of holding an inquest over. the remains
Of J. P. Farley who took poison there
Wednesday morning. He took the testi-
mony of some OF the eye witnesses of
the tragedy, and decided that no in
quest would be necessary.
a watch and several valua Bile diamond
rings were taken from the body of Mrs.
Curry by the coroner, and watch, dia-
mond stud and some letters were taken
from the pockets of Mr.. Curry.
1t is said that one of the letters found
In Mr. Curry's pockets contained state
I ment of his plan to end the lives of his
wife and himself. The coroEer, how
ever, refused to confirm this rumor, or
made public any of the letters found in
Mr.. Curry's possession.
A number of persons were in the i'm
mediate vicinity of the tragedy at the
overheard their quarrel, however. Mr.
and Mrs. Curry had been to Regent
spring. They were noticed there by l
party of guests at the Naples whom
they passed as they returned from ths
spring. One of the guests, a lady who
refused to give her name. said:
They started from the spring at
about the same time we did. They took
the path to the left and we the one
to the right. We heard woman s
scream and looking across The Elms
park saw a woman turn and start to
run. At the same time heard shot
and saw the woman drop. Three more
shots followed IN CLOSE succession. The
couple sat on one of the benches at
Regent for some time but we saw moth
ing out Of the ordinary There We're
no indications Of a quarrel or Of the
impending tragedy,
j. H Dempsey, manager of the Peo-
pies theater was a witness to the trag-
edy. He was standing on the doorway
of the Catholic parsonage when the
shooting occurred Mr. Dempsey said
I was going down town and just as
1 opened the door I heard a scream ]
looked across the street, where I saw
a man and woman standing side by
side on the bridge, the man at the WO-
mans right side, placing him between
her and the street. She took step
backward as If to get away from him,
and at the same instant he fired three
shots into her breast and she sank
onto the floor of the bridge. Then he
turned the revolver against his head
and fired, falling instantly to the
ground
A bell boy at the Naples hotel tells a
story that shows the estrangement of
the couple. 'One night while Mrs.
Curry was at the Naples she rang and
I answered the call If any one calls
for me. she said, tell them have re-
tired and can't see them. And If my
husband should telephone for me don't
disturb me. We have been having trou-
bic and I don't want to talk to him -
Mr.. and Mrs. Curry were at the audi
torium Tuesday night with a party of
visitors and Excelsior Springs people.
There was nothing in their attitude
toward each other to indicate that all
was not right between them
William Green of the Green Grocery
company Of Topeka, who is a guest at
the Naples, knew Curry well. He said :
Curry was about 55 years old. He came
to Topeka from Ohio in 1897 and was
in the Central Sash & Door company.
He had been married before and was
divorced from his first wife. He has
two grown daughters, one living in
Ohio and one in Topeka"
The murder of Mrs Jerome Curry at
Excelsior Springs by her husband,
Jerome Curry, president of the Central
Sash and Door company of this city,
and his subsequent suicide recalls the
story of his fraudulent divorce from his
first wife and his bigamous marriage
with the woman whom he yesterday
shot to death.
The Currys came to Topeka in 1897
snd the family were well known socially
and moved in the exclusive circle while
Mr.. Curry was known as one of the pro-
gressive business men of the city Short
4 ly after the flood in North Topeka Mr..
Curry invested $4,000 in tie Central
Sash and Door company and was elect
f,F4
| that position since that time
1t was at first reported mat financial
/ entanglements might have had some
/ thing to do with the tragedy of yester-
| day but this is denied by Dennis A
/ Sipes he secretary of the cornuany vrTc
is authority for the statement that Mr.
Curry's accounts with the Arm of which
| he is the manager, are all right
Several months ago Mr.. Curry bor-
rowed several thousand dollars from
Thomas Page and this fell due while
Mr. Page was in Scotland and was
promptly paid. He had attempted to
negotiate several short time loans re-
Gently and whether he was successful
or not is not known at this time.
It is understood that while he holds
| $4,000 worth Of stock in the institution
! of which he is the president that a con-
siderable portion Of it IS held as col
| lateral by his first wife, she being
given possession of it to secure a sum o1
! money proIniz5d her when she cOmpro-
missed her case against him in court
The features of the divorce case IL
which ne cast off his first wife were re.
! voting in the extreme and the aIlega.
tions which he afterwards declared werl
false were too vie to be considered
The health of his first wife falling shl
was sent to the home Of her parents il
Pennsylvania and it was while she wa.
there in a sanitarium that he. secured
divorce without her knowledge.
She was surprised when she was ap