The Washington herald., 1907-11-25

New Rochelle, \. Y, Noy. 2L-The body
Of Mrs Grace Smith, who shot and
killed her husband. Nicholas NJ. Smith,
jr., and afterward set fire to their home.
80 Woodland avenue, and committed sui
eide by turning the revolver on herself
and sending a bullet through her left
breast, is still at the private morgue Of
George T. Davis, in New Rochelle.
None Of her alleged relatives, the Bulk
leys.-of Connecticut, have appeared TO
claim it, and it is now believed that they
never Will, as they say the woman is an
imposter who has given them a lot Of
trouble by appropriating their name for
her matrimonial adventures.
Samuel X. Smith, a well-known lawyer
Of New York and Baltimore, who Is a
brother of the murdered man, took his
body TO Baltimore last night, and the
funeral will be held there tomorrow
Mr.. Smith instructed the undertaken to
keep the body OF the woman until Mon
day noon, saying that if her relatives did
not call by that time he would see that it
was buried. He said his family knew
nothing of his brothers wife except that
she had frequently told them that She
was a member Of the Bulkley family, Of
Hartford
Mysterious Visitors See Body.
Last night two stylishly dressed women
Of about thirty. accompanied by an
elderly man in a fur coat, came TO New
Rochelle in a large red touring car and
visited the morgue.
The women asked to see the body Of
Mrs. Smith. but would not give their
names. They told Mr. Davis they were
intimate friends Of the dead woman.
When they We're granted permission to
view the body one woman declared that
she could not look at the body and sat
IN the machine, while the man and the
other woman went in 70 see the body.
As she gazed ar the face Of the dead the
woman hung on the arm Of her escort
and wept bitterly, exclaiming. Poor
Grace. why did she do it? She must
have been crazy.'
The woman asked for a lock Of hair.
and after Mr.. Davis had cut it off and
given it to her she returned 20 the car
and the party hurried away. These,
with the exception Of Mr.. Smiths brother,
are the only persons who have visited
New Rochelle or taken any interest in
the dead woman It is believed that she
IS "a native of England or some other for
eign county. and that none Of her rela-
tives will put in an appearance.
There is no doubt that. although the
woman was probably an adventures.
Smith believed TO the day OF his death
that she was a daughter Of ex-Lieut
Gov Bulkley, Of Connecticut. and related
to United States Senator Bulkley, Of that
State, and would come in for a large
part Of the family estate She had a
copy OF the inventory OF the estate.
which she showed him at various times
10 keep up the alleged deception.
Two Theories for Tragedy.
In the opinion OF the New Rochelle
police, there are two explanations for
the tragedy. One is that the woman.
who for years had posed as on heiress
of the BuIllley family, Of Connecticut.
feared that she would eventually be un
masked and the deception exposed TO her
husband and his family. who are prom
inent people in Baltimore.
The other is that for some secret reason
she wished 10 get rid Of her husband.
and, having made failure Of the at
tempt to burn the house containing his
dead body, was driven, as a last resort,
with the police rapping at the door for
admittance. 20 take her own life.
Chief Timmons and Detective Cody
took but little stock in the theory that
Mrs. Smith was seized with a sudden
homicidal mania. They have learned
from Grover Cleveland. a young friend
of the couple, who is now in charge
OF the house. that the report that Mrs.
Saith had ever been confined IN an in
sane asylum is probably untrue. Mr..
Cleveland says that this report prob
ably gained circulation because of the
fact that after the death Of Mrs. Smiths
second husband, Or. Robert Acton. who
was in charge Of the city hospital at
BlackwclPs Island, she took UP hospital
work.
Not Work of Insane Person.
The police think that the tragedy was
too well planned to have been the work
Of an insane person, and THAT, If Mrs.
Smith lad intended 10 have murdered
her husband and burned the house for
the purpose Of hiding her crime, she
would have been entirely successful had
the barrel Of machine oil she ignited in
the cellar exploded and set fire to the
house, as she evidently expected it would.
The oil is known 10 railroad men az
'black oil" 1t is a heavy petroleum.
and, instead OF making a fierce blaze.
It only smothered itself out after flicker
ing for awhile and making a dense
smoke. Even the kndling wood which
Mrs. Smith saturated was only slightly
burned.
The police are Of the opinion that
Mrs Smith shot her husband while
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