New-York tribune., 1907-11-29
KILLS WIFE AND JUMPS
HIS BODY IN BRO1DW4T.
John Whitley Enacts Double Trog-
edU at the BeU6cIaire.

His mind wea kened by a long nervous Illness,
John Whitley killed his wife she slept early
yesterday morning and then flung himself from
the tenth floor of the Hotel Belleclaire to the
sidewalk No one heard the shots which killed
the woman and his body was not found until a
wandering nghthawk Cabby saw the shapeless
mass on the stone fiaggings in nth street.
Although Whitley and his wife have lived at
the Belleclaire since the first of the month. the
hotel management told the police that he could
not he one of it's guests. The police at first ac-
cepted the word of a clerk that Mr.. Whitley
was not a guest. and TO aid the hotel people
refused to allow n reporter to enter the hotel.
That murder also had been committed was not
known until Coroner Hamburger reached the
hotel and went to the tenth floor. There. i'm the
Whitley suite. nearly three hours after the find
ing OF Mr. Whtleys body, that or the murdered
woman was found
II was at first reported that Mr whitley had
lost much money recently. but his friends and
relatives all agreed yesterday that he was in no
financial straits. His health had been poor
for some time that several months ago he had
TO give up his business. Last summer he spent
some time in a Pennsylvania sanatOrium, and
since then his wife. who had been a nurse, had
kept careful watch on him. The last few days
he had been more nervous than ever before
Mr.. Whitley's business interests We're eXten-
his brother James he had big ventating and
heating plant in Brooklyn; out of this he had
made his reputation as an expert in ventilation
and a considerable fortune. He also di-
rector in the Reliance Ball Bearing Door Hanger
t.on1panv. in the John w. Wallace Company and
I'm the North Carolina Granite Corporation
MR.. WHITLEY MUCH OLDER THAN WIFE
Mr. Whitley was sixty years old-about twen-
" years older than his wife. He was a widoWer
when he met her first, in a Brooklyn hospital,
more than four years ago, and later married her
II is said that because of the disparity in their
ages neither family liked the marriage but the
couple were always devoted to each other. Mrs.
Whitley was Miss Elizabeth J. Logan
From the scene of the crime it found
possible to reconstruct the whole tragedy. on
the dressing table was the jewelry which Mrs.
Whitley had worn the evening before. Both
had retired, but some time between and )
o'clock Mr.. Whitley In the bureau
drawer were a new revolver and a new box of
cartridges which he had purchased a few days
ago When he shot his sleeping wife he pressed
the muzzle close to her forehead just above the
left eye, the bullet tearing across the top of
her brain He fired again, the bullet entering
the mouth and travelling upward. The woman
never moved.
After he shot her Whitley threw out the
empty shells from his revolver and tried to
write a note. The note crumpled and blood
stained. was found by the coroner. The trem-
bling nervous scrawl read: Il can't john"
He had tried to write some explanation, but had
failed.
After that it is evident that he started to
shoot himself. Picking up small hand mirror
and a towel he went to the bathroom. but ap-
parently fearful that ne would not kill himself
he nut down the mirror in the bathroom and
carried the revolver freshly charged as it was.
back to the dresser in the room where his wife
Law dead. He covered her body with his bath
robe and then opened the window Of the room.
which looks out into nth street. Clad only in
his bahamas. he climbed out on to the stone
coping and then flung himself forward.
CABMAN FINDS MUTILATED BODY.
Perhaps half an hour later George w Preston.
a cabman returning from a fare found the
mutiIated body on the sidewalk. Preston ran
into the BeIleclaire and called out Albert Keene
the manager. and William Blackburn. the night
clerk but both professed ignorance of the mans
identity. AS they stood about the body Patrol
man Cavanaugh, of the West 6Sth street sta
tfon. came up and at once informed Police
Headquarters and the coroners' office. The
body was ia! n to the station house. On one
finger was a plain gold ring with the inscrip-
ton. ~ h W. to A. E. N"
When the coroner arrived he at once ordered
a room-to-room search until finally suite No.
142 was reached The Whitleys had occupied
that suite for only a day. having previously oc-
cupied one on a lower floor. Mr.. Whitley asked
Continued on second page
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