Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-08-21
Mystery Being Cleared Up.

LOudenVlile, u, Aug. Zl.--MOrrls
Stein and his aunt, Miss Porter, were
in u bed room in the Loudenville
house. They were not alone. One per-
son in the room murdered them both,
and II there were more than one other
person in the room besides the victims,
these others were accomplices to the
crime. Stein was shot first. from be-
hind, Miss Porter gave a startled out
cry and attempted to leave the room.
She was shot in the back of the head
from distance OF six or eight feet
away Then the murderer advanced
to Within two or three feet of her and
fired second shot. She died iminedia-
ately, but Stein lived for several min
utes after he received his mortal
wound He writhed on the floor but
could not speak. Who Committed the
murder is known to Mrs. Bayard and
probably to young Mrs Stein for, ac-
tcording to their testimony, they were
in an adjoining room.
This is the theory the Ohio officers
and the special detectives are working
on and to substantiate this theory they
are weaving strong chain of evil
dence. Day by day the missing links in
the evidence are being supplied.
AS yet they have not attempted to
say who committed the murder, nor
who are the accomplices. but today
they asked the Des Moines police de-
partment to arrest and hold Mrs
Stein, wife of the murdered man, and
Mrs. Rayard Mrs. STEMS mother, and
a sister of the murdered woman.
While detectives have other clues to
work on the powder marks upon the
hands of Miss Porter and Stein fur
nish much of the chief evidence to
back up their theory.
They have had a second examina-
ton MADE of the body Of Stein in Des
Moines and it discloses a few powder
marks but the hair and flesh is not
scared. This substantiates the theory
and establishes the fact that he was
shot from behind at a distance of be-
tween seven and ten feet That he was
shot first is believed because no pos
sible motive can be ascribed to the
killing of Miss Porter until after Stein
was shot and several motives can be
imagined for the killing of Stein; also,
tho it is known he was deathly afraid
Of firearms he was a man and there is
every reason to believe he would have
attempted to save his aunt-in-law
from the murderer, and, therefore, the
wound would have been in the front
of his head and not the back. The bod
Lies were some distance apart and
STEMS was nearer the door. beers, the
painter who was working on the out
side of the house, testifies to hearing
the slight cutlery at the time of the
shooting.
/ The second examination Of the
wounds in the head of Miss Porter
shows conclusively that the two shots
We're fired at her from different dis
tances for one wound is badly powder
burned. the other slightly. 1t is evil
dent that the slightly burned wound
was the result Of the first shot for
there is little probability that the MUIR
derer would step away and fire again
while it is probable that the murderer.
finding the first shot did not kill, would
rush forward and send a second ball
after the first. To offset this there
is also the chance that the first shot
was fired from close quarters; that
Miss Porter then turned to flee and
had taken several steps before the
second shot was fired.
That the shot came from within the
room is substantiated by the evidence
that the windows We're not open at the
time of the shooting .altho nearly all
of the other windows in the house
were open, as the day was warm.
There was no place in the room
where anyone could have been in hid
ing for any length of time. without
the knowledge of Stein and Miss Por-
ter.
AS the window was not disturbed,
there was but one mode of departure
from the room in which the murder
occurred. and that was thru the room
which Mrs. Bayard and Mrs. Stein
have testified they were occupying
when the shooting occurred. No one
could have left that room without the!r
seeing them.
The revolver, found on the floor
contained three empty shells. When
picked up it was evident that 1T had
been discharged but a few minutes
before and there is. no question IN
the minds of the officers that 1t is
the gun that fired the fatal shots.
ALI efforts upon the part of the orl-
GERS to find out where the revolver
came from have failed, thus far.