Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-04
HELD FOR
DEATH OF
MRS. MOVES
M'C0MAS MUST STAND TRIAL
IN COURT
NEW FEATURES sTARTLE W.T.
NEssEs AT INQUEST
Police Produce Revolver Found in
Woman's Bed Several Hours After
shootlng-5uIlet Lodged in
Handkerchief

Peculiar, new and startling features,
| which serve to shroud the case in even
greater mystery than has up to this
time enveloped 1t, developed at the in
| quest held at Pierce Bros undertaking
establishment yesterday morning to de-
termine the responsibility and placing
the blame for the killing of Mrs. Char
lotte L. Noyes.
William P. McComas, the man who
killed the woman and who now faces
a charge of murder on account of her
DEATH was not present at the inquest
but was represented by his attorney,
Earl Rogers.
A jury composed of f. F. Ingram,
foreman; j. Alex Fredericks, H. e.
Good w. L. Moss, D. D. Kerr and E.
F. Marsh, listened intently to the evil
dence which was presented, and at the
conclusion rendered the following YER
Dict
1--WE, the jury find that Charlotte
Noyes came to her death by gunshot
wound, inflicted by w. p. McComas,
with intent to commit murder
One of the most sensational features
of the day was when Detective Joe
Ritch, one of the officers detailed soon
after the shooting to investigate, pre-
sented to the coroner a 32-caliber Smith
& Wesson revolver, with every cham
Der loaded, which, he said, had been
found by Captain Paul Flammer hid
den beneath a coverlet on Mrs. Noyes'
bed.
Questions Detective.
81 knew as much" muttered Attorney
Rogers, who has contended since the
killing that such weapon was in the
possession of the police.
ASK him, Mr. Coroner, why that
| reVO1Uar was fO11nd IUbila roor11
door was shut against me-" Rogers de-
manded angrily.
1.-THE revolver was found a few min
utes after you left" replied Ritch.
"Well, it's the best thing that could
have happened" said Rogers.
One other piece of evidence which
was produced created a sensation
among witnesses and spectators. That
was when c. S. Watkins, undertaker's
assistant, testified that he undressed
the body at the parlors of Pierce Bros.
and found handkerchief at the wound
In the woman's back. The handker-
chief had many holes in it and was
covered with blood
He stated that when the clothes were
removed the bullet dropped from the
handkerchief.
DR.. George w. Campbell testified to
the results of the autopsy. He stated
the body was we'll formed, and the
woman appeared to have been in good
health. On the face and body were
burns, abrasions and bullet marks; an
1 abrasion of the right side of the fore
head, a discoloration in the middle of
the forehead and another on the bridge
of the nose.
Woman's Face Burned
Two burns on the right cheek and
larger and deeper burns on the jaw
Il
sulphuric acid, which leaves a brown
ish stain. There was an abrasion on
the right wrist, and an acid burn on
the back side of the right fore finger.
The woman was normally healthy and
her death was caused by homicidal
gunshot wound of the heart.
Mrs. Scott White 1882 Shatto street,
was the first witness. Her testimony
was for the purpose of identification.
She stated that she had known Mrs.
Noyes for a year. She said the dead
woman was about SO years old and was
| born in Boston.
| V. C. Carey a detective in the dis
trict attorneys office, who was attend
ing dance at the Hotel Pepper on the
night of the shooting, testified in SUBJ
stance as follows:
ST was at the Hotel Pepper a few
minutes of II o'clock Friday night.
The last dance was in progress, and I
| had just gone downstairs and was
| waiting for my wife.
| 'I stepped out on the steps, when a
man rushed in and exclaimed that a
man with acid on his face had appeared
in front and announced he had killed
woman.
Visits Apartments
81 went to the Little street apart
ments and started to enter. A voice
| rI1N Id ~. T
killed her. She threw acid in my face.
I shot once to frighten her. and she
walked into the second shot
THAT was McComas. He was COM
ing out of the second bedroom. I
asked him for the revolver. and he re-
piled: She had one but 1 don't know
what became of it,
| 81 felt of the womans pulse and
| asked him about her.
"He said it was a long story and he
would rather not make statement.
! An officer appeared about this time.
He ordered McComas to throw up his
hands. McComas was then searched
and revolver found in an inside pock-
ct. The revolver contained two empty
cartridges and four loaded ones.
There were marks of acid in the
kitchen and on the door leading into
the bedroom also acid marks near the
| telephone and on the foot of the bed
The acid marks on the door were about
seventeen feet from where the body
was lying.
1.-THE woman was lying face down.
| ward, as though she had fallen forward
when shot. The bed was undisturbed
l turned down the covers at the top
but found no revolver. I did not dis
turb the bed in the vicinity of the acid
marks.
Found Bullet Marks
at found bullet marks on the door, on
the windows and on the wall.
my impression was that the bullet
marks on the door and the window
had been made by the same bullet
glancing."
Detective ]. r. Ritch testified that
McComas had told him that he had
thrown the acid bottle away.
'I found two bullet holes," said
Ritch; zone through the door and one
through the wall, the latter evidently
having glanced from near the window
before entering the wall.
"This one did not go clear through
the wall. but split a shingle on the out
side"
The following message was received
by Pierce Bros. from Boston yesterday
morning:
Send body of Mrs. Noyes to New
buryport, Mass. Wire date of Boston
arrival. F. F. Hobbs"