Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-01-04
VICTIMS HUSBAND HE'LL
Body Positively identified as That Of
Mrs. Whitmore.
LETTERS MAY YIELD LIGHT
Some Were Signed in Murdered
Woman's Name After Her Body
Had Been Found-Clues.

Ni'''N
the identity of the 'Lampblack swamp
murder victim has been definitely es-
tablished. the police are hopeful that a
complete solution of the mystery may be
reached. Up to yesterday the case was
| hopeless maze of contradictory theories
and false identificatons. Even when the
first suggestion came that the body
might be that of Mrs. Helen Whitmore of
Brooklyn. the police were skeptical.
When the womans husband said he was
unable to make a positive identification
the police felt that another hope had
been dashed
A few hours later, however. the body
was positively recognized as that of Mrs.
Whitmore and today her husband is a
prisoner. He is held ostersibly as wit
ness. but the police are making a care
full investigation of his movements since
| Christmas day. few hours before the
| body of his wife was found
| Whitmore has admitted that he quar-
| relied with his wife shortly before she
disappeared from home because of atten-
tions she accepted from another man. He
| insists however. that he did not leave
| Brooklyn Christmas day, and that he was
confined to his home for four days follow
ing by illness. Several other men, in
cluding Thompson and Kirkman, who
lived on houseboat near the place where
| the body was found. and who were taken
into custody Immediately after the crime
| came to light are still detained by the
police.
important Letters for Clues.
1t is likely that several letters which
have turned up since the body was iden-
tilted as that of Mrs. Whitmore may have
an important bearing on fixing the re-
sponsibility for the woman's death. Some
of these letters. which were signed with
Mrs. Whitmore's name, were written
| several days after her body had been
found The evident intent of the writer
| OF the letters was to msead the rela-
tives of the dead woman to believe that
she was still alive and we'll at the time
| they were written.
| The police take the ground that If they
! can trace the writer of these letters they
will be justified in holding the person on
q direct charge of murder. To this end
| they have procured samples of the hand
writing of the dead woman's husband
which will be submitted to experts for
! comparison with that in the letters pur-
/ porting to have been written by Mrs
! Whitmore.
/ Theodore S. whitmore. the husband of
the murdered woman, has been employed
as motorman on the Third Avenue
Elevated railroad in New York CITY, He
was formerly a resident of Albany and
also is known in Schenectady where Mrs.
| Wh1tmOre once lived.
| Whitmore told the police today that it
| was he who sent his wife's trunk from
! her home in Brooklyn to her sisters
residence in the Bronx a few days after
| the murder. Whitmore, the police saw
at first denied this.
Traced by Red Dress.
| A private detective, after several days
work. found that the red dress, which had
| been ripped off the murdered woman, was
sold by Oppenheim & Collins in Fulton
street. Brooklyn. and delivered by them
to furnished-room house at 236 Adams
street. Brooklyn. kept by Mrs. Whitmore.
! She had been missing. it was quickly
learned, since o'clock on Christmas day.
! Then it was discovered that Mrs. Bessie
| Schmitter OF 4S6 East 10th street was
a sister of Mrs. Whitmore. The police took
Mrs. Schmitter to the Harrison morgue
| today. The instant she saw the body she
said 1t was her sister. She identified the
| red dress and the furs positively as those
of Mrs. Whitmore- Her husband. Michael,
was equally certain, and friend of the
| family, Mrs. Edith Mooney, said at the
| time there could be no doubt that it was
| Mrs. Whitmore.
! Mrs. Schmitter said that Whtmore who
| is at present motorman on the Third
| avenue elevated. running q shuttle train
| between Chatham square and the Brook
| lyn bridge at night, married her sister
| Lena Salter. fifteen years ago in Albany.
| She said that Whitmore ill-treated his
| wife constantly, and had beaten her at
| times SO that her body was black and
| blue. Mrs. Schmitter declared that Whit
| more once said to his wife:
| Lena, if | should kill you some time.
| they would only arrest me on a charge OF
| insanity.
Whitmore Extremely Jealous.
Whitmore was extremely jealous and
had thrashed on several occasions a
young man named Harry Hendrickson.
whom Lena was pretty fond of. The
pair had row about Hendrickson on
the Sunday night before Christmas said
Mrs. Sclmitter. Whitmore going home
| from work. met the young man in the
| street. said he guessed it was time to be
| friends. and asked Hendrickson to go to
his house and talk il over with Mrs. Whit
more
At o'clock Monday morning Whitmore
went home himself. found Hendrckson
with his wife. slapped her. Knocked Hem
Erickson down and threw him out of the
house. Mrs Schmtter says her sister
told her that Hendrickson has not been
| located.
Il saw Lena. last at 10 O'Clock on
Christmas eve said Mrs. Schmitter
| She had come to my house afraid her
husband was going to kill her. The day
before he came up to our place. demanded
a phonograph Lena had lent us. and when
We would not let him in he broke dow n
the door and took away the talking ma
chine. Christmas eve Lena said she was
going back to her house, at 236 Adams
street. long enough to get her belongings
from Whitmore. and to get a warrant for
his arrest. Well. here she is in the
l morgue.
tWoman's Life Miserable.
| Ever since Door Lena married her life
has been miserable. On Monday of las
week Lena left her home in Brooklyn.
and came to my house. Her face was
bruised and cut. That night her husband
appeared and begged her to return home
with him. She finally consented, but first
she left with me her watch. her ring and
ST. in money A day or two later i got
word from her that she would come up
TO the Bronx to see US on Christmas day,
and then go up. state to our old home
| to spend the holidays.
christmas evening / received a teIe-
gram from Brooklyn reading as follows:
Don't expect me tonight.
! LENA
Two DAYS later came letter purport-
ing to be from Lena. in which she vao