Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-17
DARK TRAGEDY
ENDS IN COMEDY
MURDER AT LOCKWOOD JOKE
ON SOMEBODY
SMALL ARMY SEEKS TRACE OF
AWFUL CRIME
Woman Supposed to Have Been Slain
Telephones to Police Inqulrlng
for Man Alleged to Have
Killed Her

This is the story of hor-r-i-a-ble mur-
der and suicide that bids unfair to rival
the famous Guinness tragedy at La
porte: SO.
An, undertaker's wagon. followed by
Coroner Hartwell, Sheriff Hammel In
an automobile. seven deputies, six re-
porters, three photographers and one
artist trailed through the canyons near
Lockwood station on the Pasadena and
Los Angeles road for two hours yester-
day searching for the body of woman
who was alleged to have committed
suicide and that OF her child. alleged
(again) to have been murdered.
While this small army was organizing
in the road for its search OF the hills
woman with child in her arms
passed down the pike and boarded a
car for Los Angeles. She was Mrs. M.
A. Ferrer, who an hour before had been
reported at central station as having
murdered her child and then killed her
self. Neither the army nor its generals
knew this at the time.
Mrs. Carlson to the Rescue
About 1870 o'clock yesterday after
noon William II. Carlson, president OF
the Consolidated bank. 124 South Broad
way. called up the undertaking firm of
Cunningham & O'Connor and reported
the tragedy. He agreed to pay the ex-
penses of. the funeral and asked that
wagon be sent out at once. The wagon
was sent, the police, the coroner's office
and the newspapers notified.
Under the leadership of Coroner
Hartwell the scouts searched the ad-
jacent country for three miles in any
direction Some of the men rode on
the undertaker's wagon and some in
the sheriff's motor car. The rest
walked. AS the expedition dipped into
canyons and surmounted peaks 1t re-
sembled on a small scale the army of
Kuropatkin in its maneouvers about
Mukden. When cne clew after another
had been run down to no purpose-it
seemed that no one had died in the
neighborhood for years pasta little
girl came through with the information
that there had been fuss at the Page
cottage the night before. She added
that the people who made the fuss
were named Ferrer Once more the
photographers took up their cameras
and wiped tlls perspiration from their
brows. A definite clew had been found
at last
Oh! Door Barricaded-
Repeated knocking on the door
brought no answer. Reporters and
deputies looked in at the windows. but
could see little. A trunk was placed
against the back door as If for a barri-
cade. Others went to the rear of the
house, but were unable to effect an
entrance. A deputy put his head
through a hole formerly used for a
stovepipe. He held up one finger and
said: Hist I smell blood" The cell
lar was searched, but no body of wo-
man or child discovered. After all the
windows had been tried but one, which
was too high up, dry goods box was
brought out and placed under 1t
Mounted on this a reporter tried the
window. 1t yielded. A photographer
camera in hand, was showed through
into the room
He looked under the bed. behind pic
lures ana in the sink, but found nc
bodies. There were not even blood.
stains on the carpet.
"Get a shovel" said deputy. He
had discovered spot in the back yard
covered with fresh earth. When the
spade had been procured 1t was handed
! to the most energetic of the reporters
He took L listlessly. wiped the beads
of perspiration from his intellectual
| brow and turning to the coroner asked
Don't you think it is too hot to dig
| for bodies?"
Mystery Solved
| At this vital moment Mrs. Page her.
self appeared. When assured that none
of the seven deputies had any desire tc
arrest her she opened the front door
with her key. "Burglars!" she cried
The photographer had mussed things
nm some. She soon found there was
nothing missing and then consented to
tell what he knew.
Ferrer. his wife and child lived with
her on the night before they had had
trouble in regard to the rent. Inc
affair reached such a stage that Mrs
page sent for a constable and had
FeTrer arrested Later he was re-
leased on bail. 1t Is supposed that al
about this time Ferrer became obsessed
(continusd ON Page rhres)