Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-04
BODY OF WIFE CUT UP
Actor Killed Her and Hid Re-
mains in Trunk.
CABMAN CAUSES ARREST
Believed Man Was Thief and Bag
gage Contained Loot.
DID NOT MEAN TO SLAY WOMAN
Husband Confesses-Burns Head
and Limbs in Furnace and Starts
for New York.
DID NOT MEAN TO SLAY WOMAN

Special Dispatch to The Star.
BOSTON. September 4.-Cfarles S. Jor-
dan of Somerville. who has confessed
that he killed his wife and cut her body
to pieces hoping to hide the crime. was
arraigned in the Somerville police court
today.
Judge Wentworth presided. After brief
proceedings the prisoner was taken to the
East Cambridge Jail. There was a great
crowd in and about the courtroom.
Jordan maintained the same COMPARE
tive calm he has exhibited since the grue-
some discovery of his wife's dismembered
body and his arrest and confession OF her
murder. From Boston police headauar-
tiers to Somerville police headquarters
Jordan was taken in a carriage, hand
cuffed to Policeman John Ray OF the
Somervile police. and was accompanied
by Inspector Thomas Damery.
He readily answered all questions.
About 500 in cash was taken from him
by the police.
The most gruelsome murder with which
the police OF this city ever had to deal
came to light yesterday, and the self-con-
fessed murderer Chester Jordan, an &C
tor. twenty-nine years OF age OF W9 Med
ford street, Somerville, is in cell.
The victim was his WIFE, Honorah Jordan
an actress, aged twenty-three years. JOr-
dan killed the woman In their home. Then
he went out and bought a butchers knife
and hack saw, with which ne dlSmeIn-
bered the body.
He severed his wife's head. also the
legs Then he tried to destroy all trace
of them by burning them In the furnace of
his home.
He put the rest of the body in trunk
and came here with the CHASTITY burden.
stopping at a boarding house preliminary
to taking steamer for New York. 1T
was his intention to get rid of what re-
NAMED of his wife by throwing the head
less torso into the water while the boat
was en- route for New York.
Hack Driver as Detective.
The cabman, James Collins. who took
Jordan and the trunk to the BOARDING
house at No. Hancock street. became
suspicious about its contents while carry
ing it into the house. Its weight made
him think it. contained stolen silverware
and the nervous manner Of Jordan salts
fed him the man was burglar
There had been many robberies of silver.
ware recently. The hack driver. believing
he was on the trail of the thief. went to
the police and told them of the mysterious
! trunk. He described the room in the
house to which he had carried It,
Sergt. Michael Crowley was detailed to
go to the Hancock street house and In
Jordan was not In, but the policeman was
Shown the back room on the second floor
which Jordan had engaged and found the
! trunk. Crowley did not open the trunk.
About $50 o'clock Jordan returned. Ac-
costed In the hallway by the officer he at
first denied his identity. Later he admit
ted who he was. Asked about his trunk
he denied he had onea He was ordered
to his room by the officer, however, and
commanded to open the trunk.
Opens the Trunk.
Jordan did not appear nervous or
alarmed. but hesitated to open the trunk.
1t was not until after considerable argu-
ment on the part of the officer that he
produced the key and inserted it in the
lock.
Turning his head to one side SO he
could not see inside the trunk, Jordan
threw up the cover and then sank back
on his knees. burying his face in his
hands and sobbing.
Sergt Crowley staggered back aghast
at the sight disclosed. In the opan trunk
before him lay a sickening mass OF
hacked flesh, woman's torso filling the
greater part of the trunk. while pieces of
flesh from other parts of the body were
of the trunk being despatched with blood
There was no covering OF any sort over
the remains.
Turning to Jordan, who was on the
moor, MS lace aSnen Wnlte ana every
muscle in his body quivering, Crowley
said:
You are under arrest"
Jordan submitted without protest to the
handouts and was led to station No. 8
and locked up. Giving his name and ad-
dress. he declared the body in the trunk
was that of his wife, and appeared per-
fectly willing to tell the officers every
thing concerning the case.
Four Hours Of Confession.
For more than four hours last night
Jordan was closeted with the police Of
ficials of Boston and SomeIville and time
after time went over the horrible details
While processing that he was daZed when
the crime was committed, yet by the
clearness and conciseness of his statement
il Seemed apparent that whatever pre-
ceded the actual killing the most careful
plans were laid for the disposal of the
body and the covering up of the crime
Jordans $. story of the murder, which
was given the officers, was substantially
| as follows:
He married Mrs. Honorah Eddy, whose
maiden name was O'Reilly and whose
| home was In Somerville in September
1904. He did not know who his wife's
! first husband was or what had become of
him.
1 The couple went on the vaudeville stage.
Jordan taking the part of tramp and
his wife that of a nurse. in sketch.
I IneS went f1rSt to Butte. Mont. four
years ago. but only remained three or.
i four weeks. as the climate did not agree
with them. Later they went to Chicago
and appeared in some Of the smaller
theaters there, remaining three months
| About three years ago they returned to
/ Somerville and took the first story fiat
i'll the house at 5G9A Medford street.
/ Drink and Jealousy.
Mrs. Jordan. according to her husband,
had taken to drinking of late, and, he
; says, was associating with other men and
he became jealous. 1t was in jealous
quarrel Tuesday night last that the
trouble started which ended in the death
OF his wife.
Jordan declares his wife struck him
FIRST that he then knocked her down and
was terrified to find he had killed her.
i That happened at 7:3O o'clock Tuesday
II night.
Fearing discovery of his crime. he con-
ceived the idea of cutting the body up.
| taking 1t away on one of the steamers
and throwing the parts overheard and
then reporting to the police that his wife
had left him.
Jordan according to his confession.
| while. daZed over the awfulness of his
deed. went out and bought a heavy
butchers cuttisg-up knife. With this
and a hacksaw he severed the head from
the body. and after putting the scalp and
hair in the kitchen range placed the skull
in the furnace in the cellar.
oHpt fhA