The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-04
ACTOR TELLS AWFUL STORY Chester Jordan Confesses
 to Murder. HE BUTcHERED HIS WIFE Killed Woman by Accident and Cut
 Up Body. Pieces Were Found in Trunk By Bos- ton Police and Vaudeville Man
 Makes Clean Breast of
 The Crime.

Boston. Mass. Sept. 3--The fnost brutal crime committed In Greater Boston since the death of Susan M. Geary. a chorus girl. four years ago. and one much resembling 1t in it's de- tails. was disclosed tonight by the dis covery of the torso of Mrs. Honorah Jordan. an actress. aged 23 years. of Somerville. in a trunk in boarding house at No. Hancock Street. on Beacon Hill. this city.
 Later the head and bones of the limbs were found in the furnace of the Jordan home at Somerville. and the scalp, hair and other grewsome re- mains were taken from the kitchen range of the house.
 Chester Jordan, aged 29 years. an actor of Somerville. Is held bv the po- lice. charged with the murder. and to- night. according to the officers. he made complete confession-- of the crime.
 Jordan Is brother of Mrs. Jesse l.. Ltvsrmore. wife of the we'll known stock aud cotton speculator of New York. His parents, Mr. and Mrs Kendall. prominent in Somerville so- cial circles. live in the latter city.
 Mrs. Chester Jordan was known on the stage as Irene shannon.
 According to Jordan's confession. he accidentally killed his wife Tuesday night in a quarrel at their home. and becoming desperate over what he had done, he went out and bought butch er's knife, razor and shears, cut up the body and placed tho torso In trunk. He then planned to take the steamer Harvard last night for New York and throw the parts of the body over board. The fact that the Harvard was laid of. owing to an accident dis arranged his plans and he was obliged to hire hackman to take the trunk to a Boston house to await more fa~ vorable opportunity.
 The discovery of the crime was due to the suspicious of the hackman. George w. Collins Collins reported that he had taken the trunk from the North Station this morning. 1t having come in from Somerville on a local train. The hackman stated he left Jordan and the trunk this afternoon at No. Hancock Street.
 Jordan Ka Caught.
 Sergeant Michael Crowley was de- tailed to go to the house and investi- gate. Jordan was not in. but the offi- cer was shown the back room on. the second floor which Jordan had engag- ed. and found the trunk. At this time the trunk was not opened. About b:2e o'clock Jordan returned and was com nnanded to open the trunk. Turning his head. Jordan threw up the cover of the trunk and then sank back on his knees. burying his face in his hands and sobbing.
 Sergeant Crowley staggered back aghast at the disclosure, for in the open trunk before him lay sickeniuK mass of hacked flesh. a woman's torso filling the greater part of the trunk. while pieces of flesh from other parts of the body were stuffed into the cor" ners The entire interior of the trunk was bespattered with blood. There was no covering of any sort over the remains.
 Jordan submitted to arrest without protest and was led to Station 3 and locked up.' Giving his name and ad- dress. he declared the body in the trunk was that of his wife. and said he was perfectly willing to tell every thing concerning the case.
 For more than four hours Jordan. was closeted with the police official, and time after time went over the hor- rible details.
 While protesting that he was -dazed when the crime was committed yer. bv the ciearness and conciseness or his tale. 1t seemed apparent that what ever preceded the actual killing. the most careful plans were laid for the disposal of the body and the cover ing up of the crime.
 Jordan's story of the murder was substantially as follows: He stated that he was married in September. 1904 toMrs. Honorah Eddy. whose maiden name was O'Reilly. and whose home was in Somerville. He did not know who his wife's first husband was. or what had become of him. The couple went on the vaudeville stage, Jordan taking the part of q tramp and his wife that of q nurse. in a siketcir.~ They went first to Butte. Mont, fouN years ago, but only re- mained tn ne or four weeks. Later they went ta Chicago and appeared in some of thS smaller theatres therc. remaining tNree months. About three years ago UAey returned to Somer- vile and took a fiat in the house at No. 509 Medfprd street.
 Mrs. Jordak according to her hus- band, had taken to drinking of late. and he claims. was associating with other men. add he became Jealous. It was in jealous quarrel that the trou- ble started which ended in the death of the wife.
 Death An Accident.
 Jordan declares that his wife struck him first; that he then knocked her down stairs. and was terrified to find that he lad killed her. This hap pened at 7:30, o'clock Tuesday night. Hearing discoWery. he conceived the idea of cutting the body up, taking 1t - -