The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-07-23
List of Supposed Victims
Found in Her
Trunk.
INSANITY DEFENSE
WILL BE ENTERED
Washington Sufferers Patch To-
gether Stories Of Remark
able Career.

Astounding disclosures OF the extent
OF the operations Of Miss Frances a.
/ Caspari, the woman Of mystery" were
/ brought to light today. The police now
believe that her career in Baltimore
aid Washington forms but q snail part
| OF her work. and are stiu more con-
vinced that the woman now in q cell
at the District jail is one OF the most
| remarkable women criminals with
/ whom the police Of any city in this
| country have ever had to deal
From Rochester. n. Y, where she. It
is believed operated extensively and
took In every ore she approached: from
| Ithaca. y. Y, from Ossining and Al
| bion in the same State, and from Hunts
/ Vile, Ala, come reports which show
that there are many people in those
| cities who are lamenting that they
| ever succumbed TO the wiles OF Miss
Caspari. When the extent OF their
! operations Is compared, say the police,
| Cassie Chadwick. she who separated
| Andrew Carnegie from a slice OF his
fortune. win be outcIassed-
Find List of Names IN Trunk.
| The finding today of a long list OF
names IN a small trunk taken from the
! room in which she lived, which Is the
| first indication which the police have
Of the great extent Of her operations,
is one Of the most remarkable develop
ments Of the case
Letters from many people in Rochcs-
ter. N Y, which were also found, show
that Miss Caspari was indebted TO
! tSem. and that they were clamoring
/ for payment This only became known
/
| touch with the police Of the different
cities, and hGd secured some startling
tales of her work
Thick and faSt the disclosures came
| The different ramihcations have the Do
| lice welI-nigh Dewildered- A confer
| ence Of Miss CasDari's rictims at the
home Of Mrs N. E. James, I73s Four
| teenth street no Invest. which included
! Mrs. Thomas A. Robbins. who vas
| heeced Of over 5000, brought o1t some
/ remarkable facts. BY dovetaning the
! disjointed stories which the woman told
| each. much that has remained in dark
/ ness has been brought TO the Eht Mrs
! Elizabeth GcmmiH. OF 1903 CorcOran
| street northwest. who regrets meeting
! Miss Caspari to the extent o. $500, was
also there
Phantom Of Minister-Lover Returns.
| again the phantom OF a minister
lover, who, st is said. committed suicide
| when the woman, then a school teacher.
swindled him out Of $4,000 which he
held IN trust for a missionary society,
stalks about II was thought that 1t
had been laid, when the Baltirnors DO
lice worked on It for months vTlthouc
success. but in the stories which Miss
Caspari told her victims she more than
once referred 20 such man.
| DR.. Charles Caspari. her brother, went
| TO the District jail Yesterday afternoon
and made every possible provision for
his sisters comfort He declared that
he intended to stand by her the end
| He also saw Attorney Villa \ Z. Am
brcse and made preliminary arrange
uents for her defense. There Will be a
! defense, and that defense will be in
sanity. Mr.. Ambrose IS tonfident that
no jury would convict the woman as
! CriminaIIy responsible for her crimes.
however cunningly they were worked
out At her trial in Baltimore, alienists
testified that she was insane, yet IN
spite of that she was convicted. ana
sentenced to five years in the peniten-
tiary.
Thomas A. Robbins. husband OF Miss
Casparis most extensive Washington
! victim. returned to Washington yester-
day. and shed considerable light on
some OF the dark places III connectioL
| with Miss Caspari's operations in Wash
! ingtOn- He had warned his wife several
| times that he suspected Miss Caspart
| was dishonest ard he declares that
her excuses when she failed TO meet
notes were surprisingly himsy.
Gave Alabama Woman's Note.
'T believe that every one Of the
notes which Miss Cagpari gave my wife
| were forgeries," he said. Mrs. Rob
bins holds a note alleged to have been
! drawn by a woman in Alabama. and I
am going TO find out II this is all right
Among the names in the list in Miss
| Caspari's trunk is that o. Mrs. Anna
| Chase. Of Huntsville, Ala.
My wife. Mrs. James and Mrs. Gem
mill met yesterday afternoon at the
none Of Mrs. James, and were shocked
! when, by piecing the different ends Of
/ Miss Caspari's stories together. they ar
| rived at number Of remarkable facts.
! She had spoken several times of the
| Baltimore minister, always emitting
| part of the story, and always carried
about in a lOclket small picture which
Miss Caspari gave reason TO believe
| was the minister.
"She first met Mrs. Robbins at the
home of Mrs. James. Six years ago I
had certain holdings in New York
which I traded for timber land, some
thing over 1900 acres. near Elizabeth
City. y. c. Mr.. James had charge OF
that land. and naturally our wives be-
came acquainted. Mrs. James and Mrs.
! Robbins have been friends for about
! two years.
Offered 80 Per Cent Interest
Miss E'aspsri called on Mrs. Rob
bins several times and began to IN
terest her in a publishing concern
which she represented She said she
represented the firm of Hall & Stevens
in New York, and that she was en-
gagged in selling one Of their publica-
tons, Great Events by Historians In
twenty volumes These she said she
Continued ou Second PaSe9