The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-12-04
AGENTS SAY WOMAN'S
HUSBAND IS ALIVE
Aged Woman, Who Is Charged With
Murder of Neice, Refuses to Talk
and Sits Staring Stupidity
In Jail.

New York. December 3.-The three
great companies In which Mrs Ocey
Wardaw Martin held life insurance,
amounting to $4,000, announced today
that they will refuse to honor their poll
....ss until It has been proved that the
body of the haIf-starved young woman
found In the bathroom of an unfurnished
house in East Orange, N. j., on Monday
last Is that of Mrs. Snead. The policy
for $4,000 on the life Of her husband,
Fletcher Snead, who is missing, is also
unpaid, and no claim has been put In FOR
the insurance. A company agent detailed
TO the case said today: 1--WE don't believe
snead is dead We don't know that Mrs.
Snead is dead. It seems incredible that
any woman not hynotized or drugged
could be pursuaded to endure such In
genuities Of mental suffering and bodily
pain as this poor girl in the morgue un-
derwent if she had any claim on the ties
of blood and family devotion. We don
know that the separate sets of policies IN
duplicate on the life of young Mrs Snead
were issued in favor OF her aunt, Miss
Virginia Wardlaw,. now under arrest at
East Orange, on the plea in each in
stance, that the previous set had been
lost. Was money borrowed on these du-
plicates? We don't know"
The police today were busy with bum
die of papers and scattered memoranda
left by Miss Wardlaw in drug store and
recently discovered. They contained thou
sands OF words of compilation on 1nsur-
ance policies and what could be borrowed
on them, mingled irrelevantly with let
ters Of Recommendation from some of the
foremost educators of the country, of the
grim old woman who now sits obstinate
lv mute In cell. Such names are signed
10 them as Alice s. Freeman. president
of wellesley college: Alexansler tsF Or
mond, professor of medical science at
Princeton university; Charles Young. pro-
fessor of English literature at Columbia
university, and others.
In addition, papers indicate that young
Mrs. snead was the daughter of Colonel
Robert w. Martin, who once lived hand
somely In New York and left her a for
Nlne Of 100000. which has completely dis
appeared. His widow, Mrs. Snead s
mother. has also disappeared as utterly
as her son-in-law, Fletcher Sneao. Ine
mother and sister of Miss Wardlaw, who
are living in lodgings in New York, still
refuse to go to East Orange to identify
the body supposed to be Mrs. Snead's s,
and will not discuss their family affairs.
DIR. Jacob Wachsman told the Brooklyn
police tonight that on September last
he called on Mrs. Snead at the instance
of Julian Carabba. the attorney who drew
her third will. The young woman, he
said, was apparently under hypnotic in
fuence When he was able to shield her
eyes from the, glance of the others in the
room she frightened perceptibly. He
found her suffering from neurasthenia,
produced by hypnosis and starvation.
There We're stitches in her side, remain
ing from an operation Of some weeks
previous He suggested that they be
taken out.
Miss Virginia Ward1aw then suggest
ed,'' continued the physician, 'that 1 take
the stitches out and to save the young
woman from any pain that use chloro-
form. / told Miss Wardlaw that chloro-
form was unnecessary, and in Mrs.
Snead's weakened condition might cause
death.
Miss Wardaw insisted that l use
chloroform. but refused left her after
she said she would notify me the next
day II my services were further required.
never heard from her again.