Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-16
S|STERS-|N-LAW SLAIN
Theories of Duel and of Muir
der and Suicide Abandoned.
KNIFE AND PISTOL USED
Twenty-Six Shots Fired and No
Empty Shells Found:
SCREAMS FOR AID ARE HEARD
Police Now Believe Tragedy Was
Act of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. for
Some Circumstances.
SCREAMS FOR AID ARE HEARD

CHICAGO. September 16.-Two women.
ssters-in-law and members of well-to-do-
families, are dead as the result OF
mysterious shooting in an apartment
house in the fashionable Hyde Park res
idence district yesterday afternoon.
One of the women. Mrs. Anna Silver,
had eleven bullet wounds in her body
and was found dead when the police
forced an entrance to the apartment after
being notified by neighbors.
Her sfster-in-aw Mrs. Judith Trip,
wife of Julius Trip. manager for the
manufacturing concern of Morrison &
Riley. in whose apartment the tragedy
took place, was found dying with a bull
let wound in the head and several knife
wounds on her arms and shoulders She
died shortly after being taken to Wash
ington Park Hospital
In the apartment was a revolver. the
property OF Mr.. Trip. with four empty
chambers and two loaded ones That it
had been fired recently was evident, but
the police found evidence that twenty
six shots had been fired in the room,
| eleven of which struck Mrs. Silver, one
Mrs. Trip and fourteen the walls OF
the room.
The first theory Of the police was that
1t was case Of murder and suicide
Further investigation makes this solution
impossible
A careful search OF the deliberately fur
hisned apartment failed to reveal a sin
gle empty revolver cartridge. The only
explanation Is that the person who did
The shooting carried away the discharged
shells.
Screams for Aid Are Heard.
Inc two women were thought to be
alone in the apartment when the shoot
| ing took place. and none of the neigh
bors saw any stranger enter or leave the
building.
The first intimation they had Of the
| tragedy was when Mrs. Trip ran to the
| rear door of the apartment and called to
| the janitor for help. Almost simulta-
| neously Mrs. Silver ran to the front en-
trance and screamed for aid, and then
| ran back into the apartment.
The janitor said he was afraid to enter
| the apartment. No one responded to Mrs.
| Silver's cries.
That there was a terrible struggle in
the room is evident. The furniture was
| broken and overturned and everything
was topsy turvy. Blood was everywhere.
Even the front curtain was blood-soaked,
and as the wind blew it looked like red
| flag.
Both women fought hard for their lives.
Mrs Silver had a vicious knife wound in
| her right arm, as though she had been
| stabbed while trying to ward off sti-
| letto thrust directed at her heart. There
| were other cuts and bruises on her body
| Knife wounds and bruises were also
found on the body Of Mrs. Trip.
Three Theories Of Tragedy.
| When the police arrived there were
only three explanations that seemed pos
| sible. These were that Mrs Tripp had
| murdered her sister-in-law and then
| killed herself; that tine two women had
| fought a duel and both had been killed,
and that a third person had entered the
apartment and murdered both.
The first two theories were diSsipated
| by the absence Of empty revolver shells
and bloody knives. leaving only the third
solution-that Of murder by third per-
| son.
After six hours Of investigation the
detectives believe that both women were
murdered either by an enemy or by a
sneak thief with whom they fought to
save their money and jewels. This theory
would explain the empty chambers in
Mrs. Trips revolver and the knife wound
and bruises on both of their bodies
The tragedy is one Of the greatest muir
der mysteries in the history of the Chi
cago police department.
Women Well Known Socially.
Both women were we'll known in the
| social set in which they moved, and Mr..
| Trip owns the apartment building in
| which the tragedy took place. They were
both well dressed when found and evil
IDENTIFY had been out of the apartment.
| They were the best Of friends. Neigh
bors scout the theory that they could
have quarreled and engaged in duel