The Washington herald., 1909-06-27
EaStman's Power Over Mrs.
WOOdill Was Strange.
BLOODY BLUDGEON IS FOUND
Believed Eastman Used IL 10 DenI
the Death BLOW, Which Doctors
Say Was Not Inflicted with n
Bottle-COupie First Met in Paris
Before Either Was Married.

/
out Of the shallow water tends TO show
that she and Robert Emmett Eastman.
the man who is supposed 10 have killed
her knew each other before either had
married, and that their meeting near the
home Of Col Thompson this summer was
not accidental. at least so far as East
man IS concerned.
Detectives who have been sent here
from Baltimore 10 work on the case are
OF the opinion that the Letter written by
Eastman 10 his wife. Winnie Bradcomb.
OF New York. In ysaich the suicide tells
a story Of her having been killed by a
Jealous woman. was written with the idea
OF covering his escape. for which he had
made elaborate preparations. but that
lack OF money and perhaps a peculiar
\ fascination with which the dead woman
held him even after he had thrown her
body into the muddy water OF Broad
Creek loaded with an iron pot. prevented
his getting away.
/ In his letter Eastman tells a story Of a
midnight carousal at the bungalow. at
which every one but himself and the
murdered woman had been drunk. and at
which woman. who was jealous because
Mrs. Woodin had induced her escort 20
make love 10 her, killed the fascinating
/ beauty with two blows Of a champagne
bottle and injured the man
Killed with Blunt Instrument
The police OF Annapolis and the county
officials OF the entire country bordering
on Chesapeake Bay have made a diligent
search for the supposedly wounded man
and some trace Of the party that is sup
posed 70 have been az the bungalow that
night but there is not a bit Of evidence
70 support Eastman's story that the
woman was killed in this way or that
any one but himself and Mrs Woodul
were at the bungalow that night.
DR.. J. II Hope testified this evening
that the woman had met her death from
/ a fracture OF the skull caused by being
/ hit by a blunt instrument with great
force. This contrad!cts the story ln
Eastmans letter that a woman had IN
1 fiicted the blow. and a wooden bludgeon.
smeared with blood. which was found IN
| the marsh near Eastmans bungalow this
! evening. seemed 70 have been the weapon
that felled the pretty woman,
States Attorney J. Frank Turner. OF
Talbot County. gave out a statement to-
night that the cOroners Jury viii meet
on Monday and formally declare that
Eastman killed Mrs WoodiI. and that
the case viii then be ended. so far as
the county officials are concerned.
Eastman Buried Near Bungalow.
Judge Wiley. the man who headed the
posse that ran Eastman to his death in
the narrow slough OF Broad Creek. and
who is a local justice OF the peace and
undertaken. buried the body tonight
shortly after 9 o'clock on the estate near
the bungalow.
What was this strange fascination that
led Eastman. the cool. calculating stock
broker. who had twice made and lost
fortune. back 20 the grave that gave up
the body Of his victim? What was the
thing between the two that made Mrs
Woodill. child OF fortune. throw on the
cloak OF responsibility. meet Eastman. a
fugitive from justice. IN his bungalow,
against the protests Of her foster
parents2
These are questions that viii probably
never be answered. but from out Of the
mass Of burned letters and women's ef-
| fects that have been gathered from the
bioOd-beSmsttered bungalow on Broad
Creek, and from testimony gathered from
chance witnesses, there runs a weird
story that seems 10 have bound together
the lives Of these two persons for a num-
Der OF years. and a common bond Of SYM
pathy OF some sort that whirled them
together on the Eastern Shore after both
had married and had settled down TO
apparently respectable lives.
This bond seemed 70 have taken them
both IN its grip as soon as they met here
and they were both carried down with
Il 70 the inevitable end OF such compan-
iOnship
They First Met in Paris.
The detectives here say tonight that
they have positive evidence that Mrs.
Woodin first met Eastman in Paris. where
she also met Kid Mccoy. the pugilist:
Johnnie Ref. the jockey. and Timothy
Woodruff Later she is declared 70 have
met Eastman frequently when she played
a plano on steamers that ran from Bal
timore TO Claiborne.
1t was after this that she married DR..
Caswell. OF Boston. but she left him
within a few weeks after her marriage
TO return 10 the old life.
Then in New York. where she was ac-
quainted with Frank A Vanderlip, presi-
dent of the National City Bank. and
others In society. she Is declared 70 have
met Eastman often
Eastman was at that time a plunger
on the stock market Mrs. WoodiU was
staying at the Hotel Navarro. A woman.
who refused to give her name. viewed
the murderer's body late this afternoon
here, and declared that she knew bOta
Eastman and Mrs. WoodiH. Eastman
lavished money on her while she was IN
New York. says the woman, who claims
10 have been on some Of the night auto
mobile rides with the pair
Then Mrs. WOOdill met and was won
by Gilbert WOodill. of Los Angeles. Cal, \
and Eastman married He became in
volved in the stock market. fed 20 Chi
cago, and was captured. He Jumped his
bonds and fed 10 Los Angeles. where he
met Mrs. WoOdill again. This was last
winter Eastman told his attorneys that
he was going 10 the home of a dear
friend in Southern California.
He returned here last winter and lived
In Baltimore as a newspaper man for
several months. He got many letters all
Of which he burned as soon as he had
read them.
Just before Mrs. Woodin and her hus-
band arrived for a visit To her foster
parents, he purchased a farm next to /
Col Thompson's
HypROtiEee by Eastman.
Then the old life began again. There
were parties and midnight rides in East /
mans launch and mysterious meetings |
at the bungalow Col, Thompson object /
ed, but in vain. Eastman said that music
had peculiar fascination for him, and
Col. Thompson declared to-nIphf that tha