Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1909-12-07
CHIEF OF POLICE
HALTS FUNERAL
OF BATH VICTIM
East Orange Official Not Yet
Certain Body Is That of
Mrs. Snead.

Claiming that he wanted to satisfy
himself that the body, about to be in
TERED was that OF Mrs ocey w. NJ.
Snead, Chief of Police James Bell. Of
East Orange, today held up the funeral
of the balhtub victim.
William Doscher, of 249 West Forty
eighth street, Manhattan, visited the
East Orange morgue and identified the
body as that of Mrs Snead. He said
that about ten years ago Mrs. Snead
lived in a house in West Forty seventh
street, and that she appeared to be in
great fear of the women with whom
she lived at that time.
Morgueheeper Gustav Kunz had ar
ranged TO hold the funeral from the
East Orange morgue. intending to place
the body on the Lackawanna train
which left East Orange for New York
at n:S6 a. m. About IL O'Clock the
morguekeeper got word from the chies
that woman was on the way from
brooklyn in company of Sergeant
0'Neil. and he was anxious that this
woman should have a look at the body
before it was inferred in Mt. Hope
Cemetery, Brooklyn.
city Clerk Lincoln L. Rowley of
East Orange, today received death
certificate signed by County Physician
William H. Mckenzie, in which DIR.
Mckenzie sets forth that the cause of
death is undetermined"
knowing that Mrs. Caroline Martin.
mother of the dead woman, is under
police surveillance in New York city.
the police here believe that she will
at least exhibit enough motherly love
10 be at the grave to take a last look
at her daughters face. II the mother
has been in touch with Franklin ".
Fort, son OF Governor Fort, who is
representing Miss Virginia Wardlaw.
the aunt. now being held in the Essex
county Jail, charged with staying her
niece. as Mr.. Fort himself wishes It
understood. he has anquestionably in
formed the mother relative to the
funeral schedule.
Although. new facts IN connection
with tile insurance features OF the case
are constantly coming TO light, the
probers into the mystery were still
at loss today for evidence placing
direct responsibility for Mrs. Snead' 5
strange death.
Piece by piece the shreds OF testi-
mony in the case are being patched TO-
gether in an effort TO show that there
was strong motive behind the alleged
murder, II remains TO be seen. how
ever, what facts considered likely TO
pass muster in a court VIII be offered
late this week when the postponed
hearing of Miss Virginia Wardlaw.
aunt Of the victim and charged with
the crime, takes place in East Orange
The latest and perhaps the most inn
lsortant information concerning the past
life of the Wardlaws and the Sneads
reached the STAR today The infor-
nation comes from a prominent and
reliable resident of Murfreesboro Tenn.
The author of the letter to the STAR
SAYS that stories that almost battle the
normal mind are in circulation there.
That the two families were money
mad" is as well known in that section
of the south as they are here. Con-
firmation of the stories of starvation
and cruelty towards Ocey Martin. who
was Mrs. Snead when she died. come
. from Murfreesboro. she was cut OF
while at Murfreesboro from any pos
sib,e communication with girls Of her
kind
Serious charges are made by the
author OF the letter to the STAR TO
the effect that while the family occu-
pied a cottage on Maple street,
Murfreesboro. strange things occurred
tContinned on Third Paee-l