The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-11-23

by persons who were present in the
prison during the mans last hours.
The doomed man passed restless
| night and appeared haggard and
| worn when awakened from his htful
slumber. He seemed to lose all forti-
tude as the end appeared. Breakfast
was brought to him. but he left it I'M
! touched
| His face was colorless as he was es-
corted bareheaded to the gallows. The
gruesome work was soon done. The
| black cap was quickly drawn over the
| face-the moose adjusted an dthe bolt
drawn.
| Drop of Seven Feet.
| Crippen, who weighed 40 pounds,
was given a drop of seven feet. Death
| was instantaneous
| From the time that his reprieve
was refused the physicians condition
| has been one of agoniZed mental pros
tration. He would see only Clara
Ethel Leneve, love for whom, the
| crown asserted was the compelling
motive in the murder of his wife;
! Solicitor Newton who had made
game fight for his client and Father
Carey, to whose ministrations he paid
| respectful attention.
The final interview with Miss Len
eve yesterday was most painful and
| already in the shadow of death, the
| convicted murderer made no effort to
| suppress his emotion upon parting
with the girl. During the remainder
| of the day he was in a state of COM
p1ete nervous collapse retiring to his
| bed utterly Respondent.
Sometime after the crowd had dis
| persed, a notice was posted on the
prison gates announcing that "judg-
ment of death has this day been exc
cuted on H H. Crippen," in the pres
ence of the governor of the prison,
the undersheriff and Father Carey.
The physicians certificate of death
was also displayed.
Ethel Leneve has booked passage
on the steamship Majestic which sails
from Southampton for New York to-
| day.
Made No Confession.
Now that Dr. Crippen's lips are for
ever sealed. the usual postmorten
rumors of an eleventh hour confession
| are afloat. These should be read in the
| knowledge that on Sunday last the con-
demned man issued a signed statement
| in which he protested his perfect in
nocence; and that since that day as
| for several days before he had positive
| ly refused to see any one other than his
keepers, Solicitor Newton, Miss LIE
| Neve, and Father Carey.
Accordingly the testimony of only
these persons would appear to be of
great matter in throwing light on the
condemned mans last hours. This
morning, following the execution, the
prison authorities issued an official
statement declaring that no confession
| had been made.
| Miss LIE Neve denies that Crippen
| confessed. His attorney says that 80
far as he knows his client maintained
| his innocence to the end. What was
| said to the priest can not of course be
| known.
| If Crippen confessed, as is asserted
| by an evenino newspaper, he made
poor work of it for the paper gives no
| authority for its assertions. which are
credited to an ANONYMOUS friend Of
| the doctor.
The only alleged facts brought out
are that Crippen was treating his wife
| for indigestion and substituted poison
| for The proper medicine and that he
purchased in a shop in Holborn, dis
secting knife which after it had been
used to dismember the body the muir
derer throw into a neighbours garden.
| In spite of this careless disposition of
the tell-tale weapon it has never been
recovered by the police.
With these exceptions the alleged
| confession is a recital of the we'll
known story of the crime which might
have been told by any one who had fol-
| lowed the widely published proceedings
| of the court.
| She Did Not Sail.
! Southampton, Nov. $3.50 far as
can be learned Ethel Clara Leneve did
not sail on the steamer Majestic for
| New York today although she had
| booked a second class passage under
the name of Miss Allen. It is thought
| that she may have changed her plans
| after they had been discovered, though
| it is possible she will join the vessel at
| Cherbourg or Queenstown.
| Story of the Crime.
The execution of DIR. Hawley H.
Crippen in London today completed
the criminal record of one of the most
sensational of recent murder cases.
/ The brutality of the crime committed
! by man who had been known as of
a gentle and kindly nature, the muir
| derer's spectacular fight to his native
land, and the fact that the case against
the doctor was purely ciroumstantial,
com ined to make the tragedy of alb
sorbing interest not only in England,
where the murder was committed, but
as well in America, where both Grip
pen and his wife were born.
| Crippen, slight in figure, was just
past so years old He was born in
Michigan, and after studying medi-
cine, practiced in the United States
and Canada. In 1906 he married Cora
| Mackamotski of Brooklyn, vaude-
vile actress, whose stage name was
Belle Gilmore. They removed to Lon
don, where the doctor engaged in dem
tai manufacture.
Soon there was domestie infelicity,
due, Crippen alleged, to the attentions
his wife received from other men.
Then Ethel Glare LIE Neve, a prepos-
lsessing woman, 81 years old, entered
Crippen'S employ as q typist. She sym
pathized with the doctor and the two
fell in love. Meantime Crippen and
his wife were estranged
Nearly a year ago, Miss LIE Neve,
feeling her position keenly, became i'm
lpatient with the situation. About the
same time the doctor was in need of
money. Mrs. Crippen disappeared sud
ldenly last February. Her husband in
serted a death notice in the papers,
saying she had succumbed to an illness
while visiting in California.
Actress friends of Mrs. Crippen per-
suaded Scotland Yard to make an in
vestigation and the police interviewed