The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-09-21
TR|EDFORbATHTUB
MURDER
Women on Trial for Death
of Mrs. Snead Novem-
Der 20, 1909.

NcWdIh, ~. j., Oept. 11.-I ne Case
against Mrs. Caroline B. Martin and
Mrs. Mary w. Snead, who, together
with Miss Virginia o. Wardlaw,
whose death from voluntary starva
ton occurred at the House of De-
tention on August IL, were indicted
for the murder of Mrs. Ocey Ward
law Martin Snead, the victim of the
famous "Bathtub Murder was
called for trial before the New Jer-
+, sey supreme court in this city today.
1t was known that the state had the
strongest case against Miss Virginia
O. Wardlaw and it was rumored that
owing to the death of Miss Wardlaw
the prosecution would probably
abandon the case against the two
other defendants, but this SUPPOSE
ton proved to have been wrong.
The prosecution, though foiled in
convfcting Miss Wardlaw, showed
no disposition to give up the case
against the two other defendants
and there is every reason to believe
that they will be given speedy
trial.
Mrs. Ocey Snead was found dead
in the bathtub of the house at No
80 West Fourteenth street, East Or
ange, on November 20, 1909, and
so peculiar were the circumstances
surrounding the death that the au-
thorities began to investigate, to
ascertain the true facts in the case.
In the afternoon of November 10Th
some woman called up the police of
East Orange, asking for the address
of the coroner. When the woman
was informed that there were no
coroners in New Jersey, she inform
ed the police woman had com
| m'tted suicide in No. 80 West Four
| teenth street. DR.. H. M. Simmons,
one of the deputy county physicians
| was sent to the house and found the
body of the young woman in the
| bathtub. The tub was full of water
and the entire body of the young
| woman was submerged. At first the
was anything wrong, especially as
| he found, pinned to the clothes of
the woman, a note stating that she
had committed suicide. Closer in
vestigation convinced him, however,
that the woman had been dead more
than twenty-four hours. AS the
| bathroom was the only one in the
house it seemed strange that the
body had been found sooner.
The explanations offered by the
three women in the house did not
satisfy the physician and upon his
| report careful investigated was
begun by the police authorities.
1t was ascertained thai the VIC
tim of the tragedy and her aunt,
Miss Virginia Wardlaw, had moved
| into the house on West Fourteenth
street ten days before the finding
of the body. They had no furniture
excepting a cot and soap box,
which served as a table. The two
woman had no money and had sub
sisted on milk, biscuits and few
| oranges. It was found that the
three women afterward indicted.
were near relatives of the victim.
The aunt OF the dead woman, Miss
Virginia Wardlaw, came from well
connected Southern family and at
one time was president of Soule
College, at Murfreesboro, Tenn, and
later a member of the faculty of the
Roanoke College, Salem. Va. The
exact circumstances which led to the
decline of the family fortunes are
not known, but it seems that Miss
Wardlaw, accompanied by Mrs. Car
oline B. Martin, the mother of Ocey,
and Mrs. Mary W. Snead, the moth
er of Ocey's husband, Fletcher w.
Snead, came to New York some years
ago probably in the hope of recov-