New-York tribune., 1910-06-11
AMERICAN WOMAN'S
BODY IN LAKE COMO
Was Mrs. Porter Charlton, Who
as Mrs. Castle Shot w. R.
Craig in Waldorf.
TOLD LAWYER or MARRIAGE
Body Packed in Trunk and Sunk
in Lake-Russian Arrested as
Suspect-Cnar Mother
Knew They Were in Italy.

hhCW 4ACJ w CA z III AboAJ
Como. Italy. June 1O.-The badly
mutiIated body OF 2 woman. believed TO
be that of Mrs. H. n. Castle. who was
Mary Crittenden Scott. Of San Jose, Cal.
was found in trunk to-day submerged
in lake near the village of Moltrasio.
Wrapped about the body was a piece
Of cloth, which bore the initials &c L.
and from letters found in the trunk
written in English. it appears that the
woman in 1906 lived in 34th street. New
York City. The police. basing their
opinion on wounds on the head. evident
" made by a blunt instrument. are OF
the belief that the woman was murdered
and have taken into custody a Russian
named Constantine Ispolatof. fifty years
cid, whom they suspect Of having some
knowledge Of how the woman met death.
Several persons who had known the
woman in life and viewed her body to-
day declared that she had told them
she had been married to Porter Charl-
ton. the son of an American naval Of
fcer. Charlton is described as being
twenty-three years old and is said TO
nave DceH ODCc a SLQ0CAAI dI NAAC OA--'
sity of Pennsylvania. The woman ap-
parently was about thirty-fve years old
When the body was found 1t was re-
called that recently a young couple had
occupied a villa on the shore Of the lake
Three days ago they disappeared and
had not since been seen by the people
of the neighborhoOd. The woman spoke
English Her companion attempted
French. but obviously il was not his na-
tive tongue.
1t is said that the police believe the
death of this woman is in some way con-
nected with the mystery surrounding the
finding last April Of the body OF Miss
EsteIla Reid, of New York. on the beach
near Naples, where it had been washed
in from the bay. No reason for such q
suspicion is apparent, however The
cause of Miss Reid's death has never
been explained
Mrs Castle is the woman who shot at
William B. Craig. a lawyer OF this city,
in Peacock Alley. of the Waldorf. on
August last year.
Emil z. Fuchs, a lawyer OF No SO
Broadway, who represented her after
she shot Craig, said last evening that
the last he had heard from her was a
few weeks ago. when she called him up
on the telephone and informed him that
she was going abroad for two OF three
years and wanted to bid him goOdby.
In February of this year" he said.
"she obtained a divorce from her hus-
band, Neville H Castle. who is now
District Attorney of Nome, Alaska. dur
ing which action was her lawyer. The
following month. March. she was mar
ried to Porter Charlton. the son of a
Washington judge"
Married to Castle in 1897.
Mrs. CharIton's maiden name was Mary
Crittenden Scott She was the daughter
of H. H. Scott, of San Francisco There.
in 1897, she married Neville H. Castle,
lawyer After her marriage she went on
the stage. appearing in this city in The
Princess and the Butterfly
The bullet which she fired at Craig
struck a fountain pen that he carried
in his waistcoat pocket and. although he
fell from the force of the blow. he was
little hurt. The shooting caused much
excitement about the hotel Before the
shooting she had pleaded with Craig for
a minutes conversation. and when he
refused she drew small revolver from a
handbag and. without any warning. fred
She declared when arrested that a great
wrong had been done her by Craig. At
the police station Craig said the woman
had become infatuated with him and
had followed him here from the Pacific
Coast.
She was held in $4,000 bail. which was
furnished BY her brother. Captain Henry
Harrison Scott. L. S A. stationed at
Fort Morgan. Alabama. who came TO this
city. Craig failed to press the charge
before the grand jury. and on September
Is she was discharged The complaint
was then dismissed
The next heard Of from Mrs. Castle
after the divorce action was the an
of her marriage 70 Charlton
on April 10. They were married IN
Philadelphia on March u
DR.. A. w Herzog. Of No. rs West
sd street. was much surprised when in
formed by a Tribune reporter OF the
death OF Mrs. CharlJOn- ne SdlO IldL II
1905 she was patient at his sanatoriun1-
She acted irratiOnally. he said. and con-
stantly talked Of man who repudiated
all her advances. He declared that she
was a woman anxious for notoriety. and
could scarcely believe that she had met
with such a death. He said he had not
seen her since before the shooting and
that he did not know Charlton.
A report that Porter Charlton was at
one time employed as a clerk in the Ma
tionaI City Bank was denied last night
bv Arthur Kavanagh. cashier Of the
bank Mr. Kavanagh said he could not
recall that a man Of that name ever had
worked for the bank.
Estelle Reid Case Recalled
The body Of EsteIle Reid was found
on the beach near Naples. Italy. on April
"a of this year The body was scantily
clad. showed signs Of violence. and had
evidently been In the water about three