Evening journal., 1910-09-14
ELOPEMENT
ENDS in DEATH
Girl in Love With Married
Man Kills Herself Rather
Than be Caught
DIDN'T OBJECT TO
FORMING HIS ACQUAINTANCE

BY United Press Leased Special Wire.
ALEXANDRIA, Va, Sept l4-Ap-
parently unaffected and Indifferent.
William Firth. Jr.. married man Of
family. walked to-day beside the bier
Of Ethel May Pierce. 13-year-old girl
Of Chester, Pa, who committed sui
eide i'm preference to being captured
after clipping with him. He calmly
offered to testify at the coroner's in
quest
Firth and the child eloper arrived
at the Hotel Rammel here yesterday.
having fled from Chester, where he
was a Pennsylvania railroad ticket
agent Police dispatches soon found
them and Chief of Police Goods last
evening sent word TO Firth that he
wanted to see him. When the chief
forced open the door of their room,
a pistol shot rang out. Behind the
door he found the crumpled form Of
the little girl, who died about mid
night la a hospital She had sent
bullet through her brain. The man
stood bewildered in the center of the
room.
Firth admitted to-day that he had
wife and child in Chester.
The coroner presented slip Of
paper, found I'm the girls hand bag,
on which she had written:
Dearest Dear. the shades of night
are softly falling,
THE golden sun is sinking down the
west.
'Tis then for you my heart is yearn-
ing, calling, calling,
For I'm dreaming of the one / love
the best"
Had Promised to Steal Her.
When ] met this girl l told her
that some day ] would steal her, and
about a week aguGwe framed up this
elopement." said Firth. 81 got a
pass TO jacksonville. where / expected
20 get job for a short while. Thcr
we were going TO Mexico, from there
to Frisco and from there we were
going TO China.
Monday night the girl called m
up and said she was ready to go, an
then she left the received of the hoo
to keep central from tipping he
father on. In twenty minutes m
I girl was at the station, and TO kee
I the negro porter from giving II
I alarm / locked him I'm the celia
= where he had fallen asleep
? Thinking they might be on Ii
, lookout for us in WasRtr igton, W
J dropped off at Baltimore There W
| had breakfast, and then we decide
to come to Alexandria.
when we left Chester, the girl sal
she would never go home alive, bu
I thought that was BLUM. Sh
knew | had the pistol in my over
coat pocket and she must have slippe
it out and jumped behind the doc
when ! opened It for the officer
III go back TO Chester and plea
my own case before the trial judge
I'll never suffer for this, but som
one else will.
my full name is william Firth
Jr., and I am p years old. hav
wife and a six-year-old daughte
at No. 234 Patterson street.
Il was introduced to this girl las
June by a mutual friend. though
had known one of her brothers slight
ly about eight years. / advised m
friend to tell her that | was Marie
when she expressed a desire to NEE
me. but he did not do It. She foun
It out later. but that did not make an
difference TO her, because she wa
stuck on me from the start
At the conclusion of the inquest, IN
.corcner's jury returned the followin
verdict:
I'VE. the jury, find from the ev
dence that Ethel May Pierce came
her death by a pistol shot wound II
fllcted with suicidal intent from he
/ own hands"
The body of the girl will be ser
20 Chester this evening.
William Firth will go back in III
custody of Chief of Police McCare
of Chester. without any eXtraditio
proceedings.
"All ] want to do is TO wait hel
until they can send her body home
he said TO Police Chief McCare
] Then ] will be glad enough to &
e home and get this affair cleared up