New-York tribune., 1910-06-12
Discrepancies in Description of
Man at italian Town and of
Young American.
LATTER NOT AN ATHLETE
Woman Was Placed in Trunk
Before She Died-Two
Men Carried It to
the Lake.
lFrom The Tribune Bureau.

whose wife was murdered at Lake Como
is almost prostrated with anxiety re-
garding the safety of his son. but a ray
OF hope has been injected into the situa-
ton by the cable dispatches. which de-
scribe the young man known at Lake
Como as Charlton as robust. stout in
the face. etc. and which say photo
graphs of the young man have been
found which depict him in running cos
tune with a ''P'' on the shirt
This description in no way fits young
Charlton, who is a slender young man.
delicate rather than robust. and who is
not known ever to have worn a run
ming costume or to have attended any
college or belonged to any society which
would lead to his wearing a p" on his
shirt or other part of his costume
Mr.. Charlton, who is the successor of
Judge Magoon as law officer of the Bu-
reau of Insular Affairs, has heard moth
ing whatever from his son, and his
anxiety is, of course, intense. But some
of his friends are now hopeful that
young Charlton had left his wife before
the tragedy occurred and that some other
man was impersonating him at Lake
Como. So far as is known to Mr. Charl-
ton, his son never took any part in ath-
letiCs. and it was, it will be recalled, the
delicate state of his health which led
him to go to Europe. it being feared that
he had contracted tuberculosis.
Photographs of Missing Man.
- fol,
among the articles found in the trunk
with the woman's body were several
pictures of the man, who was identified
by the villagers of Moltrasio as the COM
panion Of Mrs. Charlton Three or four
of them showed him in athletic costume
On the breast of the sweater of these
uniforms was a large letter "P." Medals
won for prowess on the athletic field
were also shown on the breast in one or
two instances.
Secretary Knox at the request of Mr..
Charlton to-day cabled Ambassador
Leishman at Rome to keep the depart
ment informed of the developments of
the case and trace. if possible, the
wherea bouts of young Charlton.
The only dispatch received at the de-
partment in connection with the murder
mystery was a brief one from Consul
Charles L. Caughy, at Milan. He merely
said that the body of the woman had
been identified as that of Mrs. Mary
Scott Crittenden Castle.
Judge Charlton said that there was
nothing in recent letters from his son
TO indicate that differences had arisen
between him and his wife The last of
his letters came last Monday.
From the cheerful tone of his last
letter" Mr.. Charlton said to-day. I am
inclined to believe that some one, pos
sibly one of her former admirers who
followed them to Italy, is at the bottom
of the tragedy. His letter was full of
endearing references to his wife"
Como. Italy, June 1.-THE police, in
their efforts 10 solve the mysterious
murder Of Mrs. Porter Charlton. of New
York, formerly Mary Crittenden Scott,
of San Francisco, whose body was found
tied in a trunk at the bottom of Lake
Como yesterday, uncovered to-day some
startling facts. The detectives believe
that the woman met her death at the
hands of two men.
Porter Charlton, the young husband,
who was on a wedding tour with his
bride up to the time of the disappear
ance of the couple. has not yet been To-
Gated. Constantine Ispolatoff. the Rus
sian who was seen frequently with the
couple, is held in custody. He still
strongly denies any completely in the
crime. The man whom the police are
particularly anxious to get hold of is in
Switzerland. where he fed Immediately
after the murder. There is no authori-
tative statement as to who he is
Woman Alive When Put in Trunk
The post-mortem examination of the
body vas made o-day. This revealed
that the woman died from suffocation.
It was found that there were seven
wounds on the head. sufficient to render
her unconscious. but they were not re-
garded as of nature to cause death.
The victim expired some time after her
body had been wrapped up in the trunk
The wrapping had been done with a strip
of cloth, and the grewsome object was
crowded into the trunk along with some
letters and personal effects. It was these
latter articles which led to the identifi-
cation.
Aside from the wounds disclosed at the |
post-mortem, the body showed certain
abnormal conditions upon which the doc |
tors reserved expressing an opinion
The first idea OF the police was that
she had been murdered while asleep. as
the mattress and sheets in the bed at |
the house which she occupied were found |
covered with blood, but this theory was
by the fact that the body |
WAS entirely clothed when found.
Among the documents in the trunk |
was her certificate of marriage TO Ne
Vile Castle. dated November 10, 1906 |
and a letter from a San Francisco at
+ornev addressed TO Castle in which |
tbe LAWYER refers to a sum of money to
he Maid the woman in case of divorce
,,,, advising Castle against divorce.
II Is now said by the police that on
+he evening before the crime Is supposed |
- have been accomplished. Charlton
,,,a,t tn a hotel to make a purchase. and |
,,e,re asked about his wife answered |
that she was not well
rrba police are working hard TO re-
-4r 10,