The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-09-24
Body of Slain Woman in Va
cant House-Husband and
Nurse Under Arrest
CRIME Is IDENTICAL
WITH ENGLISHMAN'S
California Practitioner Accused of
Staying Girl After Operation,
Sprinkling Body With Nitric
Acid and Burying Ii.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. GA
murder mystery, paralleling in many
respects the supposed murder of Belle
Elmore Crippen in London by Yr,.i
husband, DR.. II. II, CrIppen, con-
fronts the police here to-day In the
discovery of the body or Miss Eva
Swan. 26 years old. school teacher
of Paso Aobles, buried under a va
cant house on Eureka street.
DR.. James Grant and Miss Marie
Messerschmtdt. nurse, are under ar
rest in connection with the case.
Rancfnnan Sought
The police believe the girl was muir
dered to shield some one else, and
they are searching for a ranchman
of Paso Robes. who nkew the girl
well.
Or. Grant and Miss Messerschmidt
both refuse to make any statement.
Miss Swan had been missing ince
April 20. Shortly after an unknown
youth called at her boarding house
and left a note for her The con-
tents of this note are how known to
the police. That her ieave-taktng
was not contemplated was shown by
the fact that none of her belongings
was disturbed.
Ever since her disappearance
friends have been searching for her,
but no clue was found until Tuesday.
when Ben Gordon. recently employed
by DIR. Grant as Office assistant. noti-
fed the police that he believed Miss
Swan was dead and that her body
had been buried under the floor of a
Eureka street house. search was
made, and late last night the corpse
Was found.
The body was wrapped in a sheet
and quantities of nitric acid had been
poured over il. The board floor and
a portion of the cement floor had been
removed and the corpse buried deep,
the flooring then being replaced. II
was evident from the condition of the
body that it had been under the
ground for several months
On Information furnished by Cor
don. the police arrested DIR. Grant
and Miss Messerschmidt. Gordon al
legged that William Sacks. his prede-
cessor in Grants office. had told him
that Miss Swan died on April 30 as
the result of an operation and that
ne tSaacksp had helped 10 bury her.
The police have put out a drag net
for Sacks. who has not been seen
since Gordon was employed by DR.
Grant.
- Hidden in Trunk,
TWO months ago the house where
the body was found was occupied by
family named Craignton, who found
an ill-smelling trunk in the house
The ynottfied the city authorities and
the city chemist examined the trunk,
reporting that it had evidently been
newly painted. The trunk had many
ar nd q.
lieved that these were made by hui
man blood and that the trunk was
used to bear Miss Swans body to the
place where il was buried
While the police are sure, the body
r. that of Eva Swan, they admit
they have not positively identified II.
They base their announcements on the
story of Gordon, who told them that
was the girls name and aecurateiy
described the place where the body
8as buried. The searchers found
Gordon's story correct in detail
According 10 Gordon. the girl died
as the result of an Illegal operation.
Gordon also said the physician owed
him SIS, and that he told his story
to the police TO get even.
DIR. Grant has been in San Fran
cisco about a year. He is said TO
have come from ST. Louis. but the
police are investigating a report that
he practiced in Boston under another
name.