Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-15
SON UNMOvED BY
MURDER CHARGE
AGAINST CR|PPEN
Young Man Says Infatuation for
Some Other Woman Cause
of Alleged UxorCide
FATHER SAYS INNOCENT
Only Information Relatives Here
Have Is Letter to
His Son

Apparently not surprised at the
news that DR.. H. II. Cr1ppen, former
dentist of Los Angeles, Is being
sought by the detectives of Scotland
Yard to answer to charge of uxor-
eide, Hawley o. Crippen, son of the
alleged murderer and a stepson of the
dead woman, calmly discussed the
case yesterday afternoon and declared
that his father no doubt committed the
crime because of his infatuation for
another woman.
Myron A. Crippen, father of the
London physician and alleged muir
derer, also lives in Los Angeles. He
is rs years of age and news of the
physicians alleged crime was great
shock to him. When he learned the
story which had been sent from Lon
don he said:
WHAT FATHER SAYS
''I know nothing of the death of my
sons wife except that my grandson
received a letter from him several
months ago in which he stated that
his wife had died in San Francisco.
] have not heard directly from my son
since a year ago last May. / did not
understand why his wife should be in
ed, 1 think, that she went there to
settle an estate.
"I hesitate to believe that my son
could be responsible for his wife's
death. 1 have confidence that the
facts when they are disclosed will
show that he did not commit the
crime.
"Hawley, my grandson, was placed
In my care when his mother died nine
teen years ago. We raised the boy.
He has not seen his son since twelve
years ago, when he met him in New
York by appointment. His second
wife was an actress, and 1t was
agreed between us that we were in a
better position to look after the lad
than he was. His second marriage
occurred about two years after his
first wife died.
LETTER A YEAR OLD
"I think it is strange he does not
write me, as 1 have written him many
letters, and the last time that 1 heard
directly he had received my letters
was when he wrote to Hawley the
second last time, q year ago last June,
when he acknowledged receiving my
letter. He sent $50 to his son to help
pay the expenses of the funeral of his
mother, who died in January, 19O9
That has been the extent of our COM
munication with him in years.
DR. Crippen was with Dr. Munyon
as a specialist for number of years
and went to London with him to take
charge of his London office. He left
Los Angeles to go TO Salt Lake City
nineteen years ago, and from there
went to st. Louis, and was in New
York, Florida and Toronto, Canada,
but 1 cannot just recall his exact
movements"
Mr.. Crippen lives in an apartment
house at Third ard Flower streets.
Young Crippen is employed in the
operating department of the Pacific
Telephone and Telegraph company.
When his attention was called to the
story of the search for his father the
young man stated that he recently re-
ceived a letter from the fugitive to the
effect that Belle Gilmore, as the second
wife was known in vaudeville circles,
had died in San Francisco.
SONS STATEMENT
''It is too bad to think that a man
of his age would do such a thing"
said young Clippen in discussing the
case. 81 am not a bit surprised, be-
cause understood he passed most of
his time in the company of various
women who accepted his advances.
when received the letter announc-
ing the death of my stepmother in the
northern California city, 1 Immediate
iy became suspicious.
my stepnlother was prominent in
vaudeville circles in London. She was
an officer of a theatrical society and
was known to the playgoers as Belle
Gilmore. She apparently thought great
deal of me and frequently Joined my
father in writing to me. The last let
ter I received from my parents indi-
Gated that both were perfectly hap
py, and not until received the news
of my stepmother's death did I be-
come aware of the fact that something
was wrong"
The mother of Hawley o. Crippen
died in Salt Lake City some time ago
and his father married Belle Elmore in
New York, where the young woman
was playing in vaudeville houses. The
wedding was a surprise to the relatives,
and the son saw the woman only once.
That was in New York, shortly after
the ceremony was performed.
MARRIED RECENTLY
Young Crippen came to Los Angeles
and made his home with his grand
father. A short time ago the young
man was married, and since that time
has been living with his wife's relatives
at 1912 Holmby avenue, Colegrove.
Last night an attempt was made to
interview the son concerning certain
statements said to have been made in
the letter announcing the death of Belle
Elmore. The father-in-law, evidently
suffering keenly from the notoriety in
cident to the search for the alleged
murderer, refused to permit anyone to
see the young man, and declared that
the only method by which the son-in-
law could be seen was by means of a
search warrant.
The police here believe that the letter
said to be in the possession of Crippen
or his father-in-law will be of great
assistance to the New York police and
the Scotland Yard detectives, and prob
ably will result in clearing up certain
mysterious circumstances connected
with the death of the woman.