Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-30
BeuIah Binford Motoring on
Night of Beattie Shooting.
WAS WITH MARRIED MAN
Doubt as to Whether She Will Shield
Unnamed Companion.
INTEREST IN CASE IS INTENSE
State Will Claim, It Is Said, That
Threat Of Disinheritance
Led to Murder.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
RICHMOND. Va. July 23-This proud
old town is beginning to tremble over the
"Beattie case" Its consequences, social
at least, have gone far beyond the incar-
ceration Of Henry Clay Beattie on the
charge of numbering his wife. Louise
Owen Beattie. Gay young sons of prom
inent families are now involved. new
situation arises. 1t became known today
that Beulah Binford will have to depend
to prove her own guiltlessness of the
shooting upon an alibi. and the alibi. it is
said. is that she was motor riding at the
moment of the Staying with young man.
himself married, and married to a girl
Of a family which ranks higher than
either the Beatties or Owens. So this
question arises:
shield the unnamed young man. whose
name viii bring still others of his type
married or engaged, into the case, or will
she save her own self and tell everything
she knows and let them all go TO dis
grace?
Until the trial no one knows what the
girl will do. The state must call her as
a witness. to show q motive for the
crime with which they charge Beattie.
Once identified with his life. she may
killed his wife. and to avoid that she
must say where she was and with whom
There Is little new in the Beattie case
within the last couple of days except the
entrance into it of the unnamed married
youth, but It stands almost unique in the
annals of American crimes through its
personalities and it's circumstances, and
here it is:
About 1853 Henry Clay Beattie sr. and
his young wife came down here from New
England.
He conducted shop in Manchester,
across the James river. 1t now is big
department store. He built home there
Their son, Henry Clay, jr., born in this
city. was eligible, when he grew up. to
do all the mice" things. to go to all the
nice places. A few years ago his name
became linked with that Of Beulah Bin
ford. After a few months of gayety, Beu-
lah Binford disappeared and folks said
What's become of the young Henry
Some of them learned later, when the
news came that boy baby. recorded as
Henry c. Beattie Trout" had been born
in North Carolina. July 10, 1869. and had
died. July "a. There were rumors Of a
81 800 settlement
August a. 1910. was the wedding day
of Beattie and Louise Owen, daughter
of Robert V. Gwen, who. like Beattie. ST.,
had acquired wealth as a merchant in
Manchester.
Life outwardly Happy.
Outwardly thelife of the young Beatties
was happy. Within the last few days.
since Henry Clay Beattie has been in Jail,
and his cousin. Paul Beattie, has testified
that he bought the gun for him. and
since the gun has been found and identi-
fled as the one Paul bought, the curtain
which screens their existence has been
torn away and ugliness instead of beauty
revealed.
j, Within the last few days, it is said. it
has become known to the state that be-
fore the birth Of her child, when her
every thought should have been pleasing,
every prospect one OF joy. the young wife
found unmistakable evidence that her
husband had gone again to Beulah Bin
ford.
The wife was not superhuman. She
was not completely a martyr. She up
braided the man, it is declared. She told
her mother, and Mrs. Owen added her re-
proaches. But he Is said to have disre-
garded them until his wife said:
Til tell your father about this. III
tell him what sort of husband. what
sort of son. you are. And you'll see
then whether you'll get his 100000;
whether you'll keep on taking anything
you like from his cash drawer
Beulah, the state will declare. that led
Henry Clay Beattie to end his wifes life.
1t was fear that perhaps her threat might
come true; fear that his father might cut
him off.
Beattie TALL lank. with a heavy crop
of chestnut hair, parted in the middle,
looks more like country sport than
the scion Of a proud family. He has no
pride no aloofness toward strangers. He
was stunning his guitar to the tune of
"Shine On, Harvest Moon ard inhaling
smoke from a cigarette dangling from his
nc W n
ing.
''How do, SIR" he drawled. The visit
seemed, he gave this impression family,
sort of diversion, almost an honor. He
nodded and picked up his guitar again
as the visitor departed. and went on with
Harvest Moon"
Girl Is Coquettish.
Just one flight above him, in a big,
airy room it is scarcely a cell. despite
its steel bars, is Beulah, held as a wit
ness. 1t is difficult to portray exactly her
type She is simply coquettish. She is a
little thing. perhaps feet inches. She
may weigh 115 pounds. Her eyes are
dark blue, rather large, straight-gazing.
friendly eyes, and they dance bit. Her
nose is straight and good, her neck is
perfectly curved down to delicately
rounded figure. Her hair. a little finer
than yellow, not quite gold, is attractively
parted in the middle for a short distance
above the forehead, then braided circu-
larIy above.
when she was asked if she intended to
prove her alibi by naming the rich young
married man with whom she is said to
have been riding the night Of the tragedy.
She reads newspapers and novels. sings
and dances about a little bit, plays the
baby game of Jacks occasionally. and
mostly INDUCES in accommodation
over the fact that her food money! with
which she has been buying extra meals, is
nearly gone.
So there the situation rests while all
the south awaits the trial.