The Yale expositor., 1911-11-16
THE RECORD ON THE SCREEN
AN ADVENTURE OF PETER CREWE-"THE MAN
WITH THE CAMERA EYES"
By H A r O L D G A RTER


arrested upon the charge of having
murdered his wife, and the evidence
against him was as follows: =
His wife, a vaudeville actress, had
left him the preceding spring and had
refused to return to him. The prin-
cipal cause for this separation ap-
peared to have been his inability to
preferred independence, with the GER
tainty of moderate income through
her own efforts, to the tiresome rou-
tine of household duties in the home
OF man earning a clerks salary
During the unreasonable months of
July and August she had earned a
livelihood by posing for moving pic
ture plays. Sanford had repeatedly
visited her at her apartment to be-
seech her to return to him. He had
been heard to utter threats in case
she remained obdurate. On the occa-
sion of his last visit previous to the
tragedy his wife had been heard to
order him out of the house, and she
had forbidden him to molest her fur
ther.
One week later, at nine o'clock in
the morning, the maid who came in
daily to clean the apartment found
Mrs. Sanford lying dead in a chair
with a deep stab wound Immediately
beneath the right arm. Death had
evidently been almost instantaneous,
for there was no sign of a struggle,
and the woman's face was as tranquil
as though she had flung herself down
upon the cushions for a brief rest
after the labors of the day.
The chief witness against Sanford
was the woman who rented the apart
ment adjacent to Mrs. Sanford's. She
testified that she had met Sanford
upon the stairs on the preceding eve
ming, had seen him enter his wife's
apartment, and subsequently heard
the sounds of violent alteration,
after which Sanford left the house in
a condition of intense excitement
Two hours or so later she heard him
return and ring Mrs. Sanford's bell
She heard voices raised in alteration
in the apartment and heard Sanford
again leave, but in a stealthy and
secretive manner wholly unlike his
usual method of departure. She heard
him creep down the stairs and list
ened at the wall, but could make out
no further sound next door. Doubtless
the murder had already been accom-
plished.
The weapon with which the murder
had been committed was found in a
contiguous building lot next day. 1t
was a Malay kriss, knife with an
incredibly keen edge, which Mrs. San
ford had owned, and the murder had
been committed with an upward
thrust. Upon the right side of the
ivory handle, when the blade was held
edge upward, were the blood-prints of
four gloved fingers.
When called in for the defense
urged Sanford to plead guilty to man
slaughter. I told him there was every
reason to hope that he would escape
with a sentence of fifteen or twenty
years. In the first place, the fact that
he had worn gloves, in the second
the fact that the weapon had been
taken from Mrs. Sanford's wall, where
1t had hung, clearly indicated absence
Of premeditation; while the jury
would show every consideration to
man whose wife had deserted him.
But Sanford obstinately insisted that
ne was innocent. He admitted that
ne had called on Mrs. Sanford the
evening before the tragedy to induce
her to return to him. She had refused,
he said, and taunted him with the
story of a rival for whose sake she In
tended to obtain a divorce.
was only half convinced, in spite
of the vehemence of Sanford's denial.
have heard criminals assert their
innocence most convincingly, only to
admit their guilt after conviction.
Have you any theory as to who
the murderer was?" asked.
"The man she taunted me about"
Dried Sanford. "He had been pester-
ing her for weeks to divorce me and
marry him, had threatened her with
death unless she consented. She pre-
tended to me that she intended to
comply; but know in my heart that
she always loved me. If l had only
earned more money she would have
come back to me. Do you think /
should have hung round her for
months without some reasonable hope?
4 tell you she hated that fellow; she
Just tried to play each of us off
against the other"
Sanford insisted that this man had
been the second visitor on the night
of the murder, and had slain Mrs.
Sanford in jealous rage when she
finally refused to marry him. But he
had never seen him and knew nothing
of his identity.
That was all had to go upon. The
woman in the apartment next to Mrs.
Sanford's admitted that she had not
actually seen Sanford return on the
night of the murder. She was con-
vinoed, however. that the second Wis.,
ltor was he. She had no reason for
this conviction, but she was all the
more certain Of 1t.
was willing to believe that San
ford had had q rival for Mrs. San
- u H.<