The Washington herald., 1912-05-14
MOTHER BELIEVES
BOGGS is INSANE
Youth Who Threatened to Kill
Girl and Then Self Committed
to Asylum Hospital.

Believing her son to be insane by her.
itage. Mrs. Julius Boggs. mother of Bren-
ion Boggs. twenty years old. of s51
French Street, who was arrested at the
entrance of the home of Miss CIemency
Gutthridge, Of l1s2 Eighth Street North
west, whom he had threatened to kill
produced evidence in Police Court yes
terday which resulted in the youth being
sent 70 the Washington Asylum Hospital
for observation as TO his mental condl-
tion.
To a representative of The Washington
Herald Mrs. Boggs said:
There is no doubt I'm my mind but
that Brenton is mentally unbalanced.
attribute his condition to the excessive
use of cigarettes. He is infatuated with
every girl he meets, and ! have found
letters in his room which prove that
he was writing love letters to at least
fifteen girls at the time he was declar-
ing TO Miss Gutthridge that she was the
only girl he loved.
Threatened Other Girls.
Miss Guthridge is not the only girl
whom he has threatened to kill.
There are two others who were threat
ened by him in the same way. His es-
eapade Sunday night, however, was the
first time he evidenced any serious in
tent to carry out his threats.
THE other girls he threatened to kill
are Miss Charlotte Mills, of Cape May,
N j., and Mrs. Francis Bolts, of Tako-
ma Park. Miss Mills ridiculed his
threats, as did Mrs. Bolts, who pro-
cured a divorce from her husband.
"Brenton met Miss Mills at Cape May
shortly after his marriage, more than
two years ago. She is the daughter of
wealthy resident OF that PLACE, and he
became madly in love with her. She
found he was a married man, however,
and forbade him to call on her or. write.
His threat followed
The Mills family even went so far as
to cause an article saying Charlotte had
committed suicide to be published in
Cape May newspaper and send him
COPY. An act by BTenton followed his
receipt of this article that proves con-
clusively that he is insane. He sat down
and wrote himself a letter. signing Mrs.
Mills name to It, declaring that he was
the cause OF the girls suicide.
JaherIted from Father.
The boy inherits insanity-of that
there can be no doubt His father was
heavy drinker. and his insane department
led me to separate from him more than
fourteen years ago. He committed sui
eide in Syracuse twS years ago. after
drifting from a responsible salesmsnship
with the Armour Company, of Chicago,
to a position as a waiter in saloon.
"Brenton has always been respectful
to his mother. but he always has been
in scrapes. Five years ago, when EN-
ployed as an elevator boy in the apart
ment house at 1710 H Street, he was
mixed up in an affair with Paul Charl-
ton, the man who is now being held to
await extradition to Italy for the muir
der Of his wife"
Mrs. Boggs declares the youth COM
posed love poems on the average Of one
a week, and that each one was entitled
Love" Each would carry from three
to five stanzas and their wording in
dicated that the boy was mentally un-
balanced.
On one occasion he was employed as
watchman in the Hibbs Building. When
he returned to his home in the morning
he related impossible stories about chas-
ing providers and shooting at them as
they fed.
The youth declared in court yester-
day that he did not intend TO kill Miss
Gutthridge. but that he wanted to fright
en- her. He assigns the whole affair
that Miss Gutthridge was going to
marry Eugene Black, OF Maine. He was
represented by Attorney James F.
Kelly.
The result OF the observation Of Boggs
by the physicians at the hospital, where
he will be held for ten days, will decide
or not the charges of making
threats against Miss Gutthridge and of
carrying concealed weapons will be
pressed against the young man in the
Police Court.