The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-08-04

After two or three days Of search
ing the authorities yesterday morning
| succeeded in locating James CAoft,
whom the coroner's jury investigating
| the death Of Peter Christensen on last
! Tuesday morning, had ordered appre-
hended and held for investigation in
connection with the affair. Croft is
! now in the county Jail, as is the
woman with whom Christensen lived
and who claims to have been his wife
! but whom witnesses testified was not
| his wife.
Croft is the engineer on the tug
| boat Marie, and had been out on a
| trip, but was taken into custody as
soon as he arrived in the city yester-
day.
Both Croft and the woman deny
any connection with the death Of
Christensen, whom they claim oom-
mitted suicide by taking morphine.
| and declare they are being prosecuted
! by being held in connection with the
case.
| A representative OF The Journal
talked with both Of them in their cells
yesterday afternoon, their general
statements being somewhat similar.
| but differing very materially in some
particulars.
STATEMENT OF CROFT.
When asked IL he would like TO make
a statement for publication, Croft re-
piled that he did not think Of any
thing that he could say, as he was not
guilty Of anything.
He said that when he left on the
| Marie he had no idea the authorities
were looking for him or he would
not have gone However. II | had
done anything / would have been go
ing yet. and they never would have
gotten me-" he said.
He said the night his boat left after
he went aboard he was told that the
deputies were down at the wharf
looking for a fireman, but that IL he
had thought IL was him they were af-
ter he would have left the boat and
| have surrendered to the officers.
He claimed he did not know the time
| Christensen took the morphine nor
how much. All he knew was that he
found his wife working with him try
ing to restore him and that he pitch
ed in to help her, as he had had con-
| siderable experience working with
poisoned people. He said he did not
see the bottle from which the NOR
phine had been taken until sometime
| later.
When asked why he happened to
be on hand, Croft, who, according TO
his statement, is a married man and
4 ~
said that he went to the party at the
house that night.
Did you know Christensen well
and were you familiar with his
| habits?" he was asked.
Il did not know him at all until
that night" he replied. 7 Just met
him at the party that night"
He said he had known the woman.
however, since they were children, az
they were reared in the same town in
Alabama.
THE WOMAN TALKS.
Eva, alias Daisy, Jones, alias Kork-
endella, alias Christensen, the wom-
| an who claims to hav been the wife
of the dead man, and who was or
dered held by the coroner's Jury, was
also seen by a Journal representative
| yesterday afternoon, this being the
first time she has been able to see
anyone since she was placed in jail
Thursday, having suffered a nervous
collapse at the conclusion of her testi-
mony before the coroner's jury.
At first the woman did not seem
disposed to discuss the affair. merely
saying that she was perfectly inno-
cent and had done nothing to be in
Jail for.
Later, after she had broken down
and cried, she became more composed
and talked freely.
She said Christensen had made
four attempts, including the success
full one. to end his life and that only &
three weeks previous to his death he
had attempted to end his life by taking
| laudanum, and that IL was only
! through the hardest kind Of an effort
that she succeeded in saving his life
on that occasion.
She said Pete" had been in
wretched health and was always des-
pondent and threatening TO kill him
self She said only a few months
ago he was operated on for stomach
trouble.
she said he quit work about
o'clock Friday afternoon, proceeding
| Immediately to get on a drunk and
that he had not returned to work up
! to the time Of his death, although
she had tried to get him to sober UP
and go to work on Monday morning.
He agreed to do this, she said, and
sent and got a, pint OF whiskey, which
he drank sitting on the bed, before he
had finished dressing. She said he
i tried to persuade her to drink some,
but that she refused, finally consent
ing TO drink some beer, which he sent
after for her. Then, she said, he sent
for the morphine. She admitted that
after he had persuaded her TO do 50
she took a little bit of the morphine
to steady her nerves. Il believe Pete
was taking a little Of that stuff all day
| long" she said. Anyhow, when I
1 Continued on Page Fifteen)