The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1913-10-13
One Hundred CIews Run
Down by Police Are Found
GrOundIess
FOUND WITH THROAT
CUT IN UNCLE'S OFFICE
Had just Told Sweetheart Goodby
When Employees Entered Office
and Found Hacked Body--Of-
flee in View of Many

Dallas. Tex. October Zone hundred
clues have been run down and all found
worthless in the Florence Brown mystery,
according to a statement today by Chief
OF Detectives Henry Tanner of Dallas.
Miss Brown, a church choir singer and
prominent Young woman's Christian as
ISOLATION worker. was found dead with
her throat cut in her uncle's real estate
office here at a. m. July % last. The
circumstances of her death, Chief Tanner
said today, have remained well nigh in
credible ever since.
| Miss Brown, 90 years old, rather hand
agent for her uncle jeff D. Robinson.
OF the firm OF Robinson & Styron Her
uncle was in Colorado. On the morning of
her death. shadrack b. Cuthbertson, an
employee called as was customary. at her
home. In one of the firms automobiles
| Together they rode direct to the office.
utes later Cuthberton drove away in the
automobile on business, leaving Miss
Brown alone. She stood in the street
doorway and waved good-by to him, sew
eral persons afterward testifying they saw
her do this. Cuthbertson returned Just
before . o'clock. finding the office APP
parently deserted.
Body Found by Clerks
| AS the other employees were not due UNI
til 0, this was not unusual. The office
INTERIOR on the ground floor was entirely
visible from the sidewalk except two
small rooms-Robinson' private office
and a hat room just behind it. The hat
room had two entrances one from the
private office and one from the main Of
flee. Hundreds of persons had passed this
office. at one of the citys busiest COR
ners on Field street, during Cuthbertson's
absence. He entered sat at his desk a
moment and then w. r. Styron of the
| firm and G. w. Swor, an employee, entered
| together. Swor went directly to the hat
room and Immediately cried out for Sty-
ron and Cuthbertson to come quickly that
something has happened to Miss Brown
The three found her lying on her face,
! throat cut and arms and shoulders bear
ing marks of terrible struggle. They
thought she was still alive. A physician
who came on summons within two or
three minutes said she had not been dead
more than 10 minutes.
Put Up Hard Fight
| Miss Brown was a small woman, but
whoever killed her had to fight hard
deep bite in the outer side of one
wrist showed where the slayer had held
| one arm with his teeth. Her face, arms
and breast through her waist were
scratched in manner which led some de-
| tectives to believe woman had attacked
! her. A heavy blow had been struck on
| her forehead, and one on the back of the
head these probably stunning her. Then
apparently. as she lay face downward
| the assassin had drawn back her head
and cut her throat Again there was the
| suggestion that the slayer was not mus
cular. because the knife had been drawn
| three times through the wound. A wash
bowl in the hat room was half full of
bloody water, and the inside knob of the
| door opening into the main office was
| bloody. indicating the killer first looked
out to see If the office was empty and
then washed his hands.
! Detectives said the girls position, face
downward, made it possible for the slayer
to avoid blood except on his hands There
|
nor windows, except the front street door
No knife was found, although sewers were
searched and floors raised. The only thing
approa ching a weapon was hammer
! which belonged in the hat room. There
was tiny blood spot on its handle, but
| the iron head was clean. These are all
the material facts about the actual death
that 11-week search have revealed
Little. Money in Safe
| AT first 1t was thought she died defend
ing her uncles safe in the hat room,
to which she had the combination. But
the safe contained less than s1y and no
important papers.
| The safe door. an old one, had been
violently Jared. Detectives concluded
! this was done In Florence Browns strug-
gle. Not the slightest evidence of at
tempted assault was found. Patroiman J.
r. Brown. the girls father. had the beat
passing her office door, and was a short
distance away when she was killed. Howl
ever, neither he nor other officers reached
| the place until after an overzealous un-
dertaker had removed the body OF the
hundreds who passed the office, some
within 30 feet of the murder, only three
were found to throw any light on 1t. A
woman acquaintance of Miss Brown had
looked in about $50. noting the office
apparently empty. A man noted the
same thing. Another man thought he had
heard a scream after $50.
Reputation Unframed
| Cuthbertson's story was verified to the
last detail Styron and Swor have UNDER
gone literal third degree examination.
some of them by private detectives, but
not the slightest ground for arrestng
| them or anyone else has been discovered.
Even the wives of some Of the men con-
nected with the office have not been
spared rigorous methods. Miss Browns
reputation so far has come through a
| long ordeal unframed.
THRILLING STORY OF
BURNING OF SHIP
TOLD BY SURVIVOR
CONTINUED from PAGE OpeD
----~~~---~-~-----~------
mania Trintepohl has been in the ships
hospital threatened with pneumonia
He told his story to Mr.. Spurgeon be-
| fore he became seriously i'll, but owing
to his exhausted state and his broken
English, his account of the disaster
was somewhat incoherent.-
Trintepohl had been employed at Bar
celona and took third class passaga on