Semi-weekly herald., 1913-01-27

PROM|S[SA
SENSATION

ing forward with undisguised interest
to the trial of Frederick O. Beach, the
millionaire New York clubman and
society whip, charged with having at
tempted to kill his wife, Mrs. Camilla
Havemeyer Beach, by slashing her
throat last February, while the Beach
es were occupying their winter home
in this city. The case is one of the
first cases to be tried at the February
term of the court of general sessions,
which will convene here next week
The accused and his beautiful wife
have been and are still prominent in
society circles of New York and other
large eastern centers and were among
the leaders of the colony of north
ern society people who have their
winter homes in and around Aiken.
Under the circumstances it is quite
natural that the case should attract
unusual attention among the numer-
Gus friends and social acquaintance
of the Beaches in the Aiken winter
colony. But aside from the social
prominence of the accused and of his
alleged victim the case promises many
sensational features which are likely
to make it cause celebre."
Mrs Beach was formerly Miss Ca
milla Woodward Moss, daughter of
Courtlandt ID. Moss Her first hus-
band was Charles ID. Havemeyer. He
was found by her on May 10, 1898,
in room of his country home at
Roslyn, dead with bullet wound in
his head. A coroner's jury returned
a verdict of accidental death. On
November 1s, 1899, Mrs. Havemeyer
married Frederick o. Beach and the
marriage was one of the notable So
cial events of that season. William
X. Vanderbilt acted as best man. The
Beaches were prominent in social cir
cles in New York, Palm Beach and
at Aiken, where, like many other
wealthy New Workers. they were in
habit of spending the winter season.
The Beaches took a leading part in
the gay social life of the winter col
ony and there seemed to be not the
slightest suspicion of any quarrel or
disagreement between Beach and his
charming and yivacious wife. As
may be imagined, it caused deep
and widely spread sensation when on
the morning of Feb. 27 of last year
it became known that during the pre-
vious night Mrs. Beach had been lured
into the court yard of her house and
there attacked by some unidentified
man who knocked her senseless with
"A fence paling and then slashed her
throat with knife, with the presum-
able intention of killing her. Accord
ing to the story as told later, Pearl
Hampton, negro maid in the Beach
household, was with Mrs. Beach that
night. The girl was knocked down
and stunned by blow with a fence
psling first and it is said that accord
ing to her statement to the police her
assailart was white man. Then,
presumably by the same assailant,
Mrs. Beach who had followed her
maid into the court yard, was knock
ed down. The assailant, according to
her statement a negro, tore the ear
rings out of her ears and slashed her
throat with a sharp knife. Almost
exhausted by the loss of blood, Mrs
Beach was found by her husband, who
carried her into the house and alarm
ed the neighbors. s. E. Holley, ru-
raj policeman, was the first to reach
the house after the attack and he
summoned Mr.. Marion Wyman, who
closed the wound in Mrs. Beach's
throat with nineteen stitches and ap-
piled restoratives.
On the following day the earrings
of Mrs. Beach were found not very
far from the scene of the attack. 1t
is said that in the court yard of the
Beach home blood-stained pocket
knife, gold-plated and studded with
diamonds, was found which was iden-
tilted as knife which Mayor Gyles
of Aiken had presented to Mr.. Beach a
short time previous to the attack.
The case caused a tremendous SEN
sation in this city and the city coun-
ell offered reward of 81 800 for the
apprehension and conviction of the
murderous assailant. Later two promi-
nent members of the winter colony,
C. Oliver Iselin and Clarence w. Do
Ian, each added $500 to the reward
offered. The authorities engaged W.
S. Baughn, detective, to investigate
the case and upon the strength of his
report the grand jury on June Of
last year found an indictment against
Mr.. Beach, charging him with the
attack upon his wife.
After Mrs. Beach's recovery the
Beaches left Aiken together about the
middle of last March for a trip abroad
as the guests of William X. Wander
bilt. Mr.. and Mrs. Beach were in
London when they received the news
that a warrant had been issued for
Mr.. Beach's arrest. From Paris Mr.
Beach cabled to his attorney to give