The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-07-11
HELD GU|LTLESS
OF GIRL DEATH
Coroner's Jury Exoneratcs Her
bert Johns, Alice Crispcll's
Fiance.
PROBLEM STILL UNSOLVED
When Brought to Inquest, Boy
Is Shaken and in
Tears.
PROBLEM STILL UNsoLVED
Especial to The Times-Dispatoh. ]

Wilkesbarre. Pa, July l0.-Herbert
johns was eXoncrated tonight Of all
responsibility for tho death Of HIS
hancee, Alice C1tGpell. the eighteen
yehr-old girl who wac drowned In
Harveys Lake on tho night OF the
4th Of July. By coronera fury. which
sat at the inquest hold at the One
onta Hotel at Harvey's Lake
The verdict. which was rendered az
ter only half an hours elaboration.
was as follows:
The evidence In this case fails to
show any motive for crime on the part
OF Herbert Johns. and We feel certain
that he mas ltd no part In tho death
OF Alice CHlspcll, deceased
But we fe,l ard consider that the
evidence which shows the deceased al
ways had cheerful nature. was not
subject to mrrose spells, and. thorc-
fore. was not liable to take her own
life. that crime has been com
mitted
However we feel that this as
other crimes OF its kind. will never
evidence OF guilt may subsequently
be brought TO light. thereby resulting
in just punishment for the culprit."
This means that Johns will be re-
leased tomorrow night. when he Is
arraigncd before Alderman Brown. 1t
means also that the murder of pretty
Alice Crspell will go unavrnged un-
less evidence along II new line is OBJ
tanned.
The inquest was OF the most super
tlcial character. Not one OF the wit
nesses would tell on the stand the
stories that they had told before
hand.
The testimony. * 1t did anything
positive. switched tho case In an en-
tirely different direction. 1t lifted all
accusation from the shoulders OF Johns
and indicated that the police are hold
ing relRce;e Of the dead girl under
surveillance.
The inquest brought out the fact that
much drink had been consumed at the
Oneonta Hotel party. which Johns and
Alice Crispell attended on the night
OF July 4. 1t was declared that twice
during the night Alice became vio-
lently Ill. DR.. Higgins. the coroners
physician. testified that he had made
no examination OF the girls stomach
and 1t is not likely that the body Will
be exhumed.
Johns's parents and his sister. Clara.
overwhelmed him with tears and ca
resses when the jury arrived at It's YER
dict. Mrs Johns after weeping out
her JOY, rushed to Mrs. Crispell and
pleaded with the latter to come to her
son and tell him that she. too. was
glad. Mrs. Crispell congratulated
Johns.
Fnther Examined.
william Crispell. the dead girls
father. was not permitted to go home
Immediately after the hearing He was
taken aside by the county detectives
and Constable Freeman and subjected
to terrific cross-eXamination. He was
taciturn and reticent to a degree. The
officers Will not tell what their object
was nor what they learned
Crispell testified that he had threat
ened to shoot his daughter last April
because she was headstrong. and he
added that he had blackened her eyes
after she had showed the gun away.
The inquest WAS held In tho BALL
room OF the Oneonta Hotel, whore, on
July 4. few hours before she met
death. the girl danced with her sweet
heart.
Shaken and In Tears.
Johns. shaken and often in tears.
was present. He tried grimly to main
tain a stolid exterior. but succeedc d
indifferently. He was brought 10 the
hearing from his cell in the Luzerne
County Jail by his counsel, Frank
McGuigan. and three deputy sherins
He was shackled to Deputy Charlie
l. Baucher.
Coroner James r Marley conducted
the proceedings. The district attor-
ney's office was represented by Charles
J. Kuschke.
The first witness was George Kas-
terline. OF Harvcy's Lake. Kasterline
is a teamster. He testified 10 fndin &
the body OF Miss Crispell. He de-
clared khat he found the body at
$3.50 o'clock last Monday morning. and
that the body was Two rods from
shore. nonting face downward He
declared that he saw marks on
the body because he made no thorough
examination. He identified Miss Girls
peifs blue dress The body, ne said,
was floating east.
DR.. P. ]. Higgins. the coroners ply
stefan who made the autopsy. said that
he made his examination at Moneys
morgue. He said that his post -mortem
showed that drowning was the cause
Of death. and that lamentations" In
I