The Washington herald., 1913-07-11
girl FIANGE
ISEXONERAIED
oosrlsurp FROM PAGE os1

shoot his daughter last April because she
WAS headstronR, and he added that he
had blackened her eyes after she had
showed the gun away.
The inquest was held in the ballroom
Of the hotel. where, on July T. . few
hours before she met her death. the girl
danced with her sweetheart Herbert
Johns.
Johns, shaken and often in tears. was
present. He tried grimly to maintain
stolid exterior. but succeeded tndiner-
entity He was brought to the hearing
from his cell in the Luzerne County jail
by his counsel. Frank McGuigan. and
three deputy sheriffs. He was shackled
to deputy Sheriff Charles Bausher.
Tells of Finding Body.
Coroner James F. Marley conducted the
proceedings The district attorneys ONCE
was represented by Charles Kuschke.
The first witness was. George Raster
line. of Haryey's Lake. katherine u
teamster. and testified to finding the
body of Miss Crispell. He declared that
he found the body at $50 last Monday
morning. and that the body was two
rods from shore floating face down
ward. He declared that he saw no marks
on the body because he made no thorough
examination. He Identified Miss Crispelrs
blue dress. The body. he said. was
floating east.
DR.. P. J. Higgins, the coroner's physi-
clan who made the autopsy. said that he
made his examination at Moneys
Morgue.
DrowntnE Cause of Death.
He said that his post-mortem showed
that drowning was the cause Of death.
and that "indentations' in the wrist
were noticeable These marks may have
been caused by teeth he said.
The girls physical condition prior to
death was normal, the doctor said There
was no blood on her clothing. the doctor
said. nor was there anything indicative
Of a struggle. On cross-examination by
Mr.. Michigan, DR.. Higgins denied max
ing an examination of the stomach. Mr..
Kuschke forced the witness to admit that
1t was impossible for him to ascertain
certainly Just what Miss Crispelrs con-
dition was at the time OF her death.
William Aver. the fiance Of Johns sis
ter. Clara. who was in the party at the
Oneonta Hotel on July 4. testified that
the party had been drinking beer. and
that Herbert Johns complained Of feel
ing i'll. He testified that Johns wore a
gray suit and a Panama hat. Clara
Johns, the prisoners sister. said she was
a member of the party. and that she
heard her younger brother say that Miss
Crispell told him that she had a rash
on her arms.
Girl said She Was III.
Miss Johns said that Miss Crispell like
wise declared herself to be Ill during the
party at the Oneonta at night. The last
she saw of her brother and Miss Crispell.
she said. was when Johns and his fiancee
were walking down toward Lovers Lane.
1t was then after IL o'clock.
Mrs. Martha Holcomb. a sister Of the
dead girl. broke down several times while
testifying that she was a member Of the
Oneonta Hotel party, and that Alice told
her that Herbert was to have taken Alice
to her grandmother's for the night. She
said that Alice acted queerly at inter
walls and vomited three times during the
evening. Mrs Holcomb baked at telling
of the quarrel between. Alice and her
father. She testified that Johns wore a
light gray suit and a Panama hat She
denied that she had seen her father
strike her sister.
Stella Oney. who saw Alice Crispell
shortly before the latter met death.
said that she passed Johns and Alice
on the lakeside about IL o'clock, and
whispered in Alice's ear"
She was indefinite as to time. Miss
oney said that Alice hailed her. but
that she heard no screams. nor did
she hear any one call for her to wait
Love Letters Are Found.
A big batch Of love letters. many Of
them unprintable. which passed be-
tween Alice Crispell and Herbert
John threw a new light on the mystery
which has been baffiing the authori-
1t Ill An
body was found.
The letters were obtained by County
Detective Daniel McKelvey. There were
about 100 Of them. OF which fifty were
written by Johns.
Some of the letters were dated back IN
the early part OF 1912. while others were
Of a quite recent date
The girl in several of her letters to
Johns talks Of having been abused al
home. and in one Of them she says that
her father blackened her eyes. The
father has denied TO the detectives that
he ever struck her. In one Of his letters
Johns says: II am afraid to go near your
house for fear the old man will shoot
me. So many things are troubling me
that feel like Jumping in the lake"
Writes of Suicide.
In another letter he declares: 81 had
a notion to jump in the lake and end
all my troubles. Why, darling, I had
so many I didn't know what to do with
them"
In one of her letters the girl threatened
to leave home on account of abuse. In
another she says she Is going to SUM-
bury. adding: II guess you'll be glad to
hear / am going"
In a letter Johns says:
ssT'Y,, clad yar por nnuna 70 fhA ofhAr
night You know the woods are a bad
place at night. You know they are full
Of mountain lions"
In still another: I'm temperance-be-
tween drinks. and DO are you.''
And in another: Dearest, We won't
have to wait much longer for the Fourth
Of July. Then we'll have q devil of
time"
stin another important development
was a statement made by tho girls
father, William Crispell. to detectives
working on the case. that he had at
tempted to shoot his daughter. Alice.