Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-30
H. B. COHEN SLAYS HIS
GRANDMOTHER AND SELF

| ~ toVh neT by the arm and led her
away Her brother died at 1906 o'clock.
| alking erect and slowly, as SOM
| nambulist does, she kept herself from
1ainting by sheer will power. Unable to
| ,aiSe her voice above a whisper, she said
| IN dull tone, This thing is SO terrible
tnat can't say anything about It. 1t Is
| all so sudden-so awful"
Ihe Cohens are widely known socially
lne'r family is an old one and always
| mas been prominent. Other residents OF
the fashionable section in which the
Cohen home Is located were thrown into
turmoil by the shooting. The house Of
| lho tragedy was besieged by neighbors
| servants were kept busy for hours an
swering the telephone and confirming the
news Of the double shooting.
AGED WOMAN WAS ASLEEP.
NO one knows what happened in the
big third floor room prior to the shooting
but all the evidence obtained by police
and coroners deputies indicates that the
aged grandmother was asleep when her
grandson, In n dressing gown, walked
into the room and shot her.
The parents CLEANED meagre details OF
what preceded the shooting from the SER
wants. Mr.. and Mrs. Cohen and Miss El-
eanor Cohen were still asleep just before
o'clock when the shooting was done.
They learned that their son arose per-
haps 10 minutes before the shooting and
went to the bathroom. There he started
to shave himself
There was nothing irrational in his ac-
tions and he did nothing to arouse the
suspicion Of the domestics. He remained
In the bathroom until he was half through
shaving. Then lie wen: quietly back to
his room and got the big revolver. He had
brought 1t with him from Chicago. Then
he went calmly to the room Of his grand
mother without ho eli pt
attention from the servants and did the
shooting.
SHOTS AROUSE DAUGHTER
Charles j. Cohen, father OF the dead
man, said that he was asleep when the
fatal shots were fired. He knew nothing
of the tragedy until he was awakened
by his daughter. Mr.. Cohen could not
realize what had happened at rst and
attempted to argue with his daughter.
when I went into my mother-in-law's
room, ] found her in bed just as she had
lain while asleep. My son lay at the
bedside clutChing the revolver in his
hand. | can ascribe no reason whatso-
ever for the shooting. Henry has never
had any tendency toward insanity. He
has always been the brightest Of my
children. Last night he wrote several
letters on business and went to bed about
IL o'clock. He aroused early as he eX-
pected to go to Boston on business this
morning. The thing could not have been
accidental as the boy was shaving and
had to go from the bathroom to his own
room to get his revolver and from there
into his grandmother's room. II is
foolish to believe that she angered him
in any way. She was a little timid woman,
very feeble and very quiet. He was very
fond of her. 1t seems a clear case OF
temporary insanity to me, though | con-
fess that ! am at loss to understand II,
as my son has scarcely had sick day in
his life"
Later Mr.. Cohen, after thinking over
every possible reason that might have i'm
PEELED his son to the shooting, said
"It is Just barely possible that Harry
heard noise after he got UP and was
shaving this morning. IN that event ne
might have rushed into the room, lie
might have fired blindly, In the belief that
there were a burglar i'm lis grandmother
room. The only explanations | can make
of his suicide in this event is that he
killed himself in despair rather than try
to explain, but no one knows
Mrs. Charles ]. Cohen, mother of the
dead man, was Frustrated and has been
confined to her bed since the tragedy.
my son thought the world of my
mother" she said this afternoon There
can be no explanation of the shooting
except temporary arrangement | heard
my son knock on mothers door last night
before he went to bed and say good
night to her"
Albert NJ Cohen. a brother of the dead
man, and lieutenant in the United states
Navy assigned to duty as an instructor
at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, arrived
home yesterday afternoon on furlough.
He said that he and his brother sat be-
fore the fire after dinner last night talk
ing over old times.
'My brother seemed very cheerful, and
we laughed and ioked for some time.
About 10 o'clock he went upstairs, say
ing that he wanted 10 write some letters
before he went to bed He told me that
he intended going to Boston today and
that he had his trunk all packed.
went to bed soon after and slept soundly
till / was awakened this morning by my
sister Eleanor. | was absolutely dunn
founded at the news. I rushed upstairs
and found my brother dying.
PICKED UP THE GUN.
81 did not suspect at first that he had
shot my grandmother. Nothing was dis
arranged on her bed. l picked up the
gun and noticed that two bullets had
been fired | wondered where the other
bullet had gone, as l saw that Henry
had only been shot once, and then |
wondered why my grandmother had not
been aroused. / pulled back the covers,
which We're over her head, and saw the
terrible truth / suppose my sister had |
drawn the covers over his head to hide |
the horrible sight, but grandmother must |
have been shot while she was asleep II |
is all too monstrous | can think OF no |
reason at all which would have driven |
my brother TO commit such an act except |
the theory of insanity which the doctor |
$50 far as | know there has never |
been any such weakness in our family. |
NV brother was very bright We were all
very fond of him. He has never married
and [ know of no love affair that would
have troubled him His business affairs
were in such good shape that he boasted
of them to me last night To me the
whole business is incomprehensible'
Eleanor a sister of Henry, and the only
one who heard the shots. sleeps In
rear room on the third floor She was
cool all through the morn
ing. being the only one in the family
in condition to accompany her brother
10 the hospital
''I was still I'm bed when the shots were
fired, but / was wide awake" she said.
II heard my brother arise and so down.
stairs. After he had eaten breakfast he
anne upstairs and went into his room
FIe was whistling and then humming a
ne He went into the bathroom where
e started to shave.
II heard a door open somewhere
whether he was going into his own room
or into the room OF my grandmother 1
cannot say, and then after a seconds
interval, | heard a shot. / screamed, and
sat nm In he'd but was afraid to inVesti-