Evening star., 1915-04-06
Coroner Nevitt and Police or
ficiaIs Differ Over Case !,
of Nellie Hill.
BODY is IDENTIFIED FROM
DESCRIPTION IN THE STAR
Locket Taken From Neck of Corpse
Recognized as Property Taken
From Home Where She Worked.

Coroner Nevttt and police oficials do
not agree upon the manner IN which
Nellie Hill, also known 8 Nellie John
son. whose body was found in q va
cant houses at 2Is G street northwest
yesterday morning. came to her death.
Inspector Boardmsn, chief of detec-
tives. thinks the woman's death was
due to an accident or that she commit
ted suicide. while Coroner Nevitt feels
satisfied that she could not have stuffed
the handkerchief in her mouth with
the force shown to have been en-
ployed.
The Identification OF the body was
brought about by the complete descrfp-
ton printed In The Star. DR.. J. C Oh
lendorf. health officer of Mount Rainier.
in whose employ the woman had been
from time to time during the past
seven years. read The Stars account
of the finding of the body and realized
that the body was that of his missing
cook.
Employers Identify Body.
Mrs. Ohlendorf accompanied her hus-
band to the morgue. where they viewed
and identified the body. They also
identified the gold locket taken from
the neck OF the corpse as belonging
to the physicians wife 1t had been
taken from the house, the police were
told. without the permission of Mrs
Ohlendorf
Dr. Ohlendorf told the police that
Nellie Hill or johnson had been ar
rested several times for intoxication.
and the records. the police said. show
that she had spent some time at Deco
guam. Thursday afternoon she left her
place of employment at Mount Rainier
and came to this city. Friday she re-
turned and asked for more money, hav-
ing been given 81 Thursday.
She was under the influence of liquor
when she returned, said her employer,
and additional money was refused her.
She did not return to Mount Rainier.
the police were told, and il was not
until Dr. Ohlendorf read The Star OF
yesterday that he knew what had hap
pened to her.
w. a. Dean, 1o2 C street northwest.
stated that he saw a woman enter the
alley leading to the rear of the vacant
house Thursday night He did not get
a good look at her. however, and was
unable to identify her.
Saw Woman Enter Premises.
Leo Thomas. whose employment
takes him to a stable in the alley, told
of having seen Nellie Hill enter the
rear of the premises, 21s C street, Fri
day afternoon. Mr.. Thomas was driv-
ing through the alley. he said, when he
saw the woman. apparently under the
influence of liquor. staggering in the
direction of his buggy. It became nee
essary for him 10 pull his horse 10
one side, he said. In order to avoid
striking her. He said she turned into
a blind alley leading to the shed in
the rear of the vacant house and dis
appeared.
The police have been unable to find
any person who claims to have seen
the woman alive after she was seen in
the alley by Mr.. Thomas.
| Discussing the case today, the police
| suggested that the woman had been
| drinking before she visited the vacant
house and that she may have fallen
| and broken one or more teeth. and
used the handkerchief to stop the flow
| of blood. In that way, they suggested.
she may have forced the handkerchief
down her throat far enough to choke
herself to death.
Used Forceps to Dislodge Teeth.
Coroner Nevitt suggested that the
force employed to get the handker-
chief SO far down the womans throat
indicated that it probably had been
rammed with a stick, and two of the
teeth were so far down that DIR. Will
liam B. Carr, deputy coroner, who per-
formed the autopsy. had TO use forceps
to dislodge them
I'VE are still working on the case"
said Capt c. f. f. Fiather, in whose
precinct the body was found. land viii
leave no stone unturned i'll an effort TO
determine how the woman came to her
death.
The captain does not think that
Nellie Hill is a murder victim. 1t was
learned by the police that the woman
whose death is being investigated
formerly resided in Pittsburgh, Pa,
her relatives. Coroner hewitt will
probably conduct an inquest over the
body later in the week. and have A
jury decide how and where Mrs Hin
came to her death.