Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-09-04
NEGROES DENY STORY
DUPLICATING DOCTORS
WIFE IN HIS MURDER
Assert Their Own Innocence
and Declare Belief That
Mrs. Mohr Knew Moth
ing of Crime
TELLS OF DEATH NOTE
spokesman for Prisoners Says Letter
Threatened to Kill Doctor
Mohr

PROVIDENCE, r. l., Sept 4-Another
tenrnfion was sprung in the Mohr murder
case this afternoon when the three ne
froes accused. with Mrs. Mohr, OF killing
the physician. denied their confession.
George w. Heals. chauffeur Of the slain
doctors car. stated in his denial that
another car followed the one occupied
by Doctor Mchr and his companion. Miss
Emily Burger. He believed. he said. that
The car stopped at cross street near
mhere the stalled automobile OF Doctor
Mohr stood and that an occupant, creep
ing up from behind. shot the physician
and Mas Burger. Both Brown and SPELL
man Joined Heals in his denial of the
crime.
Healis. when he made the denial, spoke
Through the bars Of his cell IN the county
Jail az Bristol. acting as spokesman for
the trio.
Tell the people that we are absolutely
Innocent and that we believe Mrs. Mohr
knew nothing OF this crime. We have
never signed a confession and anything
we said TO the Providence police was said
In Joking way, or In a spirit Of anger.
"Dr. Mohr. to my knowledge. had been
threatened by several prominent Rhode
island people. | found a letter In his car
from a man living on Elmwood avenue
IN which he threatened the doctor and
said that II he did not cease his atten-
tions TO the writer's wife he would MI
him full Of bullets"
j, Cecil Victor Brown. who had previously
confessed to having been the leader of
tthe plot TO Kill Doctor Mohr, added to
Heaiis' statement:
n see that the Providence police say
that Heals saw Mrs. Mohr in Providence
on Monday evening. That's a Joke, for
and Monday night"
Following this came a denial that he
had ever written or signed confession
OF the crime.
Mrs. Elizabeth Blair Mohr today con-
tinued TO declare her innocence of in
stigating the murder OF her husband. DIR.
e franklin Mo1r. The police have learned
that Mrs. Mohr was threatened with
death II she disobeyed her husband. that
he had beaten her frequently and that
he had knocked down their 7-year-old
daughter Virginia, when he thought she
was spying on him.
Mrs Mohr made these statements, re-
garded by the police as being very near
% plea of justification, to Constable Wal
lace Of harrington. He had an inter-
,viow with the woman while she was in
the Bristol County Jail and apparently
She spoke freely to him.
What i had TO endure In the II years
that ] was the wife CT Doctor Mohr,"
The woman said to Constable Wallace,
'wouid have prompted some woman to
Kill him years ago. His family knew
what kind of a man he was and urged
nne not to continue TO live with him, but
j Hoped a change would come.
Doctor Mohr became a confirmed user
of drugs. and this and women became a
passion with him He was a poor man
.cFneh we were married: when he died
',he mad an income of $4,000 year. He
allowed me 500 month.
He made nearly all Of his money by
Illegal operations. / was always in terror
that he would be detected.
As for his affairs with women, had I
wanted to sue for divorce l could have
brought the names OF many, many proml-
nent people Of Providence and Newport
into the case, but was not willing to
wreck other homes
Il was In deadly fear of my husband
He often beat me, and once when re-
fused 70 sign over TO him certain prop
erty that was in my name. he threatened
70 kill me-"
The police here. from what was thus
disclosed. seem to see n reason why a
nervous, broodlng woman would want 10
be fevenged on the man who had sub
jected her to the prosecutions OF which
she told.