The daily banner., 1917-08-14
ARREST NEGRO IN
/ BRANDON MYSTERY
John Snowden Charged With The
Woman's Murder-Sent Here in
An Auto-Ciue Furnished by Ser
want OF an Annapolis Sufiragist.

| Charged with the murder of Lottie
! May Brandon last Wednesday morn
ing, John Snowden, a negro, was ar
rested by Baltimore detectives in An
! napolis yesterday afternoon.
After merciless third degree,
which lasted more than four hours
and which brought the prisoner
groveling to the feet of his inauisi
tors, he was heavily manacled and
placed in an auto which sped away
| toward Baltimore. He arrived at DO
lice headquarters in Baltimore about
10 O'Clock last night
SnoWden was arrested by Head
quarters Detectives Pohler, Kratz
and Dougherty. Although he stub
! bornly refused to admit that he was
the slayer of the murdered woman,
evidence has been secured by the To-
cal authorities which will suffice to
hold him. After an investigation of
more than five days a clue was fur
nished yesterday by Mrs. Spencer
Murray, prominent society woman
and suffragist leader, which will
probably result in the confession of
the murder of Mrs. Brandon.
An old colored woman whom she
has long had in her employ to per-
form simple duties about the house
came TO her yesterday with a story
about man who she said had en-
tered the home of the Brandons on
the day that the murder had been
committed. She declared that her
daughter, who lives in a house op-
poslte the Brandons, had seen a man
step into the street from the interior
OF the Brandon home about II
O'Clock. She called TO d friend Mary
Perkins, who was visiting her, to
come to the window and look at the
negro that was Just leaving the Bran
don home.
They both watched him as he left
the home and walked down the street
toward saloon on the corner of
West and Second streets Nothing
more was thought of the affair until
the word was passed along the neigh
borhoOd that the body of Mrs Bran
don had been found by her husband,
the victim of murderous assault
On the day in question Snowden
admitted to the detectives that he
had not worked. He said he hao
oversight himself that morning and
that when ne awoke ii was 100 late
for him to perform his daily routine.
Confirmation was made of this by
the employer, Parlett & Parlett, ice
manufacturers of Annapolis. He fur
ther admitted that he was on Seconr.
street on the day of the crime, but
persisted that he had not stopped at
the Brandon home
After S-eXamination by the
detectives ne was at loss to explain
his actions between II and half-paSt.
He stated that he was in the saloon
of John Martin. West and Second
streets, Just before l but was unable
TO give a plausible account of his
actions for the hour prior. He was
the driver of large motor-truck
and carried ice for resupplying the
wagons of the company about the
city. He stated that he often had
occasion to make his way along that
street. but could not offer a single
reason for his appearance in that
part of town on Wednesday. when he
was not working.
The colored girl who had watched
him from window across the street
testified that she had seen a chair
flash past the window in the front
of the home of the Brandons; soon
afterwards she said the negro walk |
ed from thehouse and hurriedly hid
/ bottle which he had in his hand in