Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1917-09-13
MYSTERY STILL
SURROUNDS CRIME
Murderer Of Beatrice Epler Still
Unknown in Spite of the Work
of Detectives.
ONE HELD ON SUSPICION
Halloran Agency of Grand Rapids
Now Has Full Charge of This
Case.

The mystery surrounding the mur
? dei of Miss Beatrice Epler of this city
, Tuesday night, September 4th, still
; remains a closed book to the official,
. of Gratiot county and to the Hallorar
detective agency of Grand Rapids
which has charge of the case and is
working diligently to turn the pages
and bring out the complete story OF
the crime, and apprehend the brutal
murderer of this seventeen year old
girl
A startling lack of clues i'm the case
bas only made the Work of the detec-
tNes the harder, and an over abund-
ance of rumor of strange people seen
with the girl or i'm the vicinity of the
crime, OF seen around at a late hour
on Tuesday night, has added to the
labor. Every rumor had to be chased
down, in the hope that it might prove
to have something behind it that
would be of aid in running down the
fiend that brought to an end the life
Iof this innocent, inoffensive girl, who
had harmed no one.
The lack of clues in the case
prompted Prosecuting Attorney Ora
l.. Smith to call in the services of de-
tectives late "Wednesday of last week,
and before the night was over opera
tives of the Halloran agency in Grand
Rapids were on the ground, together
with Halloran himself, who has a rec
ord of getting criminals whom he
goes after, and on Thursday with the
entire policing force of the county,
they were diligently working on the
case in the attempt to unravel the
strings. Other detectives were also
at work on the case.
Friday night Prosecutor Ora L.
Smith called number dfa&Ae super
visors of the county for a meeting at
the Wright House here, at which time
the case was placed with Detective
john Halloran of Grand Rapids, and
he now has full charge of running
down the murderer of the girl. Eight
members of the board of supervisors
were at the meeting and it was the
opinion of those present that the
county should spare no expense in To-
eating the murderer.
Late Thursday night Nightwatch-
man Vibber and a couple of the Hall
Gran operatives brought in a man
named Samuel Berry Berry was TAX
ell to the city hall for the third de
gree, which had hardly started be-
fore John Halloran, known by few to
be working on the case, walked in and
put Berry through the worst grilling
that he had ever had. Berry was not
able to give good accouns of his
movements on Tuesday night. and-his
face was scratched. Berry explained
the scratched face by saying that he
had had fight with his wife. Hall !
oran, not satisfied with the story
which Berry told, ordered him to be !
locked up and asked that no one be !
allowed to talk to him. Berry's wife ]
was located, and she admitted the /
fight with Berry, but did not thor
oughly satisfy the officers as to the |
scratches on Berry's face. 1t was
found that Berry had recently come to |
Alma from Reed City and the detec-
tives got in touch with that place and |
received word, it is said, that Berry
was a bad actor. A brother of his |
Is now in Jail there, charged with a
serious crime. He is still being held
in the county Jail at Ithaca.
Developments later seemed to in
dicate that Inez Johnston, living in
who had talked with the
girl con Tuesday evening, might know
that would be of advant-
age to the officers, and she was quizzed
several times by the officers, but con-
tlnued to stick TO her story, that she
had been on the porch of her home
when the girl came along early that
evening, and stopped to talk with her.
Mrs. Johnston claimed that the girl
had asked her to go TO a movie with
'er, and that she had refused, and
hen it is said, she claimed that the
girl had started on towards her home. I
Mrs. Johnston was later arrested on
charge of running house of i'll re- !
'ute and furnished bail, after spend
ng short time in the county Jail.
During the course of the week De- 8
ective Halloran has picked up several I
lues which he belives are most val
able, but of such a nature that they
re being kept absolutely under COW
r by the officers in charge of the :
ase. Halloran admits that the case :,
$ a hard one to solve, but is in hopes !.
hat it will work out and that the !,
'ui!ty party will be lodged behind the !
ars. He also says that it may take = =
cme time to unraveI the mystery. +
The Grand Rapids detective be- !
ewes that the girl was grabbed from :. :
ehind and that she had absolutely no =
hance to defend herself from the :
rute who attacked her that night. y,
he finger prints on the neck, indi-
hte this. He also believes that her
Iippers were pulled off when her :
ody was dragged from the road to n
ne clump Of bushes where il was
ound and that her stockings were
,rn in the same manner. hs