The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-01-01
MODEL IS SLAIN;
DETECTIVES seek
z RICH FRIENDS
Girl of Divine Form" is
Found Murdered In
Apartment.


Apartment.
Philadelphia, JAM 1.-The body of
Mrs. Grace Colbert Roberts, 22-year-
old art model and perfect woman, -
l,arbed in suit Of blue silk pajamas,
was found Saturday night in per
apartment, Fifteenth and Poplar
streets. Her murder may involve a
dozen or more men. prominent in the
business and socia1 life Of Philadel-
phia.
The police have no definite clue
leading to the identity of the slayer,
who with flatiron crushed her skull
and then finished by strangling her
with her own silk stockings.
A dozen photographs of male adj
1nirers were found in the boudoir OF
the model These were taken by the
detectives, who are seeking to ascer-
tain what relations existed between
the woman and these men.
Fought to Save Life.
Capt. James Tate of the Detective
Bureau, said yesterday that so far as
his men were able to determine, the
murder was a mans job, and proba-
bly, a one-man job. That robbery was
the motive is a theory that is not
treated seriously by the police.
Detectives are going on the theory
that the woman was murdered by
man that she knew, and that the kill
ing followed struggle by the woman
to save her life.
Grace Roberts, who was a widow,
lived in a suite of three rooms on the
first floor of the Wilton apartments.
There are Is other occupants Of the
building. The appearance of the
Roberts suite gave evidence of a ire
mendous struggle between slayer and
slain, but tenants of other apart
ments say they did not hear any dis
turbance.
Aside from the photographs, there
are two definite lines on which the
detectives are hasing their hope for
, a speedy capture Of them urderer.
Among the articles found in the
boudoir Of the woman were mans
shirt, covered with blood, and collar.
The shirt was blue-striped, size Is.
The collar was a Is IL. There We're
blood stains on the collar too, and one
All marks Of Identification had been
Of these showed a finger print, which
gas been copied by the department.
removed from the shirt. The cuff
buttons also were removed.
Had sNew York Friend
There was gossip around the neigh
oorhood that Mrs. Roberts had one
friend, who was known as her New
York friend This man came at
stated intervals, but there were many
other visitors to the house. Benja-
min, the janitor, says he had no key
to the rooms and that the apartment
was kept in order by the models own
maid, known as Eleanor. This maid
has not been found by the police.
The police have established the fact
that among tfhe many callers were
men prominent in the social and bus
mess life of the city. Neighbors aver
that there was frequently much mer-
riment in the models apartment
Benjamin, the janitor, yesterday
went over in detail the incidents lead
ing up to the. discovery of the body
He said that on Saturday night about
10 o'clock Miss Bessie Colbert, sister
Of the slain woman, living at No. &C
North Edgewood street, called and told
to get her sister on the telephone and
had not succeeded.
Benjamin then raised window
and climbed into the apartment Look.
ing into the bedroom he beheld the
body of the woman lying there. There
were bloodstains all over the bed an6
on the carpet. The woman was garbe6
only lin pa jamas and her haid wa.
lying closely over her face.
BENJAMIN saw that the woman wa.
dead. Her face was covered with blood
and her nose crushed. A police cal
was sent in and neighbors entered the
room. r.
It was apparent that the woman
had been dead for several hours
Furthermore, all the rooms were in
state of disorder. Dishes and glass
ware lay broken on the floor. Chairs
were overturned. On one of the
front windows and on side window
of an inner room were blood stains
The woman's skull was crushed
and there was clot of blood on thu
back of her head In her right hand
were found several black hairs. She
is believed to have grasped the hail
of her assailant.
70 large coterie of men thu
murder Of Grace Roberts came as {
shock.
There were many in Philadelphia
who never had heard Of this girl o.
the form divine but there were plen
ty who knew her and liked her. sale
a friend last night. "Only % year.
old when she died, she was merely {
bit Of girl when she came to Phila
delphia three years ago; and yet, de
spite this tender age. she was tner
two years a widow Her husband haf
died during the second year of thei
married life and the girl, beautiful
came from the little town of Kane
Pm, to make her way In the world. X
Some one had told her, back in thu
little country town, that she had thu
form Of = model, and she needed tn.