El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-07-31
Once In The Lir1eLight
Being Tales of Those Who Reached the Front Page
and Then Dropped Back to Obscurity


Z following day and asked 20 see him
I that night
Brooks t. Shot.
Brooks discovered the note upon his
return 10 the office and told mis- part
ner that Florence was going 10 De-
troit and that he would meet him
later that night at a certain elevated
station i'm Brooklyn.
Some TWO hours later Brooks and a
woman entered the Glen Island no.
Ter, at the corner OF Cortlandt and
West streets, and registered as John
Wilson and wife, Brooklyn" The pair
were assigned 70 room Il on the third
lloOr- Al 10 o'clock the auuuuCiatOr
. rang from room u, and a beIlboy.
George Washington, went TO answer
H. The woman I'm room u asked
MIN 90 bring M a lemon soda The
soda was brought and that was the
last heard from the room. In the room
overhead Anthony B0ltZ, a policeman.
VINO resided in the hotel. was present
al evening and heard nothing.
About midnight Washington, on an
olner UP upstairs, smelled gas and
located IL in room J.. He notified
the clerk and upon investiga ton.
Brooks was found living uudressed on
the bed with the gas streaming from
an open jet
A doctor was called and treated
brooks Tor asphyNiatiou. The room
was rather dark and Brooks seemed
70 pe reviving when the doctor no.
Llceu small wound in the vounE
mans head. Had the room been
llgnter the doctor might have discov-
ereq me Iact that the wound was
made by a bullet
IN the morning when the clerk went
70 ascertain the mans condition. he
round the pillow stained with blood
ana Inc patient very weak. A police
man was called and upon inrestiga-
Jion found papers Indicating the in
lureu man was Walter Brooks
His partner was notified and he in
turn noiIled the boys parents. a
nalI nour after their arrival Brooks
was dead.
The Girl Is Tried.
The obvious thing was 20 find the
" oman who accompanied Brooks TO
Inc motel The description given 10
me ponce bF the clerk and bellbov
seemed 10 tally exactly with Florence
Burns
Florence Burns was arrested and
insisted that she had not seen Brooks
since two nights before the crime
The motel oellbOy positively Identified
ner as bro0ks's companion. A comb
found In the hotel room was identi-.
led bE Mrs. Brooks as the very comb
mat lhe girl had while she was
staying at the Brooks home.
II began to look as II the district
had woven an almost iudis-
putable case around the unfortunate
girl yet she sat in the Tombs, comb /
ing her beautiful golden hair as If
nothing in the world had happened
The pistol with which Brooks was
shot was never found. No one could /
say that Florence Burns had ever
owned or had one in her possession.
Under the grilling cross examination ]
OF the defence the bellhoy. who was I
the states principal witness. failed .
10 convince the jury that he could I
Identify Florence.
Secures Her Liberty.
Finally he said he thought the girl
was dark. Florence Burns was the
iightest kind Of blonde and after five
weeks trial the jury brought in a
verdict Of Not guilty"
After her acquittal the girl went
On the stage at a large salary and /
married TO Charles ". Wfldricl.
w hen her popularity as an actress
began 20 waue she tired Of her hus-
band and iu 1908 sued him for di-
vOrce.
In 1910 she and a man named Ed
ward r. Brooks were convicted of
trying 90 blackmaiI q BROOKLYN man
by means Of q badger" game. They
were both sentenced TO seven years
and six months in Sing Sing