The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-01-04
Detectives Keep Suspect Under
Surveillance, But Make No
Move to Take Him.
LINK OF PROOF LACKING
Three Persons, Not Principals,
To Be Rounded Up in
Near Future.
Continued from First Page.)

CONTINUED from First Page.)
munication between the murdered
woman and Marie Collins.
After the crime had been-committed
and the principal had removed his
bloody collar and shirt, and had used
a towel to remove bloodstains from
his clothing, the person or persons in
volved left by the kitchenette door,
locked it from the outside and carried
the key away.
s.. Key Missing.
The key to the Sitchenette door has
been missing since the day of the
crime When the police who were
first on the scene tried to go out into
the areaway outside the kitchenette,
they found the door locked, with no
key in sight. One of the policemen
picked the. lock with, a skeleton key.
The door now is locked from the in
side, with a bolt. The common door
lcck which fastened the door when
the murder was discovered in I'M
locked.
The back of the house is entirely
open, and it was possible for any one
to enter and leave the apartment
doors opens on a landing of the fire
tower, and some distance away a
short flight of steps leads to the area
way. The apartment house is separ-
ated from the next building by a
driveway, which is open, and gives
free access.
FiretONer Help to Parties.
BY use of the flretower it was possible
L. -
to pass from one apartment to the
=, other without observation. The fretow-
err formed an easy way for the COM
pletion of parties" when another girl
was necessary.
The detectives. spending most of their
time in trying to shield from publicity
certain prominent men who knew the
Colbert woman intimately. have over
looked many details which appear to
those who first examined the apartments
to have been obvious
Two Involved.
Despite the story first handed OUT
by the detectives, it has been shown to
a point of certainty that at least two
persons were involved in the murder.
one striking the blows and taking the
principal part and the other helping
TO carry the body from the sitting
room, where the actual crime took place.
to the bedroom, where the body was
found lying on the bed
The person who struck the blows and
whose clothing was covered with blood
spots so that the blood soaked through
on the shirt, which was badly stained,
carried the woman by the shoulders
when she was taken to the bedroom. 1t
is hardly possible that the body was
carried by one person, because of GER
tain conditions about the bed and Of
the shirt itself.
Front OF Shirt Soaked.
If one person carried the dying WON
an in his arms, one or the other sleeve
of the shirt would have been heavily
soaked in blood. Instead, it was the
front of the shirt which bore the prin-
cipal bloodstains. If one person car
ried the body, it would probably have
been placel on the bed with the knees
bent. The legs were not Strengthened
by the murderer, because no bloody
marks were on the bare feet. or the
pajamas,
II the body had been dragged from
the sitting room to the bed room, with
the head held close to the chest of
the murderer, there would have been
bloodstains on the bedclothing indi-
eating that the body had been drag
'ged, as it would have been necessary
to have dragged it acr' IS the covers
in order to get it in the position in
which it was found.
Two Carried Rody.
Because of the position Of the body,
it is very probable that two persons
CARRIED IL fal
and the other the feet. There were
virtually no bloodstains on the bed,
except those directly under where the
head had lain
The passageway beside the bed was
comparatively narrow, and two per
sons would hardly have attempted to
carry the body with both remaining
on one side. The position of the feet
toward the other side of the bed. in
Dictated that a second person had held
the feet, and had passed along the foot
of the bed. lifting the feet up and
placing them down.
The theory of the detectives that
the woman lost her life only after
struggle was not substantiated by
the conditions found in the apart
ment.
No Disturbance.
According to several witnesses, in
GLIDING DIR. Charles E. Bricker, the
police surgeon attached to the district
, in which the apartment house was To-
Gated, his nephew and Benjamin, the
negro >janitOr, there was no disorder
in the apartment
The telephone, it was discovered,
had been muffied by stuffing the white
collar of a MILDLY blouse between the
bells and around the cIapper, This,
it is believed, was done by the muir
derer in order to prevent undue at
tion being attracted to the apartment
Immediately after his departure, as
would have been the case had the bell
been allowed to ring unanswered
DR.. Bricker fatty contradicted
the theory of the detectives that the
attack was committed by a degener-
ate The surgeon has had years of ex-
perience in police cases.
No MaItreatment.
There were no Indications" he
said. that the body had been NAL
, treated in any way, although the
autopsy would show that definitely.
1.-THE hair in the woman's hand was
her own There is always a difference
in color between jet black hair in its
natural dry state, and hair that has