The sun., 1917-01-05
Bernard w. Lewis Shoots
Himself as Detectives
Hammer at Door.
EXPECTED ARREST
FOR SEVERAL HOURS
Dead Man Fails to Leave
Note Explaining Reason
for Crime.
UNPAID TAXI BILL
LEADS TO EXPOSURE
Victim a Wealthy Man and
Prominent Socially in
Pennsylvania.

ATLANTIC CITY, N. j.. Jan. 4.-Bernard
". Lewis. son of Wenman A. Lewis, a
wealthy retired coal operator of Pitts
burg. shot himself to death In the bath
room OF his suite in the States Villa
Hotel here tonight while Philadelphia
detectives sent to arrest him were pound
ing upon the door.
He had known for many hours that the
police had centred upon him suspicion
Of guilt Of the murder of Maize Agnes
Colbert. the pretty young model in the
Walton apartments at Fifteenth and
Poplar streets last Friday. The news
papers had told him that practically
every person intimately acquainted
with the girl had been eliminated
from the hunt except himself. He
had talked from some place in Philadel-
phia by telephone to Mabel and Ethel
Kyle. the girls whose information to the
police revealed the identity Of the young
man that had accompanied them and
Maizie Colbert on Friday night. He had
known that detectives were speeding
from Philadelphia to this city to arrest
him.
y, So, E,,a ~ ,ie oa'nioo'h
Iocrod i've dnnn ,,.,.,.',.. -, %, 1''
niture put his rife handily by and
waited in sheer desperation for the first
noises announcing the coming of the
hunters. And when he heard them
warming up the stairway-one calling
ID ' pu. .le h,uL~e OF 'ne
W. ne se",p'e anu puleu .ie ,Iisser'
nor, 'f '"e hea'.',s .he re-
~. ~. VI .'Ie sno', ID oke GOWN the door OF
w ap"I ',,eHt anu 'hen smashed the lock
- me % oa'.'ooih ooor .ney iouhd young
"'s oeao upon the moor
Leave" No Explanation.
They searched the rooms hoping that
the young man had left a written state
ment which might clear I'm completely
the circumstances of the murder for
there are many points of the crime which
remain obscure. The PHILADELPHIA au-
thorities can assume nothing else, they
say, than that Lewis himself killed the
girl in a frenzy of rage or that he was
In some way directly implicated in the
crime. They said tonight that 1t was
self-evideht that no man would take his
lie In such circumstances unless he
feared exposure and punishment.
OF age. well to do in his own right and
YORK ana phmasa,n., -. sese.a .,,l .i,leS, New
1--we ~ nl.os,,ra IT, pa' - ~
rnIvers,ty Ia ,so- v
class NJ Iaot hut ha - ~, - ", ~, .'
baying ,at, -. ~. Nv "o' oo ,eu, @
tho ms, ,hrnS -. ~ ~
Philadelnhia do,ac;,,,.s. ,,rdon Ct M. oe
,Amoyed ~. leS,, u'ue' ap,, ' ia'e
many n,,,s. 80, 49,. ~ ''1'
neryo,s ,,,a,,,, ii .ne.i iis' VI suepecteu
NOV n "oaN youhs OF nliuu'e ageu
Matte Co,har,s u. h"o.e Vi r,s..ihs
Rohor,s,. -, VI ,i'9. Soipert
real nuarr,, 20 ~ ,i 10 'A" 'ee' 'he
Ennr,s - po'tsn -
terIv fr,,i,,o. MN nau oeeh Ut
catcs Ia e,''. aurs III tne notes
oun anu eIuos pIous"t hothlhg' HIS
,Lt, apa. ."ien. was vacant lhese
n, 20 ~ une"'seiVes Increased the afdor
c',,'a po1loe' anu theh came ABOUT
In ~, sncu','s.anee, very small thlhs
- ~, way ou' oeVeiopmeht similar
,ho, I'ehsey important rIN'aH'
tran ~ pu' lhe oetectFes on tne
tho, tnI iiuTuerer' IL was discovered
his 80 '"N.cap urI'e' nau not peeh palu
Iaui. y, ~ ior urlVihs man oi
wou,an Us. Ip'.on anu three young
Colhor, ut on ,"e hls"t peiore Ma'z'e
was s'rueN uo"h'
"'Nes tue.
The chauffeur's name Is Elwood Pow
ell, He went to the police with his COM
PLANT and story and then repeated 1t in
'fidavit form before a MAGISTRATE He
slated that he was the driver that took
young man and three women to an ad-
dress In Germantown. suburb of Phila-
u'ipnld, and then drove the man and one
n