South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-01-19
Man and Girl Are Killed by
Gas While Second Couple
Are Now Confined to
Local Hospitals.
MEN MET THE WOMEN AT
DOWNTOWN RESTAURANT
Girl Contends That Men Prom
iSed to Take Them Home.
Neither Can Explain
the Tragedy.

man and a girl are dead and
| two others. one a girl and the olher
a married man, are now at hospitals
suffering from the effects of gas as a
| direct result Of a party staged at 631
r. Bronson ST, Thursday night
The dead;
Miss Gertrude NOight. Goshen.
Edwin u. Morden. whose home is
thought To he at Cairo, III.
Those overcome are:
Miss Marion Heyden Of Misha-
Wal<a.
j. {. steele. 631 T.. Bronson II.
Can't Explain Tragedy.
steele and Miss Heyden were UNI
able TO talk coherently Steele was
still under the influence of liquor
that he had evidently drunk early
in the morning and had also
breathed heavily of the gas
When she awoke Miss Heyden dis
covered the cOrpses in the bed i'm a
room adjoining her own and rushed
HISTORICALLY from the house to a
neighbor's. The police were at once
called and though the pulmOtOr was
applied Immediately to Miss Noight.
il was impossible to bring her TO
life. Both bodies. however, still
retained some heat and il is sup
posed that the accident did not hap
pen until after o'clock Friday
morning.
steele. whose wife is at Wabash.
Ind. on a visit. is employed by the
C.. G.. Shaefer Hardwood Lumber
company of this city as a lum Der
salesman NGorden. who is also en-
pioyed 10y that company. is thought
10 be from Cairo, H.. by the fact
that ne carried an Identification
card from the Mason lodge Of that
city
Came to south Bend Thursday.
Miss Heyden declares that she
came 10 South Bend with Miss
Noight to get some chop suey. In
the Oriental Inn they met the men,
after which they drank five or six
glasses of sweet wine EXacting a
promise that they would be taken
home, they entered n taxi, after
which she declared that she remem-
nEEt0 IOlIlAlh Aillil NAAf " eiE a " gu
ed in the morning
In the one room of the house We're
wine. whisky and beer. brought
there evidently just the evening be-
fore. Clothes were heaped in one
corner. the house was bitter cold, and
q small gas heater in the room oc-
cupied by Morden and Miss Weight
was turned on full blast. though not
lighted.
Motor Cop Wesolek was the first
TO reach the house. He found steele
leaning against the wall. near the
gas stove. Steele was almost over
come and could not give an explain
alton of the accbient. He was taken
10 Epworth hospital
One Theory Advanced.
one theory advanced is that
Steele on awakening went 10 the
room occupied by the other couple
and prepared to light the gas heat
er i'm an effort 10 warm up the
room. Evidently he failed To light
the stove but turned on the gas. or
! + he did light 1t. the fire was blown
out when ne closed the door OF
| leaving the room.
Miss Heyden entered the room
some time LAYER disturbed by
! Stee1e's actions. and discovered the
two bodies. She rushed from the
| house and notified one of the neigh
bOrs. The police were called and
/ by the time they had arrived steele
had returned 10 the room and had
taken mp a position near the stove.
where ne was discovered by Weso-
lex.
In the POCKETS of Morden's clothes
were found vouchers for $50 and
$50 on the Schaefer Lumber COM
pany. and IS cents in change. There
were besides "a few private letters
and papers and "a receipt for 80 paid
To the Mason lodge. number 237. of
I cairo. H.. signed on Aug. %. 1916.
Formerly Lived at Detroit.
Miss NOight. whose home is
thought 20 be in Detroit. Mich. but
who until short time ago had been
making her home i'm Goshen.
was wearing two rings on her ring
finger one was a diamond and the
CONTINUED on PAGE 49,