Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-12-22
PIPER HANGS SELF;
ENDS MURDER CASE
Man Charged With Killing
Weichman Girl Takes Life
in Cell.
USES COLLAR AND BELT

MUSKEGON, Mich. December IL
Within a foot of a guard, who had
been stationed outside his cell to
thwart any attempt at suicide. Milo
H. Piper, local insurance broker,
charged with the murder of Miss
Freda Weichman of Chicago, hanged
himself in his cell tonight.
Officials of the Jail for a time de.
MED that Piper had ended his life,
but after an examination DIR. Samuel
A. Jackson. county physician, an
nounced the accused man was dead.
Piper. it is said, removed his collar,
twisted it as nearly into the shape Of
rope as possible and secured it
around his neck. Then looping his
belt through the collar he fastened IT
to the cross-barS of the cell gate and
threw the weight of. his body into
the moose. ending his life.
Up to the last Piper maintained his
Innocence in connection with the
death of the Weichman girl who h0
was charged with killing in order to
hide from his wife and child here his
alleged bgamous marriage at Rensse-
laer, Ind, in 1916.
For several days the accused man
had been moroSe and refused to eat,
according to Jail officials.
Sheriff Carl Stauffer, fearing he
might attempt suicide, stationed a Jail
attache to constantly watch his cell
Tonight, while the cell was momen-
tarily unguarded. Piper Slipped his
belt through the bars and completed
his preparations.
Ends Battling Case.
Piper's suicide brings to an end on0
of the most battling mysteries with
which Michigan authorities have had
to deal. In the spring of 1917 the
body of a young woman was un-
! earthed by railroad laborers in Egg
gleston township. near here. Efforts
at Identification then were unsuccess-
full, and the coroner's jury returned
verdict that the woman unidentified
had met death from an undetermined
cause.
+ Local officials continued their investi-
| cations which led recently to the identi-
| hcatlon of the body by means of tho
clothing as that of Freda Weichman Of
Chicago, bookkeeper and known local.
| ly a tennis star
Further inquiry showed that Miss
Weichman had been married to 4 man
! giving the name of Milo H. Piper" at
Rensselaer,, Ind. in March, 1917, after
obtaining marriage license at Crown
! Point, Ind.
Returning to Muskegon, officials ques-
! toned Piper, who lived here with his
wife and three-year-old child Piper
| denied any knowledge of the girl That
/ night he fed from Nuskegon TO Harnil-
ton. Ontario, where he was arrested last
Saturday and brought here charged with
the murder.
Admits He Knew Girl,
The accused man admitted to the
authorities after several days of grill
ing that he had known Miss WEIGH.
:. man; that he had Travelled about the
country with her by automobile as
man and wife, but that she had left
MN suddenly at Kansas City Accord.
ing to his story he and Miss Weich-
man had not been married, but another
man, one John Sheldon" had welded
the girl in Chicago. using Piper's
name. Later he said Sheldon" gave
her to him to live with as his wife.
Piper declared throughout his exam.
| nation that he knew nothing of how
| the woman met her death or of her
burial in the lonely roadside grave,
FEforts to identify Sheldon" or will
liam Goldberg," whom Piper said ac-
companied the couple on the motor
trip, were unavailing.
Relatives and friends Of Miss WEIGH
man in Chicago notified the local au-
thorities they could identity the Muske-
gon man as the Milo II. Piper to
whom the girl had been married and
had been summoned here for the hear
! ing tentatively set for December 23
! Letters from Miss Weichman written
during her tour of n dozen states with
Piper, according to the police, indicated
that as the tour drew to an end Piper
began to tire of her and caused her to
worry over her safety. The route
Travelled on the return journey had been
traced to Kansas City, and officials
were continuing their Investigations on
the theory that Piper, fearing exposure
of his alleged bigamy. had killed her
just before reaching Musllegon.
Shot With a Gun.
An autopsy performed on the dead
! girls body yesterday revealed that
she met death from a, gunshot in tho
| head A shotgun found at Pipers
home by the police was brought to
the cell today, and Piper admitted It
was his, and that he had carried the
weapon on his motor trip, but de-
clared he had sent it to his homie
| before the tour had been completed.
| Asked by officials if he had not killed
| the girl with the gun before ship
| ping it to his home, Piper refused TO
! answer, and declined to talk further
| of the case.
Mrs Hilda Carlson Piper the dead
mans wife. who had remained un-
shaken in her belief in Pipers inno-
cence, was near collapse tonight when
| she learned of her husbands death