The Washington herald., 1918-08-29
CURIOUS KNOT,
GTNGHAM STRIP, ,
KEYS TOCRIME
Evidence of Plant ii
Roy Murder Case
Held by Sheriff.

The mystery Of the murder Of little
Eva Roy. In a wood near Burke Sta
ton more than three weeks ago. Is
the secret of q curiously formed knot.
tied in bit Of soiled blue gingham.
. part of the chiids own apron string.
The string was found tied around
fhs girls. neck when fhes party OF
sssrehers found her, twenty-four
hours after her death. One end of
the string was fastened to a saplins.
against which she was leaning. the
other was knoted firmly around the
childs throat. So firmly was the knot
tied that 1t has never been unfast-
ened.
Cut String From Neck.
A neighbor who prepared the body
for burial cut the string from the
little girls neck, and turned 1t over
to the authorities. who hold 1t still
In their possession.
1t Il rather an odd knot-what Is
generally called slipknot, but tied
in a peculiar fashion. Detectives be-
lieved at first they held the evidence
that would convict Lou Hall, the
woodcutter held for the crime. But
though Hall obligingly tied all kinds
Of knots for the detectives, he failed
to tie just the exact one found in
the string. -.
Eva Roy was alive when this knot
was tied. according to doctors who
examined the body and declared that
hA cd
The string holds another chapter of
the Roy mystery in its clasp-the
secret OF the person or persons who
attempted to plant evidence against
Lou Hall.
When the string was placed in the
bands OF Sheriff Allison a part of 1t
was missing. and several days later
an inch or two of the missing part
turned up in Halls house The bit
Of blue gingham was smeared with
blood. and torn as though 1t had been
pullel roughly from the rest of the
string.
At first this bit Of evidence seemed
to be conclusive against Hall, then
in the Fairfax Jail. The authorities
regarded the tiny piece OF goods as
the most valuable evidence they pos
sessed until it was proved that the
few inches Of blue gingham had been
torn from that part OF the string thar
had gone around the chiid's neck. and
hence that IT must have been placed
in the Hall home after it had been
cut from the body. and after Hall
had been taken to the jail.
Some one interested in sending Hall
to the electric chair for the crime
must have cut that strip of goods
from the string after Eva Roy was
brought back to her home In no
other way could 1t have got to Halls
house when the man himself was Sc
curely locked in Jail. =
The part found was. moreover,
smeared with blood while the part
in the hands Of the sheriff was en-
tirely free, of blood stains. yet the
part fits exactly to the end that was
around the girls neck. and not to the
part that was free when she was
found.
The inch or two Of goods found
under the mattress in Halls bedroom
fits perfectly into the place cut from
the string. but even with the extra
piece the string Is not long enough
70 nave gone around the girls neck.
Inere Is another bit of blue cotton,
4 --sAs soAiSu, IN tuc nauue OF some
one. and that some one IL the person
who tried to convict Han.
The child died more than three
weeks ago. and today one man Is held
for the crime. held on purely circum-
stantiai evidence. Another man, 9
soldier from Camp Humphreys, was
strongly suspected Of the murder. bu,
ne has been freed. ~
Next Evidence Mt TriaIf
Last might officials OF Fairfax
County declared that while the COM
monwealth would continue their in
yestigations. II was improbable thai
any other evidence would come to
light until after the court met on the
third Monday IN September.
sherin Allison holds In his keep
ing the bit Of blue gingham-the secret
,of' the murder Of Eva Roy. Twisted
IN q knot are q few strands OF pale
brown hair. tied firmly by the hands
.of the man who murdered her. This
string and curious knot viii play 8
leading part in the trial Of the man