Omaha daily bee., 1919-03-19
EXPLOSION
SEQUEL TO
THREAT To
HUSBAND
Oakland Police Mystified by
Blast Which Caused Death
of Mrs. Greenwood at
Family Home.

Oakland, Cal, March l8.-Mrs.
George Greenwood, wife of the vice
president of the Savings Union Bank
and Trust company of San Fran
cisco, was killed instantly by bomb
explosion tonight at the family home
overlooking Lake Merritt in the resi-
Dental district of the city.
The police said early investiga
ton has failed to disclose whether
the bomb was hurled at Mrs. Green
wood or whether she picked it up
while walking about on the grounds.
Greenwood was i'll in bed at his
home at the time. No one else was
in the house except the servants.
According to police, a letter de-
manding $4,000 and threatening to
destroy his home with, dynamite un-s
less the amount was paid was sent
to Greenwood in January, 1918.
This letter, police said, was signed
&C. c. of c." the initials, they point
ed out, being similar to those affixed
to threatening letters sent to Gov.
Wi1liamSD Stephens before the ex-
ecsaYe residence in Sacramento wa
dynamited last year
Hurled 10 Feet.
The body of Mrs. Greenwood had
been hurled 10 feet by the explosion
of the bomb. A brick wall in the
garden was marked by deep inden-
tation and was badly damaged. This
led the police to believe that it was
on or near the wall that the bomb
exploded.
The theory most favored by the
police is that the. bomb had been
planted, was discovered and picked
up by Mrs. Greenwood and exploded
in her hands. Her body was multi
ated badly
The police failed to discover any
witnesses to the tragedy. Servants
in neighborhood houses said they
heard the blast and saw the debris
and smoke in the air. Buildings
in the neighborhood were Jared Sc
verely.
Myron T. Harris, deputy district
attorney, after preliminary investi-
CATION said:
1--WE believe we have definite in
formation as to the persons guilty of
this outrage, and we expect to make
arrests before midnight.
All the windows on the two sides
of the Greenwood home were shat
tered.
Story of Husband.
"I had been sick" Greenwood SAID.
81 was upstairs in my dressing gown
when the explosion took place. |
ran down STAINS and, lying there be-
side the walk | found the body of
my wife. /
81 can't imagine. why thiss was
done. | haven't an enemy in the
world that l know of. Mrs. Green
wood had none. | don't know why
they did this"
A cook in a residence near the
Greenwood home told the police s.
Il looked out the kitchen window
and saw great cloud of black
smoke The smoke was so heavy
| could see nothing else; even the
house was hidden. AS it cleared |
saw Mrs. Greenwood lying beside
the gravel walk
Difficulty in establishing the exact
spot where the explosion occurred
was complicated by the fact that
Mrs. Greenwood's body evidently
had been thrown some distance and
by the size of the area over which
debris was spread. Soon after 10
O'Clock the police department de-
clared definitely that the explosion
took place in the garden and not,
as had been reported. at door
way or just inside the house. They
based the declaration largely on the
marks on the brick wall in the gar
den.
y Governor Offers Reward.
Sacramento, Cal, March 49,
Governor William D. Stephens an
nounced tonight he would offer re-
ward of $1,000 for the arrest and
conviction of the person or persons
responsible for a bomb explosion
at Oakland tonight in which Mrs.
George Greenwood was killed.
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