El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-12-10
LOVE FOR HIS SWEETHEART,
WHO TLTED HIM, LEADS YOUTH
TO FACE TRIAL FOR MURDER
Strange Love Affair IN St LOUIS Begun at the Lake of the
Broken Heart Ends IN Grim Tragedy for Albert Scott
Ellis. Soon to Be Tried for Killing His
Sweetheart With a Razor


CT. LOUIS. no. Dec ia naples
youth confined in a cell IN the cit!
jail here il proving a strange
problem 70 criminologists who arr
studying his case
fessed slayer Of his first sweetheart
Edna Ellis, IS photographer, because
she persistently spurned his efforts e
effect e reconciliation after thell
dance hail and summer resort romance
had been shattered. The brutal man
ner In which the girl was slashed "a
death with a razor and the youth Of
her slayer have made the case a SEN
sation in ST. Louis police annals
When one sits and talks with Ellis
IA his cell In the jan il Is difficult
20 believe that this quier, sad-faced
youth could have committed such a
horrible crime as the one with which
ne l8 charged There is nothing Of the
hardened criminal or thug ABOUT him-
Re ls not tough or a ganGsrer, but
seemingly a normal youngster, with
q deep love for his home and his
mother and an overwhelming desire
20 have her constantly with him
Ellis e. charged with and has con
fessed TO the murder OF his sweet
heart on the night OF November s.
They had qulrreued and when he
found that all his efforts 70 make
up" were useless he waited for her
near vacant lot she was in the habit
work In north St. Louis and slashed
her throat with a razor. Two days
later he was arrested and when con
fruuted with the eF idenca signed
confession admitting the crime,
JIG was To OCTOBER 1915 tnal Ems
met his sweetheart. He had just
learned to dance and she was his firsc
u VIII never forget the date" he
said in talking Of his love AFFAIR,
.
tragedy
Neither VIII he ever forget. he de-
clared. the place-Creve Occur Lake.
But Ellis didn't know that Creve
Occur Lake. translated means Take
Of the broken heart or Jake Of
sorrow" 1t seems an ominous coin
cidence that many OF the romantic
evenings Of these youthful lovers Z
should have been spent at the lake
OF the broken heart before their own
youthful hearts were broken by
series Of minor circumstances result (
ing IN the breaking Of their engage Z
ment. and that the final effort Of the Z
youth TO patch things VI before the I
tragic evening Of November 8 should 4
have been made at the Lake Of Scr 4
row.
The occasion OF their meeting was 4
q church picnic at the resort and /
Ellis. struck by Edna's beauty, asked Z
permission 10 dance with her
zen ia lUHa Win AlEE
ne said 7 took an the rest Of her .
dances that evening, took her home ]
and made an engagement 20 take her
10 another dance. She became my
first steady girl She didn't 90 with 3
any other boys and / didn't 90 with /
any other girls"
Ellis wept while telling Of his pro-
poszl 70 Edna I'VE talked about I
getting married" he said 4 was
boarding at her home I was her
birthday September IS, 1919 after we 4
came home from g dance. We al
ways went TO dances. We spent every
Sunday afternoon ard evening dane
ing and lots OF week evenings I Rad
saved SIS and had bought q little
diamond ring in a pawnshop- That
night I asked her point blank 70
driving truck and earning 24.o5
per day. but soon after that my en-
ployer told me all the soldiers were
coming back from France making
labor cheaper, and he would have 70
reduce my wages 20 SIS week I
worked for time for this, but be-
gan getting IN debt and soon owed
Edna'g mother a board BILL
Ellis worked around at different
Jobs getting constantly deeper in
debt and hard mp" he said Then
one day his mother went TO Edna's
home seeking a little electric motor
which she said had disappeared from
her house she thought Albert might
have taken t.
sEdna's mother thought was a
thief and made me leave her house"
Ellis said she told me never %
come back and that she would rather
see Edna dead than married TO ne.
told her I intended marrying Edna
anyway. Ihe next day ny parents