The Washington times., 1920-04-25
,,v .;~


( November air in the little New
q England village of Hooksett,
New Hampshire, few miles from
Concord. They came from the house
where lived Mr.. and Mrs. John Otter
SON. their sons. Maurice and How
ard, and the latter's wife, long we'll
to-do and respected residents Of thee
village.
< The Ottersons' nearest neighbor
Mrs, d. L. Stewart. heard those y
screams with alarm, and dropping her
knitting she hurried out into the night to
see what had happened. As she started
toward the Otterson home she saw Mrs.
Howard Otterson come bounding out Of
the house.
.They have killed Maurice!' cried Mrs
otterson. 81 want to use your telephone
to cali doctor" @
Behind those screams and the young
woman's excited words lies q tragedy OF
the New England countryside which has
elements Of drama and Of mystery as sur
prising, as perplexing as any Of the myth
ical crime problems Sherlock Holmes un-
dertook to solve.
There seems to be only about one vital
fact in the matter which everybody is
agreed is beyond dispute-that Maurice
O.terson, twenty-five years old, unmarried
and recently returned from army service,
died of pistol wounds on the night of No
vsmber 6 last.
After this brief statement has been made
I is impossible to proceed with the details
u the tragedy without encountering at
every turn denials and contradictions and
disputed testimony.
Whose hand held the pistol that fired
the fatal bullet into young Maurice Otter
sons head? 'ali.-:' kya 20, ,tss5I "
AL what pistol was 1t that the murderer
used? Was 1t one the bandits brought with
them or was 1t the one that was found
after the murder hidden in bureau up
stairs and with one of its bullets appar-
emily fired quite recently? ...t
Mrs. Howard Otterson, sisterin-law Of
the murdered man, tells quite remark
able but very ,circumstantial story Of an
attack upon the little household by two
masked bandits, one of whom overpowered
her and choked her screams by winding
sweater about her head, while the other
walked into the next room and shot Maui
rice down In cold blood.
But the prosecuting attorney declares
that Mrs. Otterson herself murdered her
young brother+in-law and that the weird
story of the masked men is only fan
tastic invention. He is preparing to go to
trial and hopes to convict Mrs Otterson
of the murder.
According to the story the accused
woman tells she and Maurice were alone
in the house the night of the tragedy, the
others of the family having gone to Man.
chester soon after supper to visit motion
picture theatre.
Shortly before 8 o'clock Maurice left the
living room where they were sitting to go
etofr nd 10 infn thQ adjoining
kitchen to let the dog out. AS she opened
the door a masked man stepped out OF the
darkness and seized her by the throat
"Say a single word and I'll kill you'll"
he muttered in her ear as he threw her to
the floor Another masked man entered
and walked on into the 'living room. At
almost the same instant she heard Maurice
descending the stairs.
When Mrs. Otterson tried to scream the
man who held her wrapped sweater
about her head with suffocating tightness.
She heard the noise Of a scufle and the
sharp crack Of a pistol After a moment.
Of silence the tread of heavy feet climbing
the stairs reached her ears.
Then she thinks she must have tainted.
The next thing she remembers is grun
voice saying:
"Hold onto the skirt while start the
machine!" .. $500, 49,. .-s
She heard some one walk out into the
yard, and a few seconds later the noise
Of an automobile engine. At that the man
who was holding her by the throat and
pressing his knee on her chest jumped up
and ran away.
AS soon as she felt sure the bandits
we're really gone she pulled the sweater
from her head and staggered to her feet.
In the living room she found the body OF
Maurice Otterson crumpled up on the
floor beside the stove.
He was dead-killed almost instantly,
the doctors later said. by the bullet that
was found imbedded in his brain. The
shot had been fred from behind and the
pistol had been held so close to his head
that the hair was burned. His throat was
scratched as II by finger nails.
Screaming for help. Mrs. otterson ran
out of the house.
That is the explanation Of the tragedy
as given by Mrs. 0tterson. The two
masked men who overpowered her and
shot Maurice otterson dead made their
escape in an automobile, she declares,
carrying with them the diamond engage
ment ring she had been wearing and the