The Washington times., 1920-07-13
TWO SHOT TO
.DEATH|NAUT0
Mrs. Arthur De Cordova and
Driver of Her Car Meet
Violent End.
MYSTERY Wells TRAGEDY
Farmer Hears Shots and Finds
lifeIess Body of Woman
on Auto Road.
MYSTERY Wells TRAGEDY

NEW YORK, Conn.,. July 49,
The tragic death by shooting of Mrs.
Arthur DeCordova, wife Of a
wealthy New York broker, and her
chauffeur, Bernard Geissler, on a
lonely motor road near Stonington
today has shocked the residents of
the fashionable summer colony Of
New Yorkers here, and has given
the authorities one of the most baf-
fling crimes they have had to solve
in years.
BODIES SPRAWLED IN ROAD.
Their bodies sprawled in the road
Mrs. De Cordova and the chauffeur
were found by James F. Brown, a
farmer Of North Stonington. Mrs. De
Cordova was dead. Geissler was still
alive, but unconscious. He was rush
ed to a hospital here, but died' early
this morning without regaining con-
sciousness.
Between the bodies when found lay
an army pistol. Mrs. De Cordova had
been shot through the heart and ap-
parently had died instantly. Geiss-
ler's body was hanging across a fence
with bullet wounds in his head.
said to have left Griswold. near here,
yesterday afternoon in three-pas-
senger sports model car. The De
Cordovas came to Griswold on July
/. Arthur De Cordoya, the husband,
returned to New York yesterday.
Late last evening Brown, the
farmer, heard several shots. and upon
investigating found the bodies of Mrs.
De Cordova and the chauffeur.
Geissler, who was thirty-one years
old, and had a wife in New York.
had been in the employ of the De
Cordovas for five years.
Relatives and friends of the De
Cordova family today could shed no
light on the tragedy. Prosecutor p.
II. Hewitt. of New London county.
said early today that he is not
satisfied with the theory that Geiss.
ler shot Mrs. De Cordova and then
turnGA his weapon upon himself, and
investigation.
purse containing $50 in money
which Mrs. De Cordova had with her
was untouched.
Prosecutor Hewitt said this fore
noon that he was satisfied after his
investigation that the case was one
of murder and suicide. and that no
third party was involved.
NO EVIDENCE OF STRUGGLE.
AT FIRST I thought that inasmuch
as the trip on which the two had
started in the automobile was evil
IDENTIFY to take some laundry to be
washed, IL was probable that q
double murder had been committed.
But thorough examination of the
vinced me that there Is absolutely no
evidence go support that theory.
THE two wounds which caused the
death of Mrs. DeCordova were in the
abdomen and indicated that she must
have been facing Geissler when he
shot her. The wounds revealed dis
tinct signs of powder flash, showing
that they had been fred very close
to her body. The wound in Geissler's
head was in the forehead and pene-
trated his brain. The pistol lay be-
tween them. This was the condition
when the bodies of the two were dis
covered. There was package of
laundry in the automobile.
"There was absolutely no evidence
Of a struggle of any kind and no evil
dence that any attempt had been
| made to assault Mrs. DeCordova."
Before her marriage, Mrs. Decor
dova was Miss Florence Mabel Will
liams, daughter OF Mr.. and Mrs. AL
fred Williams, OF Germantown, Pa.
She was prominent in Philadelphia
society prior to her marriage. The
couple were married about twenty
two years
Mr., Williams, father OF the slain
woman, was one OF the founders OF
the Rsdnor Hunts Club and was long
Identified with the Union League
Club of Philadelphia