Evening star., 1921-10-01
Wife Murder Charge Made at
Colonial Beach Causes
Mob to Threaten.
LETTERS TEND TO SHOW
PREMEDITATED CRIME
Eastlake and Miss Knox Are Put
Under Heavy Guard as They
Are Hurried From Scene.

FROM Stan correspondent OF The Star.
| COLONIAL BEACH. Va. October l.
! !-Evidence tending to show that the
| brutal murder of Mrs. Mabel s. E
Eastiake was preme ditated was un-
covered today by Colonial Beach au-
thorities. 1t consists of letters al
legged to have been written to Miss
Sarah E. Knox, Chesapeake City,
| by Roger Eastlake. chief petty Of
F.; ficer. U. S. N. husband of the muir
Gered woman.
One letter, torn in small pieces, was
found in handbag belonging to Miss
Knox. In this letter Eastlake is said
to have invited Miss Knox to come
communication bore 4 Colonial Beacn
i date mark and was dated Septem-
ber 9.
| After an enraged mob of $50 men.
| white and colored. had threatened the
| lives of Eastlake and Miss Knox fol-
lowing the coroner's inquest yester-
| day afternoon, when they were held
| for the murder, they were hurried
! under heavy guard to the Westmore-
land county jail at Montross, Va.
about twenty miles from here. Eas;
/ lake and Miss Knox are being held on
| ing action by the grand jury.
| Threats to Attack Jail.
| Several lynching parties were or
! ganized in Colonial Beach and the
surrounding country last night and
| threatened to attack the Jail at Mon
| tross. They failed to carry out their
| plan, when it as learned that re
/ inforced guard had been PLACED
! around the Jail.
The killing of Mrs. Eastlake. frail.
! small woman of thirty years. is char
| acterized by the authorities as the
! most outrageous crime in the history
| Of Colonial Beach. 1t has aroused
/ the country within radius OF Nifty
! miles
! Mrs. Eastlake's body was found ly-
I ing face down in the kitchen of her
! small cottage at the extreme north
| end OF the beach, with her skull lit
! orally hacked to pieces by a sharp
! instrument. believed to have been IA
j hatchet.~ An autopsy performed bE
! DR.. W. L. Brent, the coroner. showed
| that there were twenty deep gashes
| In the womaiiE head and numerous
! smaller cuts en- her body and arms
! Her left ear was severed. =
T! The crime was committed between
(, 5 and $50 o'clock yesterday mcrnine
! It was discovered half an hour lat.T
i when Detective r. K. Boulware, who
/ lives near the Eastlake home, was
| attracted by the screams of Mrs.
| Eaetlake's two children, Rodger, nins
years old, and Catherine, five years
old.
Mis-. Knox's Statement.
:. When Detective Boulware reached
! the Eastlake cottage, he said, he
found Miss Knox standing on the front
/ porch, apparently unnerved. MISS
! Knox told the detective that she had
found Mrs. EastIake dead when she
/; entered the house to pay a visit. Miss
Knox also told the detective that she
had seen a man. wearing raihcoat I:
! run from the house when she reached
| the front porch. She said she follow
i ed this man over the fence, but he had
disappeared.
| Knox. and found in handbag she
was carrying .32-caliber revolver.
which had not been dischareea; a
! quantity of morphine and several ny
/ podernnic needles. The gun bore blood
! stains and small strands of hair. said
to resemble that of Mrs. Eastiake;;
Eastlake who is said to have left
| home shortly before the murder was
discovered. was apprehended by the
authorities on the steamer EndeaVor.
on which he was going to work at the
I naval proving grounds at iDahlsren'
cn when informed of his wites s
death. it is said. he made no INQUIRIES
! about the crime and showed no out
VAR, sign of being disturbed by the
affair. a..
! Eastlake cottage Detective Bouiware
! found hidden in clump OF honey
| suck1e bushes a bloodstained hatchet
which also had strands of hair on IL.
4 He found also nearby mans rain
/ coat. spotted with blood. and a piece
of bloodstained newspaper
In a small wooden clubhouse about
thirty feet from the Eastlake home.
l HnOr Detective
Eeulware found another .S2-caliber
pistcl. This gun also was blood
! attained and contained two empty
shells which were fired. it is be-
i lieved. about year ago.
! MystiAed by Pistols.
AS there were no bullet wounds in
/ Mrs. Eastlake's body, the authorizes
are unable TO explain TO what use the
pistols were nut in committing the
crime. The bIoOdstains on the guns
lead them to believe that they We're
| used in inflicting some of the cuts on
| Mrs. Eastlake's arms and body.
/ Miss Knox came to Colonial Beach
about a week ago from Chesapeake
tC.ity- She had been living at the De
! at,ey Hotel here Thursday night
about l1:30 o'clock she complained of
! being nervous and left the hotel. She
/ told Detective Boulware that after
leaving the hotel she went to the out
house adjoining EaStiakes nome anu
! there remained during the night. She
| said her nervous condition made il
impossible for her to sleep, and that
F, she lay on the floor until early Fri
!. day morning, when she went over to
! nav her visit to Mrs. Eastlake.
| When Detective Boulware entered the
| house he found all the doors except the
one leading from the kitchen locked.
The two Eastlake children were found
/ lacked in their bedrooms, crying. As
the detective, accompanied by Eastlake.
| entered the bedroom, the little girl ran
nm 10 her father, screaming: whats
i t,fe matter with mamma" Eastlake. it
is said. pushed the child away from him
with such force that she fell on the floor,
slightly injuring her head.
! Teatimony at Inquest.
AT the coroner's inquest yesterday
afternoon il was revealed by Mrs. Il. J.
/ Collins, a neighbor of the Eastlakes.
! tnat the dead woman had planned to
leave her husband soon and go to live
| With relatives in Philadelphia. Mrs
Collins testified that Mrs. Eastlake had
| told her Thursday morning that she was
aware a plot was being made to dis
nose OF her She also Testified that
| Eastlake and his wife had quarrel
wednesday night relative to Miss Knox,
who had been seen at various times for
| the I,ast fifteen months in Colonial
| Beach. She is said to have known Eas:-
| lake for about five years.
It was revealed at the coroner S
inquest that Eastlake became 40
| Ucontinued on Page 2, Column 80