Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-11-02
Indict Two in /
Death Of Kennedy.
on Pacific Coast

t4Oxx l. CkA4xxS SSN<OO
Los Angeles, Nov. Mrs. NADIA
lynne Obenchain and Arthur {.
Burch, once fellow students at
Northwestern University. Evanston.
PM, We're placed under arrest within
| twenty four hours of the time ]. Bel
ton Kennedy, young Los Angeles in
surance broker, was shot to death 81
| August 5 East. A week later theT
were indicted for murders When
they were arraigned. Ralph r. Oben-
chain, divorced husband OF the wom-
| an defendant. who was also student
at Northwestern while she and Burcl
were there, appeared as her council
having dropped his law practice IN
Chicago to come to her aid
Kennedy met his death in front OF
a rustic cottage owned by his parents
in Beverly Glenn, section OF Bevef-
ly Hills, residential suburb. Late
on the night of August Mrs. Obeh'
chain appeared at the Beverly Hills
police station where she said she and
Kennedy had gone to the cottage
after an automobile trip and were
looking for her ''luclSy penny" she
said she lost on a previous visit. AS
they were searching. she said, two
men who talked like foreigners
jumped from some underbTush ana
fired two shots. Kennedy fell anc,
after saying good night Madalynne."
expired.
The police found Kennedy had been
shot through the back of the neck,
no l,nnY, Sh1f
tered A shotgun had been used, II
was ascertained. Mrs. Obenchain pro-
fessed to know of no motive for the
shooting. She said she had divorced
her husband because Of her love for
Kennedy, but said she had refused
offers of the latter to marry her. be-
cause Of opposition on the part Of
his parents.
Mrs. Obenchain was detained as a
witness. While one investigation
was proceeding the next day. the
clerk of downtown hotel in Los An
geles came to the sheriff's office with
the tale of a man who had rented II
room there several days before. The
room was almost exactly opposite the
offices in q building across the street,
occupied by Kennedy and his father
The clerk said the man went out the
night before carrying a long package
tied with newspapers, and returned
without it. and checked out of the
hotel in the morning.
Investigators established that the
man was Arthur c. Burch, son of the
Rev. William A. Burch, of Evanston,
ILL.,. and that he had taken train for
Chicago after leaving the hotel. Tel
eSrams were sent along the route ot
the train with the result Burch Yves
arrested the same afternoon at Las
Vegas, New. He was brought to Los
Angeles two days later.
The investigators declared they as
certaincd Burch came to Los Angc-
les at the request of Mrs. Obenchain.
and that he told a passenger on the
train coming out that he was on his
way to help a friend who was in
trouble" also that he sent Mrs. Oben-
chain $S5 before leaving here. They
also declared Mrs, Obenchain said
nothing of Burch when telling her
story after the shooting. Kennedy's
parents denied their son sought to
marry Mrs. Obenchain, declaring that
it was she who pursued him"
Another development about this
time was the finding of two empty
shotgun cartridges near the scene Of
me Staying. Also, deputy sheriffs
found marks of automobile tires in a
secluded place near the Kennedy cot
tage. One Of these indicated a ne
culiar tread, declared by automobile
men to be little used in Los Angeles.
Soon afterwards the manager of an
auto rental establishment declared he
loentilled Burch as man who had
rented a car with a tire OF that kind.
on the night of August 5.
The next development was the
finding OF the stock of a shotgun OF
the calibre of the cartridges, in TIL,
SURF at Santa Monica. The owner Of
the automobile said the speedometeg
showed 1t had travelled "A miles, Or
just the distance from the garage -
Santa Monica and back, by way OF
Beverly Glen.
Burch when questioned about the
evidence declared to have been ac-
cumulated said he had nothing 10
say" except that everything would
be explained "at the proper time"
Mrs. Obcnchain held to her original
story about the shooting being don,
by Foreigners" and said she was
positive Burch had nothing to do
with it. She said she had asked
Burch to come TO Los Angeles be- |
cause she believed it would be bene- |
ficial to his health. I
Obenchain came to Los Angeles H. 7
response to a Geographic request
from his former wife. Burch's faith |
er came on the same train and re- |,
manned until the arraignmert Of the
prisoners, at which time Judge Reeve !
set the trial dates for Nov. l.
Burch. at the time of the SHOOTING
Of Kennedy, was dependant in 4 suit
for divorce. brought at Lawrence.
Kansas, by Mrs. Allie Quayle Burcr.
daughter of Bishop William QuayIa,
Of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mrs. Burch was subsequently granted
decree and permission to resume