New-York tribune., 1921-04-12
Harris Freed
After Warning
From Justice
Repeats Under Oath Re-
traction of Confession
That He Was Involved
in the ElwelI Murder
Promises to Get Job
Whitman, After Question
ing Him, Says That He
Is 'sSJust Plain Liar"

BUFFALO, April 11-Roy Harris
who has admitted the falsity of his
confession" that he was implicated in
the murder of Joseph Bovine Elwell,
the New York turfman, was released
from custody here to-day.
He was not turned loose, however,
until he had been taken before Su-
preme Court Justice Dudley and re-
peated under oath the reputation of
his fraudulent story.
Harris said after his release that he
would Immediately find a job and make
an effort to take care Of his wife and
child properly He smiled as he left
the courtroom, remnrking to CORE
spondents:
81 would have gone through with
that story to the finish though, if that
Bird, Oswald. and the New York news
paper men hadn't known so much about
the case and tripped me up. had
to throw up the sponge when they
trapped me en- the stuff about the in,
terror CT the house and when Oswald
checked me up on r,y wife's birthday
gift. There was no use trying to get
away from the truth after that"
After his release Harris joined his
wife in Sheriff Waldow's office, where
they took luncheon He had only SO in
his possession. In his excitement to
get out of Jail he left his overcoat in
the Sheriff's office, returning for it
some time later.
Warned to Go to WOW
After Harris had formally repudiated d
his hoax, Justice Dudley said:
"The best thing you can do, Harris.
is to go to work and obey the law. You
have committed a serious otfense, but
there appears to be nothing in the law
under which you can be punished"
Former Governor Whitman, who with
Captain Arthur Carey, of New York
Police Headquarters, obtained the for
NAL retraction, left for New York with
Detective Oswald this afternoon. Just
before train time, Governor Whitman
said:
"The man is just plain liar I'm
not satisfied he is normal mentally. At
least he is of low order of mentality,
although undoubtedly he is able to
realize the quality and character of his
acts and knows he was wrong. He was
criminally inclined from early boyhood
and rather enjoys posing as a desperate
criminal. am satisfied he knows moth
ing about the case"
The Governor said that in short
talk with Harris this morning he had
got fairly good description of the
two men formally employed with Har-
ris as elevator operators at 366 Fifth
Avenue, New York, who had tried to
induce him to join them in holding up
subway paymaster one night last May
or June.
The Elwell case, the most battling
murder mystery of century, thus re-
mains still unSOlVed
Discouraged and Desperate
In the formal retraction of his wild
"confession" Harris says:
Il was discouraged, desperate and
without hope of improving my condi-
tion; was utterly penniless, and felt
that in charging myself with the crime,
which attracted universal attention. the
future conduct Of affairs would be in
control of the authorities, and | did
not care what would become of me.
realize that my conduct is inexpicable
but | solemnly declare that knew what
| was doing and had full knowledge of
the possible consequences of my action.
Il never saw Joseph Elwell; | was
never in the house in which he was
killed in the City of New York; / never
saw the house, and, except as I have