South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-08-28
officer SOLOeS
Murder Mystery
by Horse Sense
Long Search Reveals Body in
Trunk at Exact Spot De-
duced by Detective.
BY HAL ARMSTRONG
v. T.. \. stan CORRESPONDENT.

SEAT LIE, Aug. 20. - CriminclO-
gists are agreed today that the muir
der of Kate Mahoney was one OF
the most deliberately planned CT. mes
OF the decade.
The plans extended across the
continent. from here 10 Havana,
Cuba. and presumably were weeks
in being formed
Yet in an office little more than
twelve feet square. Captain Charles
z. Tenant, police detective Of mod
ern type. undid the plans in "A few
hours and knew where the body Of
Mrs Mahoney was
on May p two nieces or the mys-
teriously missing woman first broke
the news 20 Tenant that she was
gone and that their suspicious were
aroused.
Tenant Demonstrated Crime.
II less than three days ne was
dragging Lake Union for NIrs Ma
honey's trunk. in which ne said was
her body He pointed out. within a
few rods. the exact spot where the
trunk bobbed 20 the surface nearly
two and a half months later.
Mahoney, the husband. charged
with the murder. simulated insanity
or has actually lost his reason since
his arrest.
TT wasn't anything but hard
4 J. ygging that solved that crime, "
said Tenant today. Hard plug
ging and common horse sense"
How he formulated and worked
out the theory OF the Mahoney muir
der. he explained:
"She, a bride. was missing. II
didn't take long 20 send for her
bridegroom, James Mahoney. We
knew him pretty we'll He was an
ex-convict. he had several thou
sand dollars worth OF her jewelry in
| his pockets when he was brought IN
here Thu convinced me he had
murdered her.
Kate ,fahoney was not givine
anybody Jewels. She wouldn't even
give her husband car fare; she made
/ him walk. So. when we learned he
had a paper giving him power OF
attorney over her property, though
it was signed with her name, we
weren't surprised 10 learn it was a
forgery. But this only deepened the
suspicion that she was dead and
that he had killed her. There was
plenty Of that sort of evidence.
Where was the body? That was
the thing essential for the State &c
find and produce and I set about tC
find it,
"Mahoney said his wife was east
she'd gone 70 Cuba.
shed stopped with him in st
Paul and other places. They'd Wis
tied his folks. Then she'd gone on
and he'd come back
Trunk. Rope. Lime Clues.
a few kilograms that I shot east
discovered that she hadn't been with
him there. so her body wasn't there
Her trunk was gone we found the
expressman who had hauled it, and
about the same time discovered a
bill charged 10 Mrs. Mahoney for a
S-foot rope and five pounds OF lime
7Nahoney had bought the rope
and ;ime. and charged them 20 his
wlfe's account
Rope for the trunk. Lime to de-
/ compose the body. Lime won't work
that way without water. The trunk
was in the water. Then the eX-
pressman was found; we located
him by asking the transfer com
panies if they had been called "a
haul a trunk from the Mahoney
apartment the night she disappeared
"The eXpresSman took US 10 the
place on the Lake Union shore where
he had helped a man haul trunh
from the Mahoney apartment, and
the rest was easy. He had seen the
man shove off into the lake with the
trunk I'm a small white rowboat-
..IIiddlng" Didn't Stop Search.
OF YOU had a,trunk with a body
in Il. how far into the lake would
you row before YOU dumped the
trunk overheard? Not far. Neither
did Mahoney. He dumped il quick
That's how 7 knew where 10 look
for it.
plugging. and horse sense. That
wins I'm business. man better
throw up his job If he doesn't stick
20 a thing when he starts at it. IT
II took long time to find the trunk
Lots OF my friends thought was
crazy. But the trunk was there
knew il. And we got II.
Had Mahoney taken his wife
east. then murdered her, IL NIGH
have been different He might never
have been caught The body would
have been found but likely uniden-
titled. I say he might not have beer
caught.
But murder will out eventually
ALWAYS. when confronted with intel
VVent Investigation