Omaha daily bee., 1921-08-15
No Verdict
Reached In
Death Probe
Finger Print Expert and Doc
tor Doubt Suicide; Letter
Written by Victim May
Add Light.

Auburn, Neb., Aug. l4-iSpecia
Telegram. AFTER 4S hours OF de.
liberation, the coroner's jury inves.
tigating the mysterious death Of Ben
Neal, who was found dead IN the
house on his farm near Peru Thurs
day night, announced Saturday that
no verdict had been reached.
Hans Nielsen. head of the state
bureau of criminal identification,
after examining finger prints on the
stock of the revolver found clutched
in Meals hand, stated that lie does
not believe the man committed sui
eide. The same opinion is held by
DR.. Vance, who reached the Neal
home so minutes after the BODY had
been found. DR.. Vance was formerly
police surgeon at Omaha.
Neal was found on the floor OF
the bedroom Of the farm home &C.
cupied by himself and his wife. A
bullet from a .32 caliber pistol had
entered the left side OF his neck
striking the jaw bone.
Bloody 1mprints Found.
When discovered. rigor mortis OF
the body had already set in. The
third finger of the right hand was
partly around the triggerSof the pis-
tol clutched by the dead man. A
bloody imprint OF the right thumb
was found on the grip of the gun.
There also were bloody inlprints Of
fingers on the walls near the body,
but they were not identified as those
OF Meals hand. They were made by
the left hand of some person.
Mrs. Neal, when recalled to the
witness stand, stated that she had
heard but one shot. She said that
the room was dark when she and
her daughter entered. They ran to
the home OF a neighbor. Charles
Buck, 800 yards away, to notify him
of the death.
The woman swears positively that
she did not use the telephone in an
attempt to call neighbors. A num-
Der Of neighbors. however, declare
that there were calls on the rural
party line about the time the tragedy
is supposed to have occurred. Three
long rings, the call for the Buck
home, were recognized.
Operator Heard Rings.
The night telephone operator at
Peru says she heard the rings, but
received no answer from the party
calling. She notified ]. c. Woodie,
village marshal, and told him that
someone was in distress, possibly at
the Neal or Buck home. Fifteen min
utes later Buck called in to notify
DR.. Vance of the tragedy reported
by Mrs. Neal.
Fletcher Neal, not relative OF
the dead man, and Jack Roliff had
been to see Neal in regard to the
purchase of live stock few days be-
fore the tragedy. They said that
Neal told them OF his family trouble
and declared that he intended either
to kill himself or both himself and
his family.
Mrs. Neal, when she heard that
Nielsen. finger print expert. had
been summoned, dSkcu OiCIhi 10
Wis to 90 to her house at Browns.
Vile. open a cedar chest there and
see if it contained .S2-caliber pistol
belonging to her first husband,
John Wright, who died y years ago.
She said she had handled the gun
two weeks ago. The sheriff found
no pistol in the chest. ...
Two Exploded Shells.
The pistol, which was found in
Meals hand. was cheap. nickel
plated, Harrington & Smith, center
fire. 1t contained two recently-ex-
ploded shells and two loaded shells.
The other two chambers were empty.
The unexploded shells were badly
oxidized, giving evidence OF great
age. =,
On the witness stand Mrs. Neal
identified the pistol as the one owned
by her former husband.
A verdict by the coroner's jury IS
expected soon. Several letters which
have not been made public, ono writ
ten by Neal and the other by man
in Brownsville, may add sensational
s.y-Az - %to c,ee