The Washington times., 1921-04-08
GRILL HARRIS
AGAIN TODAY
Discrepancies in His Story of
EIwelI Staying Make N. Y.
Detective SkepticaI.

UeteCtlve SkeptICal.
BUFFALO, April s.-Roy Harris,
who claims that he and a man
named William Duncan killed Jo-
seph B. Elwell, the New York
horseman, is due for another grill
ing today. New York and Buffalo
police are a bit skeptical about his
story, though admitting great
many Of his points fit perfectly.
| HARRIS IS INDIFFERENT.
| 81 don't care whether they believe
me or not" Harris declared this morn
ing Il have told my story ana that's
all there is to it,"
| "It looks a little peculiar to me-"
This. with a smile, was the comment
Of Detective Sergeant Harry p. Os-
wald, of the New York detective bu-
reau, who arrived in Buffalo last
night to question Rob Harris.
The points in the story told by
Harris which are at variance with
the facts, according to Detective Os-
wald, are:
Harris states that the Elwell home
was in seventy-first street, whereas it
really was in SEVENTEEN street.
Harris places the entrance doorway
In the center. whereas 1t was to one
side Of the narrow building.
Harris places the time of the mu~-
der soon after dawn. whereas the
New York police have definitely es-
g. m, or later.
Harris says he saw Elwell descend
the stairs in his slippers, whereas the
body was without foot covering when
found.
| NO HIDING PLACE IN ROOM.
Harris states that his pal, Duncan.
waited for several hours in the En~eli
reception room. part of the time with
the lights burning. The New York
ldetectiye says the room was SO
sparsely furnished as to be incapable
of offering a place OF concealment.
These discrepancies, with the pos
sibility that more will be found today.
were at once noted by Detective Os-
wald, after he had questioned the sus-
pect for more than an hour in Chief
Higgins private office last night.
Detective Oswald, while frankly
skeptical about the Harris story Of
tinue to question the man today, and
will also check up the statements
which Harris has made to the local
authorities.
TT is possible that he knows some
thing about the murder" said Oswald.
81 don't know Of any motive that
would lead him to tell such a story
/ and stick to It,"
Harris declares that he opened up
on the murder question as soon as
he was arrested because he thought
he was being double-crossed. He
said that he had received only two
instalments, one of $50 and the
other of $3.50. in place Of the $4,000
| which he had been promised for his
participation in the affair.
| Did you ever intend to shoot Ell
/ well?" he was asked.
ONLY WANTED THE MONEY.
Never" said Harris emphatically.
Il just wanted to get the money and
then blow. / first suggested that we
quit the Job as soon as the $500
had been paid on account, and Dun
can said. 'There'll be another mur-
der here in a minute
after we got into Elwell's house
I again suggested that we beat it,
but Duncan said, You don't know
the kind Of people you are dealing
with. That fellow Jerry will be
within gunshot IL you go out now.'-
Harris said he was bitterly up
| braided by Duncan following the
shooting because of his failure to
shoot Elwell as he went up and down
stairs after coming in. He was so
busy answering Duncan's slurs he
forgot to ask any questions about
the murder, he said.
| Harris, despite reports to the con-
trary, has not identified any OF the
numerous photographs shown him as
even resembling the mysterious Mrs.
E'airchild"
| Today he again reviewed every pic
ture Of all persons thus far mentioned
in the New York police investigation
OF the Elwell murder.
| None of those resemble Mrs. Fair
child" he Insisted. Asked about
report to the effect that he had identi-
ted picture as resembling Mrs.
Fairchild, he declared:
What j did say was that in New
York, way back about the time the
Investigation was getting we'll under
way. there was published in one OF
the New York paper q forget which
one), a picture of a light-haired, me-
dium build woman. In those respects
It resembled Mrs. Fairchild, who
hired me and my pal. Duncan, to
snifr out Mr.. Elwell. Little attention
was. paid to the picture when 1t ap-
peared last summer. and I about de-
cided II really wasn't picture of
Mrs. Fairchild.
None Of the photographs shown in
Buffalo came anywhere near resemb-
ling Mrs. Fairchild. The authorities
are simply not even near her trail, II
seems to me. That's all"
Buffalo and New York police Of
fcials working on the case are more
inclined to believe Harris story today
than they were when he made his first
statement Almost incessantly since
his arrest Wednesday night he has
been on the grill and has never