The New York herald., 1922-10-27
Continued from First Page.


few hours from State troopers and
from county detectives.
The time of the crime is point on
which the authorities purposely are being
careful. According to Mrs. Gibson IL was
about 8 80. but there is reason to be-
lleve the actual hour was much later.
Mrs. Gibson told the correspondent for
THE NEW YORK HERALD that she had
never set the hour as 9:30 and that in
fact II was out all night that night"
Not until the actual time at which
Mrs. Gibson witnessed the murder is
known will II be possible to gauge the
strength or weakness of the various
aiibis There is only one seemingly per-
feet alibi, that OF Henry Stevens. About
all the others in the case, including
James Mills. the sexton husband of the
choir singer. there is the practically un-
supported word Of the person most in
terested.
The one man of which this is not true
is Ralph V. M. Gorsline. vestryman, and
believed at one time TO have been an
admirer of Mrs. Mills. Gorsline's alibi
| Is supported by the woman member
of the church whom he met that night
after he left the Y. NJ. G.. A. and took
her to her home. He says he left the
Y. NJ. C. A. little after 10. and that
he landed Miss Catherine Rastall at her
home about twenty minutes after that
, hour He may be asked to repeat his
story tomorrow to Mott. who has not
heard it. and TO tell also of his motor
car which burned up on the road to
Trenton one night after the inquiry had
commenced
Mr.. Mott had busy day. going over
the records in the court house here and
then. with State troopers inspecting the
Phillips farm and traversng every inch
Of the ground He saw the mysterious
old house and the barns and the wells,
and he went TO the crabapple tree
beneath which the bodies were found.
He found the tree dsnuded, its branches
broken and stripped OF bark. mere
skeleton stark and ugly. emblematic of,
the crime itself.
He walked afield through what a
month ago was a mass of goldenrod,
to where, according to her story, Mrs.
Gibson sat astride her mule and
watched the tragedy enacted. He
walked De Russy lane and into Buc-
cleuoh Park. where Hall and Mrs. Mills
met often.
Then Mott returned and with James
Mason, Essex county detective, visited
Police Headquarters. There he inter-
viewed Police Chief O'Connell and the
two officers who first guarded the
bodies, after they were found by Ray
mond Schneider and Pearl Bahmer on
the Saturday morning. He asked two
policemen a hundred questions about
how the bodies lay about the letters,
about the state of the clothing, about
what they saw nearby and the state
of the vegetation.
BY afternoon Mott had the crime
pretty well in his head. He knew
all about the principal figures and
| In an interview with new wspapermen
showed amazing familiarity with the de-
tails and a keen appreciation of minor
facts that have been disregarded to the
present.
Mott impressed one as being a man
| who will solve this mystery and solve it
quickly and decisvely.
But his case will center on the
mystery woman, the eye witness and the
story she has told. He holds her story
| and the letters with some other material
that he has not disclosed. as making out
a pretty complete case. Just a little
| checking up here and there and a little
more confederation of this statement and
there will be action. perhaps tomorrow,
perhaps on Saturday.
Little Things Build Up Case.
| A chance meeting OF, two women at
a rummage sale, the scratching of a dog
OH door. heaguickly passing gleam
from the headlights of an automobile
on these things particularly. and on
other things as small and unimportant
| hinges the solution of the Hall Mills
murder mystery that has attracted the
attention of the entire country for
nearly six weeks.
II is in thorough keeping with the
whole case, as X has been slowly and
laboriously unfolded. that it should re-
main for farmer woman, riding bare
backed on q mule through field of
golden rod, to furnish the missing frag-
ment IN the picture puzzle that scores
of detectives, ancient and modern. pro-
fessional and amateur, have been trying
unsuccessfully to put together.
Mrs. Gibson made two statements, one
at the Court House when she was first
questioned. This was typewrtten ana
rot signed. Later. the detectives went
TO her home with stenographer and
her statement was transcribed anj
sworn to before a notary. Some davs
later. on last Monday or Tuesday. she
again visited the Court House TO try
to identify certain people. She did
{identify them, or at least some of them
but there was a slight disagreement OF
which more will probably bc known
later.
The Identification was not sworn TO-
but the authorities have a statemen,
OF the fact of her visit and her utter
enees. Therefore. as it stands at pres
ent the Identification is of doubtful
legal value. but that is an error that
may be remedied
From the statement signed by Mrs
Gibson. 1t appears that as this double
murder was committed and man an
a woman were shot 10 death. there
stood little way off. hardly a stones
throw, mule on whose back ther,
crouched a. heavy figure of a woman
bending low behind the mules head 5
she might not be seen. The golden 70,
was high, reaching to the mules beliS