Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1922-02-03
QUESTION MABEL.
NoRMAND IN FILM
DIRECTORS MURDER
MOVIE coMEoiENNE WAS LAST
TO SEE WILLIAM DESMOND
TAYLOR ALlVE--FlNo BODY
SHOT THROUGH 6Ack-sEEk
MYSTERIOUS STRANGER.

Los Angeles, Feb. 3.-Reyenge,
jealousy. hate and unanswered love
all were considered by the ponce TO
day in continuing their search Tor the
SLAYER of William Desmond Taylor
motion picture director, whose body
was found yesterday in his apartment
here. with bullet hole in the back
While the meager clues obtained
so far pointed chiefly to the commls'
sion of the crime by a man, the de-
tectiyes actively engaged on the case
said they still believed 1t possible
that TAYLOR had been killed by a
woman. 4
Their hunt was largely conferred
along these lines, it was said: Inc
trail or the skulking figure OF man
seen around the directors apartment
both before and after neighbors heard
shot in the night; the whereabouts
OF a former servant, arrested for the
alleged robbery of the director and
reported to have threatened revenge;
and file sender of an anonymous let
Ter in which we're enclosed pawn TICK
cts for articles stolen from ray
l0r,
The officers also had under consid-
Grafton a close scrutiny of the nc
of the director TO learn II IL might
have been committed by the holder
OF an ancient grudge as. for instance,
some soldier he might have onendeo
by the application OF military dlscl-
uline while he was an officer IN the
British forces during the world war
Mabel Last Visitor.
Every person known TO have oeen
s3n on near the apartment where ray
lors body with a bullet wound In
the neck was found yesterday morn
ing has been closely questioned IN
the search for clues to the murderer.
Those persons ranged from Henry
Peavey, Taylors negro housemaD, 10
Mabel Normand, motion picture &C
tress, while others prominent in the
film industry whose names were
brought into newspapers in eonlec-
tion with the directors death includ-
cd Edna Purviance and Mary Niles
Minter. also motion picture actresses.
Peavey gave the police an account OF
his finding OF the body and his spread
ing OF the alarm. Miss Normand,
who was one OF the last to see the
director alive, told of call she made
at his apartment the night before IN
connection with a book Taylor had
loaned her, Her chauffeur corroDor'
ated her account of the visit, whicn
included the statement that Iaylol
had accompanied her to her automo
bile when she left and Mrs. Douglas
Mclean. wife OF film actor. ana her
maid related having seen a heavy set
man dressed in dark clothes ana
wearing cap and muller skulklng
about the place.
The story OF Mrs Mclean and her
maid was strengthened by employees
of an oil service station two blocks
away and by the crew Of a street
car.
Find slayer's Cigarette Stubs.
Los Angeles. Cal. Feb. "a half
dozen cigarette stubs offer key to a
mystery which for twenty-four hours
had been deeper than any developed
in his work by William Desmond Tay
lor, motion picture director, veilint
hts death Wednesday at his home here
from slayer's bullet. according to in
vestigators.
These half smoked remains found
near the back door of his residence
give mute evidence that some man ap
parently waited nervously there OF
the evening OF the murder They linl
this with statements by Mrs
Douglas McLain that on the evening
OF the crime she heard a shot fret
and, looking from the window of he
home which overlooks that Of Taylor
she saw man, stranger to her
emerge from the front door OF Tay
lor's apartment, look back, close tht
door and depart. Another link is {
statement by employees at an oil sta
ton near by that within an hour priol
to that time stranger whom the
describe similarly asked them wher,
Taylor lived and they directed him t
the place,