Norwich bulletin., 1922-03-13
RUNNING DOWN CLUES OF
THE JOHN T. BRUNEN MURDER

Riverside, N. j., March 12SScores
of possible clues were run down today
without furnishing solution to the
mystery surrounding the Staying of
John T. Brunen, circus owner, who was
shot Friday night while sitting at the
window of his home reading. BY a pro
cess of elimination, County Detective
Ellis Parker said tonight that he had
cleared away many of the circum-
stances in Brunen's life, what at first
had appeared to be clues to the slayer
None of them, however, had given the
detectives anything definite to work on
Parker sad.
County authorities, including Prose-
cutor Kelsy, said tonight that develop
ments in the case would make necessary
| a long examination of Mrs. Brunen and
her 1S-year-old daughter, Hazel, prob
ably tomorrow. Trey would not disclose
what the developments were.
William Parkson, a lion tanner who
| married Hazel Brunen in face of her
fathers opposition, sent word to the au-
thorlties that he would be glad to give
them any information he could regard
! ing the case. He was attending a dance
at Perth Amboy when Brunen was shot
by someone outside who fired through
the window pane. The circus man had
] the marriage of Parkson and his daugh-
( ter annulled.
! A German cook, discharged by Bru-
nen, after quarrel was located by de-
| tectives today in New York. He con
WINGED the officers that he had been in
! that city at the time of the shooting
/ and had no knowledge of the case ex-
/ cept what he had read in the newspa-
pers. Neither could he furnish a pos
| sible motive, the detectives said
How the slayer knew that Brunen
was in the habit of sitting by the win
dow to read is one of the points to
which the detectives have given much
| thought. They argue that the use of a
shot gun indicates that the assassin was
| familiar with Brunen's. home life, and
used the gun to make sure of the mark.
Mrs Mary Walker, a neighbor, told
| detectives that on the night before tre
| circus man was killed she had seen a
man knocking at the kitchen door of his
| house She said that She had seen Mrs
| Brunen, her mother and Hazel leave foI
a theatre and that she knew Bruner
was alone in the house. Whether Bru-
nen had met the man the detectives
could not learn. He was said to have
made no mention to his family of hav'
ing had visitor.
The questioning of Mrs. Brunen. De
tective Parker later said, would be di
| rected toward the clearing up Of he
statements regarding two men, who, sh'
| said yesterday, she had seen after find
| ing her husband dead, run across a va
/ cant lot on the east side of the hous'
and enter an automobile, which ha(
| been driven away by a third man. In
quiry also would be made, Parker said
into her statements that the report o
the slayer's gun had startled her. Th'
report of shot gun, the detective de
clared, so closely resenlbled the dis
charge of a signal torpedo on the rail
road directly in front Of the house tha
neither he nor neighbors were able t
detect the difference. The discharge 0
these torpedoes, it was said, was of fre
quent occurrence. Two were set off to
day while Parker was al the Brunei
home
The discovery of a third shot gu
she'll discharged, on the path the slaye
is believed to have taken in his figh
across vacant lots to a waiting automo
bile was one of the developments today
THE car, Parker said, apparently ha
been parked in a lane several hundre
yards from the Brunen home and on tn
west side Of the house. Fresh foot
prints in the moist earth led from tn
window through which the shot wa
fired directly to this lane. No footprint
could be found the authorities said
| S~-
to have told the detectives the men ha
taken.
"If Mrs. Brunen's story proves true,
Detective Parker said tonight, tn
three men whom she described as rldin
I away in the automobile were undoubt
edly mixed up in conspiracy to tax
the showman's Mfe. Just how they wer
concerned remains to be solved. The
e might have been enemies who hired tn
t assassin. 1t is tolerably certain, how
5 ever, that they did not commit the muI
, der"
\ Hazel Brunen tonight denied that he
father had been a friend Of Wi1liaI
Desmond Taylor, motion picture, diref
y tor recently slain in Los Angeles. Sh
: said, however, that he had been closel
associated with William Fox, presider
' Of the Fox Film corporation, and tina
t tel had Jointly owned concessions
e Coney Island at one time. Her fathei
:. she added, had bought out Fox's intel
: est in the concessions.
!. Detectives said that investigatio
showed that Mrs. Mary Bernardo,
New York, had bought on March 4, a
Interest in the Great Doris-Ferra,
Shows, in which Brunen was the chic
Ill