The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-02-16
Police Search for Vanished
Fortune of Murder Victim.
Trail of Mystery Woman In
Case Believed Found.
REQUESTIONING OF WITNESSES
Disappearance of Victims For
tune Now Only Clue.
Even Motive for Crime Is
ClOuded in Mystery.

Los Angeles, Feb. 16.-While detec-
tives searched the files of telegraph
companies for messages received OF
sent by William Desmond Taylor, slain
film director, during the weeks pre-
ceding his death in hopes of finding a
clew to his murder and the motive be-
hind the mystery. other investigators
checked the story of a Ventura garage
/ man, who told of beautiful young
woman, wrapped in an evening cloak
and bareheaded. who drove thru Ven
tura at dizzy rate of speed at
o'clock the morning after William
Desmond Taylor was murdered. The
garage man said he supplied her ma
chine with gasoline and oil
/ she was in evening dress and wore
a cloak" the man said. Il saw her
machine before she reached my ga
rage and she was driving at terrific
! speed. AS she stopped 1 noticed that
hel face was drawn and pale and that
( her hair had been blown down by the
/ force OF the wind as she drove.
i Woman Very Nervous.
Give me all the gasoline and oil
my car Will take she sad. While [
vas filling the tank. l noticed she bit
/ at her white gloves with her teeth
and showed other signs OF restlessness
and anxiousness to be on her way.
She paid me with a bill and drove off
, change"
The man furnished the license num-
I ber of the car as he remembered IL
and described the machine and the
woman in close detail. Officers were
detailed at once to look for the car
Search Telegraph Records.
A painstaking search of the records
of the telegraph companies in Los
Angeles for copies of telegram re-
ceived by Taylor shortly before he
was killed, was ordered today by Dis
trtct Attorney Woolwiue in his frlvessi-'
cation.
With the corporations with officials
OF the companies, detectives sought
telegrams TO Taylor which might dis
close a motive for the crime and me-
tray the identity of the slayer. The
special search was made for the name
or Edward f. Sands. formerly Tay-
lor's secretary and now hunted as a
suspect in the case.
Intensive search for several thou
sand dollars worth OF oil stocks and
a considerable amount of cash be-
longing to the Taylor estate still miss
ing.
Continuation of a secret quiz of A.
dozen film personages in the hope that
tne coilated information secured from
all may shed light on the murder.
These were the chief activities uu-
der way today as officialdom entered
its third week of endeavor to pierce
the black curtain of mystery sur
rounding the Staying of the famous
film director.
Time Element Enters Now.
Requestioning of Miss Norrnand was
to be deferred until she has recovered
/ from her illness, which is causing her
I friends much concern. She is to be
, questioned this time by representa-
tives of the sheriffs office who desire
to clear up a number OF points raised
thru re-enactment by william Davis.
Miss Normand's chauffeur. of his rec
objection of events of the night Of
February l., when the film star VISITED
! the Taylor home few minutes before
his death.
According to deputy sheriffs. Davis
placed the time of the departure OF
the Normand car after Taylor had es-
corted Miss Normand to the curb at
= 1910 O'Clock. This was thA first time
this had been brought out.
The sheriff's deputies are prac-
tically going over the grounds Gov
cred in the police Investigation with
a view to- determining whether any
points We're overlooked and to ques-
tion witnesses in the light of the fund
OF information from other sources
now on hand.
Stacker Story DIscredIted.
Officials working on the case were
inclined to place little credence in a
report that threatening 1nissfve had
been found. District Attorney Wool
wine said he had seen no such docu-
ment. According to this story, the
letter was written by man who had
been stigmatized shortly after the
World war as a Stacker by Taylor
Smarting under this. the man was said
to have sworn to get even" with the
film director.
Admittedly. District Attorney WOOL
tContinued OBJ Page Twol