The Washington times., 1922-06-07
THIS WILL !
INTEREST. .
Y0(l,' SAYS
DETECTIVE
Searoher Of SIayer's Home
confers With Sheriff About
Evidence.

WHITE PLAINS, N. Y, June
IA new. clue Of great i'm
portance in the mystery surround
ing the Staying of Clarence
Peters, ex-navy man, by Walter
S. Ward, son Of George s. Ward,
millionaire baker, was unearthed
today, it was reported.
Evidence Taken to Sheriff.
Lieut.. John MCGOWAN, Of the New
Rochelle Detective Bureau, entered
the office Of Sheriff Werner. carry
ing a small newspaper-covered pack.
age, and touching it Significantly.
said: II think this will interest
YOU"
Shortly afterwards Lieutenant.
McGowan, Sheriff Werner. and
Raymond HILL swestchester county
fingerprint expert, retired to the
sheriff's private office, Hill gather
ing his Photographic equipment.
Lieutenant MCGOWAN was on3 of
the officers who searched the Ward
home in New Rochelle. ,..9., b
Mrs. Beryl Curtis Ward, wife of
Walter s. Ward, was taken f..r a
second time into the Westchester
county grand jury room late yester-
day, under definite instructions
from Supreme Court Justice Mors-
chauser, to answer certain ques-
tions."
She had been constant in her re-
fusal to answer even such questions
as:
What time did your husband re-
turn home In the early morning of
May 1877"
+ who were your guests at a card
party on the evening of May 15?"
Coached with the same care
throughout the course of the killing
mystery, the beautiful young wife of
the New Rochelle millionaire stead
fastly declined to respond.
She was taken before Justice Nor.
schauser, who ruled that she must
answer all questions except those re.
latlng to actual bed chamber conver.
sations or condolences. The court
held that she must freely repeat any
conversation that had taken place
between her husband and herself in
the presence of a third party.
When the beautiful young mntron
went into the grand jury room the
second time, II began to look as
though the whole inside story of the
mystery would be told-that the
great countrywide scandal would be
broken wide open.".
Was Mrs. Ward seeking TO hide
her real knowledge of her husbands
big secret" the knowledge that
caused him to shoot to death shabby,
penniless, young Clarence Peters,
Was she seeking to conceal tho
part one or more women playei In
the mystery7 ..
Was she seeking to conceal the
real story Of her relations with her
husband?.
Was she seeking to shield him from
possible connection with or knowl.
edge of a gigantic blacxmaii rirz
that had ensnared him, his father, Or
someone else into an extortion plot7
Shortly after the grand fury IN
quiry got under way, Mrs. Ward,
who had been smuggled into the
building through o secret entrance.
was called az a witness.
She appeared, clad In the height Of
fashion, from side room where she
had been waiting with Allen r.
Campbell, Of counsel for her hus-
band. '
Mrs. Ward had been before the
grand jury only few minutes when
there was a hurried conference be-
tween District Attorney Weeks and
Campbell. ,.,.,
+, r Ask for Ruling.
They appeared before Justice Nor
schauser for ruling on Just how
far the slayef's wife could evade an
swering Questions OF the prosecution
OF her knowledge OF the affair was
gained from her husband and was
therefore provided. l
Mrs. Ward refused to answer, on
the plea that her counsel had ad-
vised her that she was within her
rights in not doing 80. IL was then
that the first break came, and the
State appealed TO Justice Morschau.
ser for a ruling.
The Justice ruled that Mrs. Ward
must answer all questions as to
conversations with the husband. en-
cept actual bedchamber converse
tions. and must answer all questions
bearing on conversations with him
when other persons were present,
regardless Of whore the talks took |
place