The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-02-03
Little Bunch of Cigarette
Stubs Indicates That
Some Man Was Watch
ing Him, and Confirms
Statement That Some
body Was Skulking
About the Premises

/ Los Angeles, Cal, Feb. 3.-A half
dozen cigarette stubbs offered today
the key to a mystery which for twe1-
ty-four hours has been deeper than
any developed in his work by William
Desmond Taylor, noted motion picture
director, slain Wednesday night at
his home here. These half smoked
remains found near the back door of
his luxurious appointed residence, ac-
cording to Investigators, give mute
evidence that some man apparently
waited nervously there on the evening
of the murder.
They link this with statements by
Mrs. Douglas Mclean. wife of mo-
tion picture actor, that on the even
ing of the murder she heard a shot
fired, and looking from the window of
her home, which overlooks that of
Taylor, she saw man, stranger to
her, emerge from the front door of
Taylor's home, look back through, and
apparently speak, close the door and
depart.
The movements of this stranger CO.
incide with the visit of Mabel Nor
mand, motion picture actress, to Tay-
Ior's home on the evening of the mur-
der. Taylor escorted Miss Normand
to her motor car and talked few
minutes with her there. The front
door of his home was open. Investi-
tors suggest that the stranger who
had been nervously smoking cigar
cites while waiting for an opportun-
ity to get Taylor, apparently entered
the apartment while the door was op-
en- and Taylor was out talking to Miss
Normand. The time Miss Normand
fixed as that of her departure closely
corresponds to the time Mrs. Mac
Lean fixes as having heard the shot,
an indication possibly, investigators
say, that the stranger shot Taylor i'm
mediately after Taylor returned to
the house and seated himself before
his desk to continue work on his in
come tax statement.
Miss Edna Purviance, motion pic
ture actress, who occupies a two
story bungalow similar to that of
Taylor in the same court or group of
buildings informed police that she re-
turned home about midnight Wednes-
day and observed lights burning in
Taylor's home. She said she thought
nothing of it as she knew Taylor to
be a reader who often remained up
late. She said she was awakened
the following morning by screams of
Taylor's negro valet, who upon re-
porting for work at Taylor's house,
discovered the body of his employer
and fled shrieking down the court.
Los Angeles, Cal, Feb. 3.-Revenge,
jealousy, hate and unanswered love all
were considered by the police today
in continuing their search for the
slayer of William Desmond Taylor,
motion picture director, whose body
was found yesterday in his apartment
here.
While meagre clues obtained so far
pointed chiefly to the commission of
the crime by a man, the detectives
working on the case said they believed
it possible he had been killed by a
woman.
Their hunt was largely centered
along three lines, it was said, the
trail of the skulking figure of a man
seen around the directors apartments
before and after neighbors heard a
shot in the night; the whereabouts Of
a former servant, arrested for the al
legged robbery of the director and re-
ported to have threatened revenge;
and the sender of an anonymous letter
in which were enclosed pawn tickets
for articles stolen from Taylor.
The officers also had under consid-
Grafton a close scrutiny of the life
history of the director to learn If the
crime might have been committed by
the holder of an ancient grudge, as,
for instance, some soldier he might
have offended by the application of
military discipline while he was an
officer in the British forces during the
world war.
Every person known to have been
or near the apartments, where Tay-
lor's body, with bullet wound in the
neck, was found, yesterday morning,
had been closely questioned in the
search for clues to the murder.
These persons range from Henry
Peavey, Taylor's negro houseman, to
Mabel Normand, motion picture ac-
tress, while others prominent in the
film industry whose names were
brought into newspapers in connection
with the directors death included Ed
ma Purviance and Mary Miles Min
ter, also motion picture actresses
Peavey gave the police an account
of his finding the body and of his
spreading the alarm. Miss Normand,
who was one of the last to see the
director alive, told of call she made
at his apartments the night before in
connection with a book Taylor had
loaned her. Her chauffeur corrobo-
rated her account of the visit, which
included the statement that Taylor
had accompanied her to her automo
biIeawhen she left. Mrs. Douglas Mac
1ean, vile Of q film actor, and hel