Evening star., 1923-08-13

! ing scraped. Kepner said, and when
, ne returned to Frederick about 1:20
o'clock he was suffering great pain.
HIS voice dropped almost to whis-
| per as he told of stopping at Ridge
Vile on the way back and buying
some flowers.
"!mmediately upon reaching Fred
! erick,' he continued. "I went to
/ Cramer's for lunch. ] took the flowers
l had bought at Ridgeville and placed
! them on desk near an ice cooler
where Miss Ricketts, usually sat.
had promised my wife TO call her up
as soon as ] returned. 1t was about
! 1875 that I called the house and
/ spoke to Grace. She asked me how |
! felt, and when I told her l had been
| considerably relieved she was very
happy-very. very happy. indeed.
| Given Right of Way.
Then 1 sat down and had my
lunch My face was so sore. however.
that l was obliged to order only
warm. LIQUID food After lunch 1 went
| to my office and started home at the
usual hour-about 3:45 o'clock My
wife had asked me to try to get home
get away from business. On my way
home saw Herbert Hahn. He was on
the right. driving his own car, and
had the right of way. He, however.
| waved me ahead. and that is why 7
leaned out and waved my hand in
i thanks
1T was just five minutes of that
reached home. My father-in-law
Mr.. Houck, was sitting in the bay
window and / asked him where Grace
/ was. He said that she was taking a
nap. so I went inside and up to my
! room The blinds of the room were
| pulled down, the white curtains at
| one window were partly drawn aside
| and the shutters of several were partly
| closed. I saw the form of my wife
living on the he'd"
"'Grace'" said. "you are taking
| rather long nap"
When she failed to answer /
locked closer and saw that she was
dead. The pistol lay in her lap, just
| about an inch from her right hand.
"On the floor, as though it had
trickled down the sideboard of the
| bed and dripped in a pool, was a large
| pistol lay about foot from the foot
! board of the bed. i saw that she was
! dead"
Told Father of Death.
You can understand how I felt ]
could not holler, so 1 ru shed down
stairs and told Father Ilouck, My
| Cod Grace has shot herselfi'
He went up stairs with me and
held up his hands in horror as
vealed the spectacle Of Mrs. Kepners
body stretched partly across the bed
one foot dangling down. There was
no shoe on that foot There was a
| small hole in the toe Of the stocking
1 saw no blood on her arm. but there
| were n few spotS-very small spots
,-on the back of her right hand"
Kepner broke down completely for
a brief moment and sobbed out loud
as he told of going around to the
HoYck had gone downstairs. and
gently touching the face of his dead
wife with his hand. At this point
also, a quarrel between Mr.. Weinberg
and Assistant States Attorney Cen
eral Lindsay c. Spencer interrupted
the proceeding when the latter ac-
. cused the former of asking leading
questions" interrogations so put that
answers the attorney desired.
"It was about five minutes after
four" the witness finally continued.
| that I went down stairs again and
called up DR.. Hendrix. When he ar
rived / met him and said: My God
looked at her. felt her pulse and said,
| Poor, poor girl. 1t is all over for her
now I asked him how long she had
been dead and he replied from two to
two and a half hours, he offered to
attend to the details of summoning
Coroner Wood"
] When Mr.. Weinberg asked the wit
ness II his wife had ever told him of
attempting to commit suicide before,
the state interposed strenuous objec-
tion on the ground that 1t was hear
say evidence and a conversation that
ensued with a person now dead and
therefore not subject to absolute
proof.
Asked Him to Pray.
Mr.. Spencer, however, later with
drew his objection and Kepner con-
tinued: "It was early last April. about
three weeks before I was to take a
trip, to Harrisburg, Mrs. Kepneri and
were lying in bed one evening, shs
! on her side and I on mine Suddenly
j sAs .i.v Cd u.er. pul .ier arms around